BoJack Horseman: The Art Before the Horse by Chris McDonnell
There are some television shows that just arrive on your screen feeling like they were custom designed for your eyeballs. The first time I watched The League of Gentlemen, I had the eerie feeling that someone had been listening in on some of the late night conversations I used to have with my friends after a few drinks. When Futurama appeared, it was like someone had picked up on the fact a few of us had been saying we needed some new, decent sci fi comedy in our lives. And I know at least one friend of mine who’s convinced Sam Raimi had tapped his phone after watching the first episode of Ash vs Evil Dead.
In the early days of the streaming wars, when it was more about streamers vs normal TV than streamers vs streamers or streamers vs fans or a streamer vs itself (it’s been a long and complicated war), I didn’t jump straight onboard. To be honest, looking back now, I’m not even entirely sure what made me start thinking about subscribing to Netflix. It might’ve been Better Call Saul. Or maybe that strange, slightly clunky third series of Arrested Development. That was definitely one of the first things we started watching. BoJack Horseman was already on there, I think. Sam wasn’t too bothered about giving it a go, but I was intrigued. I love to see Hollywood take a bite out of its own tail every so often. Plus, the cast list looked dependably entertaining (now there’s a review I’m betting they’re sorry they never got on a poster).
Over the next few years, the show blew me away. I did not expect it to go to the dark, honest, crushing places it began to explore. The humour helped. The wild, explosive, surreal satire that runs through the veins of BoJack is addictive as hell once you get a taste for it. Although, it can bleed into your real life far too easily. I swear I saw an advert for a show the other day that looked worryingly like Philbert.
Since finishing the final series a few years ago, I’ve been meaning to go back and watch it again. Only, you know, there’s only so much time and there’s always new stuff to add to your watchlist. Until, of course, suddenly there wasn’t a guarantee that any show was going to stay on Netflix. Not even the shows or films they made. What the hell happened to His House anyway?!
In recent months, Netflix has started jettisoning some of its own material, as well as cancelling some shows people really weren’t ready to say goodbye to yet. Mindhunter (sob). 1899 (baffled sob). Lockwood and Co (raised fist holding sword and sobbing).
The thought that I might not get another chance to watch BoJack made me drop a few shows I’d been meaning to start and head back to the Hollywoo hills. As I really got back into the show, and quietly prayed to the TV gods that it wasn’t going anywhere, I found that a chap called Chris McDonnell had written a book on the making of the first four seasons of the show.
Once I had the appropriate funds, I snapped it up and started reading. If you’re a fan of Mr Horseman’s world then, my friends, it’s well worth a look. First of all, it’s one of those lovely art books. In other words, tricky to hold comfortably, but full of gorgeous artwork. You get to see the early strips of the co-creators. Pages of storyboards, art tests, character designs. There are also pages of original script, where the writers have shared just how much they will take an episode apart and put it back together to get every joke to land.
As you work through the book, you also get all manner of fascinating insights and interviews with people who’ve worked on all aspects of BoJack. You get taken through how the show was first pitched, the early episode ideas (including a couple that I wish they’d make – oh, god, the baseball team episode is going to haunt me all my days). You find out how the animation has changed, how the style of the characters is controlled to keep the show’s aesthetic inline. You learn just how much the writers will interrogate their plans, making sure they never fail the characters they’re building season to season. It really does open your eyes to just how much goes into a show that a lot of people just wrote off as something to do with that guy who kept appearing in photos in a horse mask.
Whether you’re planning a trip back down BoJack lane or if you just want to get a chance to see inside the workings of the show, then this is very much the book for you. If you’re rich enough, maybe you can read it whilst floating across your own swimming pool. It would be very on brand. If not, then why not rent yourself a copy of Secretariat, check your seahorse baby won’t be involved in any factory explosions, and clear away some time to spend some time with the minds that gave your BoJack’s weird, heartfelt, hilarious journey.