TV Review: BoJack Horseman Season 1
I can honestly say that I never saw a day that I would be writing a review for an adult cartoon. Its not a genre that I've ever frequented. I've all but missed the boat on shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, etc. However after hearing rave reviews for the Netflix original, BoJack Horseman I thought I might as well give it a shot.
I went into BoJack Horseman knowing next to nothing. I came out of the first season of BoJack Horseman floored with how good it ended up being. On its surface BoJack Horseman is a show about BoJack Horseman who starred in a 1980's family sitcom called Horsin' Around. The show had a normal family sitcom run and eventually ended. The Netflix series takes place in present day with BoJack reminiscing on his past successes. He hasn't had any success since his show and much of the first season explores his past fame and him dealing with trying to move on with his life.
You might think that this is just another dumb adult cartoon but its actually quite a bit deeper then that. I can't speak for other shows in the genre but BoJack has a soul. It's a brilliantly written show with some of the most witty banter of any show on television. There are times in the first half dozen episodes that it goes off the rails. But towards the end of the first season the heart of the show starts to really shine through. I'm sure the fact that BoJack is a horse is throwing some people off, I know it did for me. What's sort of ingenious about BoJack Horseman is that it absolutely acknowledges the insanity and doubles down on it. There are human characters interspersed with all sorts of different animals and know one ever seems to care. Think they are trying to say something with that?
I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm really excited to jump back in and get into season 2. I've enjoyed the first season so much that I'm actively petitioning Jenn to re-watch it with me. I think its a show that she (like me) has written off because of the medium in which its conveyed. Either way I'm excited to see where the show goes from here. If you haven't given it a shot and have Netflix I'd give it a very big recommendation.
