BoJack Horseman (character)

BoJack Horseman was born in San Francisco, California, on January 2, 1964. His acting career peaked when he starred in a successful family sitcom called Horsin' Around in the late 1980s and later The BoJack Horseman Show, an edgier, less successful sitcom which was cancelled in 2007 after just one season. Though he began as a young bright-eyed actor, he has since grown bitter, deeply depressed, and jaded towards Hollywood and whom he has become post-fame. BoJack has been shown to be caring and insightful, but his insecurities, loneliness, and desperate need for approval often result in self-destructive actions that devastate those around him. Many of his issues stem from drug abuse, alcohol abuse, horrible decisions he's made throughout his career, and issues with his unhappy parents during childhood, which the audience is shown through flashbacks. During the series, BoJack makes a comeback attempt, trying to act once again.

In season 1, he receives an advance to write a memoir, but after difficulties starting, his publisher hires Diane Nguyen as his ghostwriter.[5] Despite difficulty during the writing process, the book receives positive reviews, and brings BoJack back into the spotlight.

In season 2, he lands the role of Secretariat in a biopic of the famous horse. However, he struggles with the role and with the production in jeopardy, he inadvertently causes Secretariat's director, Kelsey Jannings, to be fired. Overwhelmed, he escapes his troubles to New Mexico where he reconnects with his old friend Charlotte, who now has a husband, Kyle, and two kids, Penny and Trip. Unwilling to return to LA, he stays with Charlotte's family and becomes very close to them, especially Penny, and accompanies her and her friends to her Prom where he gets them all drunk, causing her friend to get alcohol poisoning. Later, Penny makes a pass at BoJack and he rejects her; however, when he then kisses Charlotte and is rejected by her, Charlotte then discovers BoJack in bed with Penny. Charlotte forces BoJack to leave and he reluctantly returns to LA where he discovers the new director finished shooting Secretariat and used a CGI version of BoJack instead.[6][7] The movie is a critical and commercial hit upon its release.

In season 3, Bojack's role in Secretariat earns him an Oscar nomination, though it is later revealed to be a mistake. Subsequently, he and his roommate, Todd Chavez, have a falling out. BoJack then copes by going on a drug-induced bender with his friend and former co-star in Horsin' Around, Sarah Lynn, which results in her death. Despite being hired again to do a sequel show to Horsin' Around, BoJack runs away and nearly attempts suicide.

In season 4, he comes to terms with Sarah Lynn's death after months of avoiding the public eye at his old grandparents' summer house and meets with Hollyhock, a young horse who at first believes BoJack to be her biological father, but is later revealed to be his half-sister as a result of an affair between BoJack's father and his maid. He also deals with his mother suffering from dementia. His mother lives with him after getting kicked out of her nursing home for a while until BoJack put her in a nursing home when he discovered she was spiking Hollyhock's drinks with dangerous weight loss pills. BoJack lands the title role on Philbert, an original detective web-series that streams on WhatTimeIsItRightNow.com.

In season 5, while working on Philbert, BoJack begins dating co-star Gina Cazador. During the show's production, he suffers an onset accident develops an addiction to prescription painkillers. The first season of Philbert becomes a huge success, and production of season 2 begins almost immediately; during this time, however, BoJack's drug problem worsens until one day on set, while heavily under the influence of painkillers, he chokes Gina.[8] Gina doesn't press charges and will continue to work with him, but vows never to speak to BoJack again. Season 5 ends with Philbert getting cancelled and BoJack checking himself into rehab with encouragement from Diane.

In the first half of season 6, he is seen as having been healed significantly as a result of rehab. In the season six episode "The Face of Depression", it is revealed he's been dying his hair black for the last 20 years; the real color of his hair is grey.[9] At the end of this episode, BoJack accepts a role as a drama teacher at Wesleyan University, where Hollyhock is a student, after Raven-Symoné removes herself from consideration.[10] He enjoys this new job and quieter life, forging a deep connection with his students and discovering a newfound love of teaching, though he struggles to connect with Hollyhock, who over her winter break learned about what he did in New Mexico, though she does not directly confront him on this. In the second half of season 6, after a student actors' showcase with Diane, Princess Carolyn, and Todd in attendance, BoJack receives a call from Charlotte telling him that reporters have been pestering her in her home for information about his time in New Mexico and orders him to get rid of him; this gives BoJack an anxiety attack and causes him to come to terms with the fact that details of his past are about to come to light. The following week, Paige Sinclair publishes an article with the Hollywoo Reporter providing all the details of Sarah Lynn's death, revealing to the public for the first time BoJack's involvement in it.

BoJack schedules an interview with Biscuits Braxby to discuss the article, and he is rewarded by the public for his openness and his sincere apology. However, he decides to capitalize on this positive response (and the high ratings that the interview garnered) to schedule a second Braxby interview the following day, but this time she asks much harder-hitting questions about every detail of his life, causing details such as his effect on Sarah Lynn's alcoholism, his sexual relationship with Sarah Lynn, and his having taken teenage Penny to prom to also become public knowledge. The public responds much more poorly to this information and by the next day BoJack is effectively "canceled," losing his job at Wesleyan, his house, and virtually any chance for work in Hollywoo. He also becomes isolated from his friends, as even those who knew what he had done are no longer willing to associate themselves with him, and Hollyhock writes him a letter effectively severing all her ties from him. He forms an unlikely friendship with fellow "canceled" actor Vance Waggoner, who encourages him to embrace his anger and keep working, and together they make a bawdy, low-brow comedy film called The Horny Unicorn.

BoJack is eventually contacted by Angela Diaz, the network executive who in the '90s encouraged him to throw Kazzaz under the bus. She tells BoJack that the network is releasing new versions of Horsin' Around with all his scenes cut, and encourages him to take up drinking again. BoJack gets drunk with her and quickly regresses into his old, bitter self, breaking into his old home where he drinks more, takes more pills, and watches old episodes of Horsin' Around, just as he did at the start of the series. After attempting to contact Diane (and leaving a vindictive, threatening voice mail), BoJack attempts suicide by drowning in his old swimming pool.

The next morning, BoJack's body is found in the pool by the family who now owns the house. While he is initially pronounced dead, that assessment turns out to be false and he wakes up in the hospital some time later handcuffed to his bed. He is sentenced to 14 months in prison for breaking and entering. Roughly a year later, he is released from prison for one day to attend Princess Carolyn's wedding to Judah. Over the course of that one day, he shares a conclusive moment with each of his friends before finally moving on with his life: he shares a drive with Mr. Peanutbutter, who tries to return the D to the Hollywood sign (though he accidentally orders a B, renaming it Hollywoob); he reconnects with Todd at the beach, who tells him that he has turned his life around and assures BoJack that he can too; and he shares a dance with Princess Carolyn, thanking her for what she has done for his life and asking for her to represent him should he try to rejoin show business (she says his future prospects look bright but declines, saying she will recommend some excellent managers when he is released from prison, and he looks content to hear that). Finally, he has a conversation with Diane on the rooftop, who tells him about the voice message he left her before his suicide attempt and tells her that, while she is relieved that he is alive, she is angry that she let him have so much power over her. She tells him that she is grateful for knowing him and for her time in LA because they made her who she is, but that she is ready to leave all that in the past, implying that she does not plan to see or talk to him again, which BoJack accepts. The series ends with BoJack and Diane sharing a quiet moment together under the stars.

Actor Will Arnett, who voices BoJack, stated in an interview with Vanity Fair that he was drawn to playing the character due to his deep character flaws, namely his emotional scarring, and that he believes BoJack is both lovable and unlovable at the same time.[11] Arnett has received praise for his portrayal of BoJack and ability to balance comedy with emotion, especially in the fifth season episode "Free Churro", which consists almost entirely of a eulogy that BoJack delivers for his mother at her funeral.[12]

• List of BoJack Horseman characters
• List of fictional horses

• BoJack Horseman on Twitter