BoJack Horseman is an American animated sitcom created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. The series stars Will Arnett as the title character BoJack Horseman. Supporting cast includes Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. The series' first season premiered on August 22, 2014, on Netflix.

Despite mixed critical reviews, the show proved to be successful with viewers. Less than a week after its initial release, Netflix renewed the series for a second season set to commence production in 2015.^[1]

Premise

The series is set in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals live side by side, specifically focusing on the life of washed-up fictional 1990s sitcom Horsin' Around star BoJack Horseman as he plans his big return to celebrity relevance with a tell-all biography that he dictates to his ghostwriter Diane Nguyen. BoJack also has to contend with the demands of his agent and on-again-off-again girlfriend Princess Carolyn, his freeloading roommate Todd Chavez, and his frenemy Mr. Peanutbutter, a dog from a '90s sitcom with a similar premise to Horsin' Around.

Characters

Main characters

• BoJack Horseman (voiced by Will Arnett) – An anthropomorphic horse who starred in the 1987-96 sitcom "Horsin' Around." Frequently overwhelmed by frustration and self-loathing, he's grown bitter and spiteful since the show ended and often hints at hating what he has become in his later years. Though usually petty and lacking self-control, BoJack has frequently shown himself to be intelligent and level-headed in certain situations, when not overwhelmed by self-loathing or alcoholism. For instance, he cites a number of intelligent and reasonable issues with widespread public praise of all uniformed military members during a televised apology to a soldier he had annoyed and has devised numerous machiavellian schemes to benefit him, such as his attempt to sabotage Diane's wedding. He believes that completing his memoir may be his last shot at getting the public to care about him again.

• Princess Carolyn (voiced by Amy Sedaris) – An anthropomorphic pink Persian cat who is BoJack's agent and his on-and-off girlfriend. She prides herself on being able to separate her personal life from her professional life when dealing with BoJack. She begins to question her loyalty when she realizes that she's sacrificed several dreams for BoJack's sake. She turns 40 in the seventh episode, "Say Anything."

• Diane Nguyen (voiced by Alison Brie) – BoJack's Vietnamese-American ghostwriter, misunderstood intellectual, and third-wave feminist from Boston. She and BoJack initially develop a strong friendship that becomes strained after BoJack develops feelings for her.

• Mr. Peanutbutter (voiced by Paul F. Tompkins) – An anthropomorphic Labrador Retriever who is BoJack's former sitcom rival and also Diane's boyfriend (and later husband). His demeanor is constantly energetic, cheerful, and neurotic. Despite their rivalry, Mr. Peanutbutter cares a great deal about BoJack's opinion and admires him for his work on Horsin' Around. He has an especially good relationship with Todd, and his positive attitude and financial resources combined with Todd's outlandish schemes and plans often result in the two starting questionable business ventures, such as a Halloween store that exclusively opens in January.

• Todd Chavez (voiced by Aaron Paul) – An unemployed slacker who ended up at BoJack's house for a party five years before the beginning of the series and never left. Although BoJack constantly voices disdain for him, he secretly cares about Todd, continuing to financially support him and sabotage his attempts to gain independence out of a fear of being alone.

Recurring characters

• Pinky Penguin (voiced by Patton Oswalt) – An anthropomorphic penguin who works at a publishing house and depends on BoJack's book to save his job and company.

• Sarah Lynn (voiced by Kristen Schaal) – An actress who played BoJack's precocious youngest daughter on Horsin' Around, and who looked up to him as a father figure. After the show went off the air, she became a successful pop singer in the early 2000s before drug addiction and alcoholism ended her career. Flashbacks indicate that Sarah Lynn's self-destructive behavior is the result of BoJack's having neglected her as a child.

• Herb Kazzaz (voiced by Stanley Tucci) – BoJack's former mentor, an experienced comedian who created and wrote Horsin' Around. The pair had a falling out at the apex of the show's success, when Herb was blackballed by the network for being gay and Bojack didn't stand up for Herb for fear of losing his job. At the beginning of BoJack Horseman, they haven't spoken for nearly eighteen years. BoJack attempts to reconnect with him after learning that Herb has been diagnosed with terminal rectal cancer. Though Herb reveals he lived a full life in spite of losing "Horsin' Around," he hasn't forgiven Bojack for not being there when he needed a supportive friend.

• Beatrice and Butterscotch Horseman (voiced by Wendie Malick and Will Arnett) – Two anthropomorphic horses who are BoJack's neglectful, verbally abusive parents. Both are apparently dead at the outset of the series, but appear in flashbacks to BoJack's childhood. Beatrice was an heiress to a sugar cube company. Butterscotch is a failed novelist and alcoholic, resented his wife's financial independence and took out his insecurities on BoJack. In flashbacks, Butterscotch is often seen yelling nonsensical conservative hyperbole such as claiming that the Panama Canal is for "Democrats".

• Lennie Turtletaub (voiced by J. K. Simmons) – A turtle and big-shot Hollywood producer.

• Tom Jumbo-Grumbo (voiced by Keith Olbermann) – A blue whale and pundit on MSNBSea who reports on BoJack's misdeeds.

• Character Actress Margo Martindale – An exaggerated version of actress Margo Martindale, who willingly goes along with BoJack's schemes, no matter how convoluted or dangerous. BoJack and others consistently refer to her as "Character Actress Margo Martindale" rather than simply address her by her forename.

• Wayne (voiced by Wyatt Cenac) – Diane's ex-boyfriend, a hipster who is a BuzzFeed writer.

• "Vincent Adultman" (voiced by Fielding Edlow in "Horse Majeure," Maria Bamford in "Later") – Princess Carolyn's boyfriend in the latter part of the first season. Everyone except for Bojack is oblivious to the fact that he appears to be three children standing on top of each other underneath a trench coat. Though he speaks in a child's voice and has awkward syntax, he also occasionally exhibits strangely keen insight, prompting others to ignore BoJack's observations.

• Dr. Hu (voiced by Ken Jeong) – A physician who sells drugs to Sarah Lynn. An unseen character throughout most of the first season, he is the subject of a recurring joke based on the phonetic similarity of his name to "who," with BoJack and others believing that Sarah's drug connection is a man who simply calls himself "Doctor Who" rather than an actual physician.

Minor characters

• Laura (voiced by Rachel Bloom) - Princess Carolyn's secretary.

• Neal McBeal (voiced by Patton Oswalt) – A seal who is also a Navy Seal. BoJack gets into a tiff with him because McBeal called "dibs" on a box of muffins at a grocery store, which BoJack later bought and ate out of spite.

• Angela Diaz (voiced by Anjelica Huston) - A human woman who's in a position of authority at the studio that produces Horsin' Around. She gives BoJack a speech about how the entertainment business works, persuading him to leave Herb behind to preserve BoJack's own career.

• Charlotte (voiced by Olivia Wilde) – A deer who was Herb Kazzaz's old girlfriend with whom BoJack was once in love. During a drug and alcohol induced stupor Bojack imagines an alternate life where, instead of becoming a television star, he moves to Maine with Charlotte. In this fantasy the couple get married, have a daughter and lead a quiet rustic lifestyle.

Guest characters

• Naomi Watts – Naomi Watts is an extreme version of herself and plays Diane in Mr. Peanutbutter's film. While in character as Diane she engages in a fast-paced sexual relationship with Bojack, only to lose interest in him when her character is ultimately written out of the movie.

• Wallace Shawn – Wallace Shawn is an extreme version of himself and plays BoJack in Mr. Peanutbutter's film.

• Vanessa Gekko (voiced by Kristin Chenoweth) – Vanessa Gekko is Princess Carolyn's rival who temporarily shares her office when their agencies merge.

• Mr. Witherspoon (voiced by Stephen Colbert) – Mr. Witherspoon is a bullfrog and Princess Carolyn's boss.

• Secretariat (voiced by John Krasinski) – A racehorse and BoJack's hero. He is disgraced when it comes to light that he had been betting on his own races.

Music

The main title theme was composed by Patrick Carney, one half of the blues-rock duo The Black Keys, while the ending credits theme, "Back in the 90's (Bojack's Theme)", was performed by the indie-pop act Grouplove. Jesse Novak composed the incidental music.

Episodes

Season 1 (2014)

Reception

Critical

The series received a rating of 63 out of 100 on the review aggregator Metacritic based on 12 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[2] Another review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, gives the series 53% based on 15 reviews, with the consensus stating: "It's intermittently funny, but in most respects, BoJack Horseman pales in comparison to similar comedies."^[3]

Erik Adams' review of the first six episodes gave the series a C+ grade; in the review, Adams wrote that the show "spoofs the emptiness of celebrity, but does so without any novelty or true insight."^[4] At Slate, Willa Paskin was more enthused. "[It] is perhaps a little more clever than it is uproariously funny, but it is often very clever, and, moreover, well-tuned to the ludicrousness of the sort of low-level fame that surrounds BoJack." She likened it to 30 Rock in its ability to "[present] big ideas without having to commit to them."^[5] Chris Mitchell from Popzara was equally optimistic about the show's future, saying that "Fans of FX's Archer or Fox's Bob's Burgers will definitely want to check this one out, as its rapid-fire delivery is always consciously spot-on."^[6] The New York Times described the show as "hilarious and ribald".^[7]