Chrisicisms
6.) BoJack Horseman
Once again, one of the deepest shows on television is a cartoon about a talking horse. In its third season, “BoJack Horseman” found new ways to explore existential despair with humor and insight, delivering its most ambitious, funny and bleak season yet. BoJack (Will Arnett) starts off riding Oscar buzz for his work in “Secretariat,” but over the course of the season, he finds that awards won’t bring happiness.
“BoJack” so ably tackled the topics of depression and addiction in the past that I was worried a third season of it might feel repetitive. But the show’s writers find new ways to disillusion their hero, approaching it from new angles and giving it surprising heft. The show continues to have one of the deepest benches of supporting characters, and in particular Todd (Aaron Paul), Princess Caroline (Amy Sedaris) and even Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins) have their own complex journeys to take. But the show is not just a slog. It finds fantastic uses for its guest stars, including Angela Bassett, Weird Al Yankovic, Jessica Biel, Candice Bergen, Fred Savage, Greg Kinnear and more. It’s an ambitious show, and a nearly wordless episode where BoJack visits and undersea film festival is one of funniest and most innovative episodes of anything all year. And it ladels on giant laughs along with the angst; no show is as good with a pun as “BoJack Horseman.” It’s a funny, absurd, animated take on Ecclesiastes, and I absolutely love it.
“BoJack Horseman” is streaming on Netflix.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In