BoJack Horseman: the show we all know and love. It’s show that makes you laugh, cry, question why you’re here, and loads of more fun stuff. But how did our favorite depressed horse come to be?

In 2010, Raphael Bob Waksberg proposed an idea to his high school friend, Lisa Hanawalt. Waksberg asked, “Hey, do you have a picture of one of your horse guys, by himself? I came up with this idea for a show I’d like to pitch. Tell me what you think: BoJack the Depressed Talking Horse.”

Raphael Bob Waksberg is from California and attended Bard College in New York City, where he joined the sketch comedy group, “Olde English.”

The original idea for BoJack Horseman was the,”story of a guy who’s had every opportunity imaginable, but still can’t find a way to be happy, and what is that about for him?” Waksberg had also considered making BoJack a former racehorse, but ultimately decided to make him an actor.

Bob-Waksberg was also inspired by Lisa Hanawalt’s art featuring hybrid animal and human characters.

The show was pitched to several executives and eventually Netflix signed on to produce the show.  It premiered to generally positive reviews in 2014; the NY Times reviewed it saying, “…this one is hard to describe beyond broad outlines, because it’s so odd, a combination of droll and naughty that seems improbable but works deliciously.”

By 2017, the show had cultivated a cult following and even now, four years after the show ended, it still ranks as the #12 most watched show on Netflix.

For a more complete oral history about how this spectacularly unique fan favorite show got made, check out the Rotten Tomatoes series below:

References

How BoJack Horseman Got Made (Vulture 2018)