Shows like BoJack Horseman take the idea of absurdist humor and adds a level of real-world pathos and drama. What it created was something not seen before in adult animation. This was a show that could make people laugh and then immediately pull the rug out from under them and have them cringing and often even shedding tears for the characters in the series. BoJack Horseman premiered on Netflix in 2014 with Will Arnett voicing BoJack, a washed-up star from a 1990s sitcom who also happens to be an anthropomorphic horse.
While the series started out showing how BoJack wanted to tell his story and find his way back into the entertainment industry, it got so much darker as time wore on. BoJack had deep issues and the series focused on real-world issues like depression, co-dependency, gaslighting, substance abuse, and suicide. With six seasons and 77 episodes, viewers had a chance to get to know BoJack and understand why so many people hated him, despite him only wanting to be loved. It also was highly influenced by and influenced other shows both in animation and live-action.
15 Tuca & Bertie (2019-2022)
- Stream now on HBO Max
From the mind of BoJack Horseman’s production designer, Lisa Hanawalt, Tuca & Bertie takes place in a very similar world as shows like BoJack Horseman, with it populated by anthropomorphized animals, giving it a strong connection to the prior series. Ali Wong (Always Be My Maybe) and Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) star as the titular duo, a pair of 30-year-old birds, with strong support from The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun and jack-of-all-voices Nicole Byer. Unfortunately, Netflix canceled this series after just one season, but it was revived by Adult Swim.
14 The Office (2005-2013)
- Stream now on Peacock
BoJack Horseman was a very flawed individual who faced those flaws and spent six seasons trying to improve himself. In that sense, he’s a lot like Michael Scott, the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch in the mockumentary series The Office. Like BoJack, Michael has meaningful, if tumultuous relationships with the people around him (his assistant Dwight, his receptionist Pam, his on-off girlfriend Jan), and like BoJack, his shortcomings make him vulnerable. Although the first season made some major missteps in characterizing Michael, the later seasons made him a deeply sympathetic figure.
13 Wilfred (2011-2014)
- Stream now on Hulu
Like shows like BoJack Horseman, Wilfred has a lot of animal-based jokes and a pitch-black sense of humor. In this remake of the Australian TV series, Elijah Wood stars as Ryan, a suicidal ex-lawyer dealing with depression, while Jason Gann co-stars in a dog costume as the titular character - Ryan’s neighbor’s dog. Unlike the original, the American version took the form of a buddy comedy. The series struggled in the ratings, but it was a cult hit that managed to survive for four seasons with a dedicated audience that was fortunate enough to discover it on FX (and later FXX).
12 Fleabag (2016-2019)
- Stream now on Prime Video
Launching Phoebe Waller-Bridge to international acclaim, Fleabag emerged as British TV’s greatest sleeper hit in the past couple of years. Waller-Bridge created the series and stars in the title role. Like BoJack, Fleabag has self-destructive tendencies and is forced by circumstance to face her darkest issues head-on. The series aired two seasons of six episodes each, so it’s a breezy binge that could be done in its entirety in an afternoon – and there’s a lot packed into each of those episodes, similar to shows like BoJack Horseman.
11 30 Rock (2006-2013)
- Stream now on Hulu & Peacock
Shows like BoJack Horseman lampoons the ridiculousness of the Hollywood entertainment industry and delivers a rapid-fire gag rate. For fans who love that aspect of the show, look no further than 30 Rock. Inspired by Tina Fey’s stint as the head writer of Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock revolves around Liz Lemon (Fey), the head writer of an NBC sketch variety show, butting heads with Jack Donaghy, General Electric’s chauvinistic Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming, played by Alec Baldwin.
10 Extras (2005-2007)
- Stream now on Fubo
Satirizing show business is just a small part of what makes shows like BoJack Horseman great. That sort of humor is all over Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s follow-up to the original version of The Office. Extras is a sitcom about a pair of struggling actors who are desperate to get noticed from the backgrounds of movie sets. Each episode has a big star playing a ludicrously exaggerated version of themselves. It’s like all of BoJack’s hilarious Hollywood moments rolled into one. While not as successful as The Office, Ricky Gervais still picked up an Emmy for his performance.
9 Archer (2009- )
- Stream now on Hulu
BoJack Horseman’s title character has the same acidic wit and ice-cold attitude as Sterling Archer, the gentleman spy played by H. Jon Benjamin in this James Bond spoof on FXX. In fact, BoJack creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg acknowledged the influence of Archer on his own series: “The caustic style of Archer was really on my mind when I was first doing BoJack – perhaps too much” (via Rolling Stone). Archer experimented with an anthology series format in later seasons, giving the roles of its characters in a parody of a different genre each year, but it’s still just as sharp and funny as it ever was.
8 Flaked (2016-2017)
- Stream now on Netflix
Flaked is another Netflix original comedy series starring Will Arnett. It’s a live-action series about a self-help guru who has a lot in common with Arnett’s animated role. The joke is that this character is a self-proclaimed self-help master whose life is more of a mess than his clients. The show reunited Arnett with Arrested Development creator Mitchell Hurwitz, who acts as an executive producer here. With two seasons and just 14 episodes, Flaked isn’t much of a commitment, and it’s very entertaining. The critics weren’t too kind to the show and while it might not be as good as shows like BoJack Horseman, it’s amusing enough.
7 Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000- )
- Stream now on HBO Max
Aside from the talking animals, Curb Your Enthusiasm and BoJack Horseman have more or less the same premise. They’re both about a rich Hollywood socialite who used to work on a popular sitcom in the ‘90s and now spends his days making people hate him across Los Angeles. While BoJack has much more drama and genuine interest in its characters, it shares the same satirical target as Curb, and as a result, the two shows also share the same sense of humor. Fans of shows like BoJack Horseman won’t be disappointed.
6 Daria (1997-2002)
- Stream now on Paramount+
Daria is an animated sitcom that works as both a character study and a portrait of ‘90s culture. It’s about a Generation X teen rolling her eyes all the way through high school. It’s the cynical answer to shows like Dawson’s Creek and Beverly Hills 90210, taking those shows’ sentimentality and schmaltz and flipping them on their heads for satire. Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the creator of BoJack Horseman, mentioned Daria as a strong influence on the way the show portrays its characters: “It did a good job of showing that smart people aren’t always right and stupid people aren’t always bad.”
5 Californication (2007-2014)
- Stream now on Showtime
This half-hour dramedy series stars David Duchovny as a New York author who moves to California to deal with a case of writer’s block. He’s a heavy drinker, a drug addict, an entitled celebrity, and a womanizer, and he has a complicated relationship with everyone he knows. It is the exact same as shows like BoJack Horseman. It doesn’t hit as close to home as BoJack, but it is enjoyable, and the lead characters have a lot in common. The show ran for seven seasons, so there’s a lot to chew on for anyone who enjoys binge-watching television.
4 South Park (1997- )
- Stream now on HBO Max
Some of the best episodes of shows like BoJack Horseman handle political issues in a satirical way. The season 2 episode “Hank After Dark” is often referred to as “the Cosby episode,” the season 4 episode “Thoughts and Prayers” is all about the gun control debate, and the whole of season 5 tackles the #MeToo movement. These kinds of episodes are what South Park does best, except they tackle these social issues in real time. Most animated series satirize current events six months after they happen, whereas South Park episodes are written and animated the week they air.
3 Final Space (2018-2021)
- Buy now on Prime Video
Final Space is an animated sci-fi comedy series on TBS about an astronaut named Gary who befriends Mooncake, an incredibly powerful alien that a bunch of bad guys is after. The show has a beautiful blend of comedy and drama, with characters that viewers genuinely care about. While the jokes don’t always land and the humor is often juvenile, the moments of pathos and drama work. There are some moments that will move a person, break their heart, or even make them cry. Final Space, which lasted three seasons, is must-see viewing for any fan of shows like BoJack Horseman.
2 F Is For Family (2015-2021)
- Stream now on Netflix
Much like shows like BoJack Horseman, F is for Family is an animated Netflix original series with characters that feel like real people, gags that never fail to land, and moments that get way too real. Created by standup comic Bill Burr and former Simpsons writer Michael Price, F is for Family follows the trials and tribulations of an all-American nuclear family in the 1970s. Its serialized story arcs mean it can take situations that a show like The Simpsons and Family Guy might have, but give them actual consequences, which is where the drama comes from.
1 Rick And Morty (2013- )
- Stream now on Hulu & HBO Max
If you’re looking for shows like BoJack Horseman that have moments of mind-boggling absurdity and moments that humanize its characters in a brutally honest way, look no further than Rick and Morty. Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s dimension-hopping sci-fi comedy series is virtually unparalleled in terms of storytelling and character development. Every character is set up as a trope, then slowly deconstructed and put back together. The humor in Rick and Morty is a little more improvisational and crude than that of BoJack, but the show as a whole has the same spirit of silliness meeting humanity.