Pictures courtesy of Netflix
When it comes to adult animation on Netflix, there are only a handful of shows that have an endearing legacy, and the title at the top of that list, at least in my opinion, is Bojack Horseman. Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, he’s returning to work with Netflix on a brand-new project set to hit our screens this August. At the Annecy Film Festival, the creator sat down with journalist and writer Perrine Quennesson to discuss the brand-new show and the legacy of BoJack Horseman. Here’s what we learned.
Speaking about his new show, Bob-Waksberg said the central theme of the show is time and how this family changes and evolves over a long period of time. As a result, the series is told in a non-linear format. Case in point, as Bob-Waksberg explains, “The first episode… takes place at a certain year, and we get to meet these kids as kids,” he said. “And then in the next episode, we jump to the future and they’re adults with kids of their own.”
This non-linear structure allows Long Story Short to explore how events from childhood ripple through adulthood, sometimes subtly and other times more profoundly. It’s not meant to provide epic plot twists or sci-fi spectacle, but instead focuses on what the creator referred to as “little t traumas” that affect us all.
While BoJack Horseman tackled generational pain with cartoonishly bad parents, Long Story Short is subtler and designed to be more relatable. “It would be so easy if you could just write off your terrible parents and your terrible childhood like we did with BoJack,” he said. “But I think there are more nuanced, interesting stories to tell when your parents are maybe not quite what you need them to be in one moment, but you can’t write them off completely.”
Despite the emotional complexity, Bob-Waksberg is quick to remind us that Long Story Short is still very much a comedy at heart.
“It’s a very funny, fun show with comedy and jokes and silliness,” he said. “I think you will hopefully feel all parts of you are engaged while you’re watching.”
Reuniting with longtime collaborator and BoJack Horseman production designer Lisa Hanawalt, the team was intentional about making Long Story Short look and feel like its own project, not a continuation or spinoff of previous work. “We wanted to be deliberate that it felt different… that it could not be mistaken for a BoJack spinoff,” he explained. Those threads also extend to other shows he’s been involved with since Bojack, such as Undone for Prime Video and Netflix’s Tuca & Bertie. “You’ll see threads that feel familiar. It’s unmistakably me. It’s unmistakably Lisa. And it’s unmistakably all the people who worked on it.”
Raphael Bob-Waksberg – Long Story Short Showrunner, Writer & Executive Producer with conversation moderator, Perrine Quennesson
Legacy of Bojack Horseman
Bojack Horseman was very much central to the conversation beyond promoting Long Story Short. If you can believe it, the final season of the show premiered on Netflix over five and a half years ago.
Reflecting on the initial pitch of the show, Bob-Waksberg said, elaborate visuals or a bulletproof premise didn’t drive the original pitch for BoJack but rather many individual ideas coming together.
Instead, it began with Bob-Waksberg’s longtime friend and illustrator Lisa Hanawalt and her blog full of animal people. “She’d been almost compulsively just drawing these animal people and posting them on her blog,” he recalled before jokingly adding, “And I thought, I’m going to use this for my profit.”
He also reflected on his own living situation at the time and how that played an influence. “I was living in this house… looking over the glittering city of Los Angeles, and feeling quite literally on top of the world—or the third highest top of the world—but also never more isolated and alone. And that kind of dichotomy I found was interesting. That’s kind of where I started thinking about a character who lived in a house like this… had every success you could possibly want, but still couldn’t find a way to be happy.”
When Raphael Bob-Waksberg pitched BoJack Horseman to Netflix, he did something very intentional: “I really think about what Netflix is doing, what makes a good Netflix show, what are they interested in.” At the time, Netflix had just begun creating original programming. “I think we were maybe the seventh show Netflix had made,” he said. So Bob-Waksberg studied what made those early shows work, like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Arrested Development.
What stood out to him was the way viewers consumed them: “When you watch something on Netflix, you watch it in order. That was different than TV had existed for the first 60, 70 years.” With that in mind, he pitched BoJack as a show designed to evolve, which seems like a trivial assessment right now, but it was a brave new world when Netflix first came onto the scene. “Unlike a lot of animated TV shows in America, this show is going to change. And by the end of the season, it’s going to be different than what you thought it was at the beginning.” He walked them through the full arc, “I pitched through the whole season… all the way to 12. I said we’re going to end with BoJack at the Griffith Observatory. He’s gotten everything he thought he wanted, and he’s more isolated than he’s ever been. And we did that.”
Netflix ordered the show and never looked back.
Picture: Netflix
When asked about the legacy of BoJack Horseman, Raphael Bob-Waksberg responded with humility, “People sometimes go, ‘Oh, BoJack, what a legacy.’ And I go, ‘Really? What is it?’ I don’t know.” He reflected on how the show fit into the landscape of American adult animation and the way it pushed boundaries, “We stuck our elbows out a little bit. We had a little more space.” He also talked about who animation is typically made for and how BoJack challenged that: “Adult animation on TV… It’s The Simpsons, it’s South Park, it’s Family Guy, it’s Archer. Great shows. But more towards men.” With BoJack, he hoped to shift that balance: “So I think part of my goal and duty is to make stuff that might widen that audience a little bit.”
In addition to the conversation as outlined above, the audience was also treated to the first full episode of Long Story Short ahead of its premiere in August. The episode received plenty of laughs throughout from the audience and a big cheer at the end, thanks to a reveal regarding the time jumps alluded to above. I quite enjoyed the first episode, although I wouldn’t say I’m hooked just yet. The series is certainly a significant departure from BoJack, and it relies heavily on the often overlapping and kinetic dialogue and dynamic of the family, each member of which has their own unique voice and personality. The mother, in particular, drew the most laughs from the audience.
Picture: Netflix
Are you going to be checking out Long Story Short when it arrives on Netflix on August 22nd? Let us know in the comments down below.
