As his name suggests, BoJack Horseman is a bipedal, anthropomorhic horse, who is the titular character of the animated television of the same name, created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. A Netflix original series, BoJack Horseman was screened exclusively on that platform for six seasons, comprising 76 episodes in total, between 2014 and 2020.
Voiced by Canadian-American actor and comedian Will Arnett, BoJack Horseman had previously portrayed ‘The Horse’, a young, bachelor horse in the popular situation comedy ‘Horsin’ Around’, which purportedly premiered on ABC in 1987 and lasted for nine seasons. However, in the wake of the show, living mainly on royalties rather than new projects, he has become a bitter, misanthropic, curmudgeon, self-loathing and, often, self-destructive, yet nonetheless prone to wallowing in self-pity.
Arnett once said that he was drawn to the BoJack Horseman character because of his ability to be “lovable and unloveable at the same time”. A largely unrepentent narcissist, depressive, alcholic and drug addict, BoJack struggles to form, and maintain, positive relationships with the people around them. Indeed, he is frequently guilty of selfish, cowardly, and wicked acts that make him easy to hate. However, even so often, despite his struggles, Bojack demonstrates that he is, at heart, an intelligent, throughtful and sympathetic person, who does actually care deeply about the few people he calls friends.
Bojack Horseman deals with dark, adult themes, as well as sexual content, but balances the gloomier moments with outrageous, often hilarious, humour. The stark reality of its existential narrative is tempered by a genuinely satirical look at the city of Hollywood, California and its culture, celebrity status, or lack of it, and so on. Indeed, the series has been critically acclaimed for all these reasons, plus its character development, animation style and the profundity of the voice performances, not least that by Arnett.
Various real-lif celebrities, including Matthew Perry, Chris Farley, Bog Saget, Tim Allen and David Letterman, have been suggested as providing inspiration for the BoJack Horseman character. However, Bob-Waksberg has said that he is, in fact, a composite archetype, based on numerous celebrities who found fame during the era in which the fictional ‘Horsin’ Around’ series was set, in the late eighties and early nineties.