Critic Reviews

BoJack Horseman is somehow one of TV's funniest comedies and most affecting dramas all in one weird, addictive little package.

Netflix's BoJack Horseman has found its footing beautifully in season two, earning the title of not just the streaming service's best show, but of one of television's best shows.

There’s a precision in the show’s expansion, a sense that the creative team wants to explore every corner of their comedy world--and every corner of the character’s psyches. Season 3 builds to one of the funniest, weirdest, and most profound moments I’ve ever seen in a television show--and that’s before the season finale.

Many Season 3 episodes are definable in simple terms (“the one where BoJack goes on a press tour,” “the one where BoJack fights with Princess Caroline,” “the flashback episode”). They actually function as stand-alone on a level that you honestly don’t see too often. This leads to some jaw-dropping installments, which iris in on character on levels that range from hilarious to heartbreaking.

Netflix's BoJack Horseman evolved from frothy talking-animal Hollywood satire to character-rich treatise on depression in its first season, deepened and darkened into one of TV's best shows in its second season and gallops into its third season with a profound confidence.

By the end of the season, we know these characters, and this show, far better than ever before. BoJack’s signature tropes--the background visual jokes, the animal puns, the brutal moments of sadness--remain reliably consistent, but turns the focus largely inward, ensuring that some of the more outlandish plots support and highlight the more emotional storylines.

It’s still one of the best shows on television.

As extraordinary as the voice cast might be, it’s the quality of the storytelling which keeps our fascination. Even in the episodes which revel in delightful full-fledged farce, there is such depth of feeling to BoJack, such investment in its message. But the show’s beating heart also still somehow manages to stay engaged with its big ideas.

This season of BoJack Horseman isn't all ennui and agony. It's also slathered with sex jokes and groan-inducing euphemisms, unrepentantly childish and deftly delivered. ... The show's animation has become increasingly complex and detailed with each new season.

BoJack Horseman, six seasons in, is more clever, intelligent, and multilayered than 95 percent of comedies on television or any other platform. Its protagonist and other principal characters may still be in need of self-improvement, but the show in which they appear remains about as good as it gets.