While much of the Netflix spotlight has been dominated by “House of Cards” and “Making a Murderer,” “Bojack Horseman” has become one of the most surprising hits of the streaming era. On the surface, it’s an absurdist parody of Hollywood and showbiz politics, where human and furries live, work and have sex with each other. But it has also become an uncomfortably realistic depiction of depression and self-destructive behavior, told through the eyes of a millionaire star who doesn’t know what would make him happy.
That star is the titular BoJack Horseman, once the star of an awful but wildly popular sitcom called “Horsin’ Around.” Since his hey (or hay?) day passed, BoJack has jumped from vice to vice, including sleeping with the actress who played his daughter. He’s desperately searching for something that will make him feel fulfilled, but nothing sticks. All the while, he destroys what few relationships he has with his behavior.
In Season 1, BoJack releases a memoir that reveals the dark side his fans haven’t seen. The book earns him adulation, but BoJack still isn’t satisfied because the public isn’t embracing the image he wants them to have. In Season 2, he lands a role as the champion racehorse Secretariat, but due to his unreliable nature and his inability to do dramatic acting thanks to years of sitcom work, most of BoJack’s work is replaced with a CGI version of himself.
Nonetheless, critics are fooled into thinking the computerized BoJack’s acting is done by the real thing. In Season 3, BoJack becomes a top contender at the Oscars, but struggles to deal with the awards circuit as his downward spiral continues.
Opposite BoJack is Mr. Peanutbutter, a golden retriever who got famous by doing a sitcom that was a blatant ripoff of “Horsin’ Around.” In Season 1, it seems like Mr. PB has everything Bojack doesn’t. He’s happy, loved by all, and has a positive outlook on life. But in Season 2, the dog’s glowing image that BoJack so bitterly resents gets chipped away.
As BoJack remains stuck in depression despite a huge career rebound, Mr. PB tries to stay positive as he falls into bankruptcy after following one stupid business idea after another. Those who live with him on a day-to-day basis find his happy-go-lucky personality grating and insensitive, and his marriage is going through a tough period.
Mr. Peanutbutter’s wife is Diane Nguyen, a human writer who ghostwrites BoJack’s memoir. She is by far the most patient and mature character, which allows her to put up with BoJack’s irascible attitude and PB’s ditzy behavior. Still, she struggles to turn her desires for social activism into meaningful good.
While she truly loves Mr. Peanutbutter, Diane spends Season 2 feeling troubled that her marriage is locking her into a cycle of routine that is preventing her from doing something meaningful with her life. Mr. PB, being a happy dopey dog, doesn’t seem to get this, causing them to spend some time apart, until they realize that whatever problems they may have they are still happiest when they are together.
While Diane is a friendly, gentle figure in BoJack’s life, his ex-girlfriend/agent Princess Carolyn is a tough kitty. She puts her entire life into her work and has become one of the hardest working agents in Hollywoo, but wonders if there’s more to life outside the office that she’s missing. This leads her to impulsively start relationships that never work out.
Take for example, her decision to finally leave her agency and start one of her own with the rabbit Rutabaga Rabbinowitz. In the Season 2 finale, Carolyn discovers that the rabbit had lied to her about divorcing his wife, and that he had been using her as a disposable interest and a tool to advance his own career. Furious, Carolyn fires Rutabaga on the spot, leading into Season 3 as she tries to run an entire talent agency on her own.
Finally, there’s Todd Chavez, BoJack’s slacker roommate. Despite being a lazy bum, he proves to have many talents over the course of the series, including entrepreneurial skills, songwriting and TV production. Unfortunately, every cool idea he comes up with always ends in disaster, often due to his sudden bouts of stupidity. As the series goes on, he begins to wonder if he really is as worthless as the world tells him he is.
While Carolyn, Diane and even Mr. Peanutbutter have reached a breaking point with BoJack and called him out for being a colossal jerk, Todd remains his closest friend. He puts up with BoJack’s insults and constant demands to “clean up your s–t,” and deep down BoJack knows that he can’t bear hanging around his mansion without him. Will BoJack finally cause Todd to hit his breaking point in Season 3?
