The passing of time has had inverse effects on BoJack Horseman , the character, and “BoJack Horseman,” the show. While the character aged ungracefully as an emotionally stunted, washed-up sitcom star, the show has come to represent a sliding doors moment for TV animation . Premiering as a frontline warrior in Netflix ’s battle to take over the industry, “BoJack” opened up wider possibilities for long-form animated storytelling.
In the same week that “BoJack” celebrates its 10th anniversary, its creator also reaches a landmark. Raphael Bob-Waksberg , talking to IndieWire on the eve of his 40th birthday, reflected on the last 10 years, saying, “When working on other people’s shows and on ‘BoJack,’ I was one of the youngest guys in the room, a young talent, the voice of the young people. Then I went into this hole for seven years and came out of it as one of the old guys.
It’s weird for me to think about, I wasn’t tracking those changes in myself.” Baked into “BoJack Horseman” is a character trying to catch up to his age, a theme explored further due to the advent of streaming. “I wasn’t necessarily thinking about those themes when I started making the show, but it became apparent very quickly that it had to work differently because it was a Netflix show,” Waksberg said.
“If you’re in 1998 and you hear that ‘The Simpsons’ is good, you’re going to tune in for whatever episode is on that week. Because of that, each episode has to be .