All things come to an end, even critically acclaimed adult-oriented animated comedies, as the first trailer for the final season of BoJack Horseman proves. The series began life as a biting satire of Hollywood excess and superficiality, as told through the lens of an anthropomorphized horse and washed-up actor named BoJack with the voice of Will Arnett. Over the course of the first season, creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg gradually revealed his series to be about so much more, like substance abuse, depression, and childhood trauma, making it one of the gems in Netflix’s streaming crown.
BoJack Horseman has been a staple for Netflix for sometime now, particularly because of its ability to tackle topical subject matter and more personal stories, and also because it is a rare example of a TV show that gets better with each subsequent season. Not only has the series demonstrated a knack for telling stories that walk a fine line between funny and sad, but it’s also shown a remarkable willingness for experimentation. Case in point: the season 3 episode ‘Fish Out of Water’ — otherwise known as “the silent episode” — or season 4’s dementia episode ‘Time’s Arrow.’ Then there is the brilliant season 5 episode ‘Free Churro,’ which was done as a single eulogy delivered by the show’s titular horseman.
The series is full of surprises and the first trailer for what will be its final season continues that trend by teasing the possibility of a new BoJack, one who reaches a turning point by finding sobriety through rehab. Of course, BoJack has to poke fun at his new outlook on life, reiterating to Diane (Alison Brie) that going through rehab is no fun at all, but at least he’s decided that there’s more to life than resigning oneself to being miserable all the time. Check out the trailer for BoJack Horseman season 6 below:
It’s interesting to see that Netflix is breaking the final season up into two installments, similar to what AMC did with both Breaking Bad and Mad Men. While it probably won’t have too much of an impact on how the show is received, given than most people watch it at their own pace, the separation between parts 1 and 2 will certainly make a difference as far as storytelling is concerned. Though the series’ isn’t exactly known for its cliffhangers, it’s a good bet that BoJack will leave part 1 on a note that will have audiences eager to check back in come 2020.
With Bob-Waksberg collaborating with Kate Purdy on Amazon’s Undone and the animated comedy Tuca and Bertie, which he executive produced along with creator Lisa Hanawalt, canceled by Netflix, it’s now time to ponder what BoJack’s creator will do next, and which service will host the project.
BoJack Horseman season 6, part 1 streams exclusively on Netflix beginning Friday, October 25.