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"BoJack Horseman" follows the life of an actor who's also a horse.
Do I have to do this again?
Netflix's "BoJack Horseman" is the best comedy on television. This was true in its first season, and its especially true in its third season.
The animated show centers around BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett), an aging '90s sitcom star who drinks his way through most of his days. He also happens to be a talking horse living in a world where talking animals and humans coexist.
BoJack has been planning his comeback for a long time. In season one, he wrote a memoir. In season two, he starred in a biopic about Secretariat. And now, he's trying to win an Oscar.
If you're not watching "BoJack Horseman," this is what you're missing:
This isn't like any other show about talking animals.
Anthropomorphic animal shows have existed in the past, so what "BoJack" is doing isn't exactly groundbreaking. However, "BoJack Horseman" takes the idea to a new level.
The show's animals are very human but with all their animal instincts. For instance, Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins), a yellow lab, still chases after the mailman, albeit from the comfort of his convertible. You can have a spider who's a fixture in the New York theater scene, but still has eight arms. It humanizes these anthropomorphic creatures, who coexist alongside humans.
It's a Hollywood satire that doesn't require you to know anything about Hollywood to enjoy.
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In season three, BoJack tries to win an Oscar.
While the first two seasons saw BoJack on and off various movie and TV sets, the new season sees him on the campaign trail as he attempts to win an Oscar.
With that, the show provides a near perfect campaign of awards season and the sheer amount of awards that mean absolutely nothing. It also helps when the main character is questioning whether anything in life has any meaning about every few seconds.
But you don't have to be an avid reader of the trades to follow the satire. It uses Hollywood to explore way more interesting ideas.
In what might be the show's best episode, BoJack attends an awards show in a city undersea. The entire episode is basically silent, and feels like nothing you've ever seen before. It uses Hollywood as a way to tell a story about a horse who can never quite be happy, despite all his success. The fact that it also perfectly skewers show business is a nice bonus.
It's the saddest show, the funniest show, and the most detailed show.
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The world is inhabited by animals who act like people.
If you've heard anything about this show, then you've probably heard that it tackles depression head on.
In season three, it continues its exploration of the topic, finding new, interesting, and sad ways to explore BoJack's inner life. It's the deepest cartoon you'll ever watch.
But also, this show is flat out funny. And the most recent string of episodes prove how uniquely hilarious this show is. Unlike most animated shows, this is one you have to watch from the beginning. It's rife with callbacks and layered in-jokes. Thanks to the work of brilliant production designer Lisa Hanawalt, the background is constantly filled with subtle jokes. The jokes are so frequent and so fast that you'll have to pause and rewind. Luckily, you're watching this on Netflix.
A high point in the show this season occurred during a flashback episode set in 2007, filled with hilariously specific references. There's about five or six jokes in this one frame alone:
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The show is filled with background gags.
It's impossible to overstate how much you'll get out of watching this show.
Some comedies, like "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," started out as a network sitcom and then were brought over to Netflix. That show has taken some time to adjust.
Meanwhile, "BoJack Horseman" is one of the first shows made specifically for streaming that takes full advantage of it. It's waiting for you to binge watch it, perhaps over the course of the next few hours.