Bojack Horseman Creator Reveals What Was “the Beginning of the End” With Netflix Partnership

It’s been three years since BoJack Horseman came to an end, and the series was one of Netflix’s earliest successes. Throughout its six seasons, the animated show was nominated for three Emmys and took home other awards. BoJack Horseman followed the washed-up star of an ’80s and 90s sitcom called Horsin’ Around. The series featured the voices of Will Arnett, Aaron Paul, Alison Brie, Amy Sedaris, Paul F. Tompkins, and much more. Recently, series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg spoke with The New Yorker about his time with Netflix and shared the moment he realized the partnership was coming to an end. Of course, these days it’s a lot harder for a show to last six seasons on the streaming site. In fact, Bob-Waksberg produced Lisa Hanawalt’s Tuca & Bertie, but Netflix canceled it after one season.

“I had Netflix team pride,” Bob-Waksberg shared. “I cannot imagine another time or place where BoJack got the acclaim and number of seasons that it did.” He went on to explain that he eventually noticed that Netflix was auto-skipping the show’s credits and when he objected, an executive told him that it helped viewers get through the episodes. Bob-Waksberg joked that they might as well eliminate Princess Carolyn’s (Sedaris) storyline and the executive replied, “Who is Princess Carolyn?” Bob-Waksberg explained, “That’s when I knew it was the beginning of the end.”

What Happened to Tuca & Bertie?

After Tuca & Bertie was canceled by Netflix, Adult Swim saved the series. Sadly, the network canceled the show again following its third season. Hanawalt took to Twitter in November to break the news to fans. “Tuca & Bertie has sadly been cancelled. To all our fans – we love you and can’t thank you enough for your support over the years. Please never stop making weird fan art (and dressing up as the characters for Halloween!), it brings me endless joy.” 

She continued, “Working with Adult Swim was very creatively fulfilling, our execs were all smart and thoughtful, and I’m grateful that we got the space to make all these wild and heartfelt episodes about things that matter to me very much. I’m so proud of the work done by all my talented coworkers and collaborators on this show. Please watch the end credits and take note of all of these names in the cast and crew. I’m also very glad we were able to be covered by both The Animation Guild and the Writers Guild of America. I hope any show creators who have the leverage to fight for unionizing their productions will continue to do so.”

What do you think about Bob-Waksberg’s story about Netflix and BoJack Horseman? Tell us in the comments.