‘BoJack Horseman’ Boss Talks Election Affecting Seasons 4 and 5

Netflix’s BoJack Horseman has evolved over three seasons into a potent meditation on fame and depression, but one wonders how long the animated series will sustain its celebrity bubble. Showrunner Raphael Bob-Waksberg ponders the same, suggesting after America’s 2016 election “there are real, real problems that we need to talk about.”

A wide-ranging conversation with IndieWire saw Bob-Waksberg acknowledging that BoJack Horseman Season 4 had largely been written before 2016’s November election of Donald Trump, though a potential fifth season might pivot to reflect more real-world issues through BoJack’s Hollywood lens. Bob-Waksberg likened Season 4 to movies produced before the context-reshaping September 11th, teasing of future scripts:

I do feel gradually over the last eight years we’ve kind of allowed ourselves in the art we make to kind of slip back into that kind of comfort. I think “BoJack” is definitely very much about kind of the burdens of being comfortable. I don’t know if those are the kinds of stories we’re going to be as interested in moving forward. I know I’m certainly less interested in exploring the small hypocrisies of rich liberals. You know what I mean? I’m not in the mood to poke fun at those kinds of people when there are real, real problems that we need to talk about.

I mean, the season that we were writing was already far enough along that it didn’t really change anything we were doing. Should we be so lucky to get a Season 5, moving forward the show would almost have to change a little to meet the times. I do think that other shows you’re going to see, moving forward, you are going to start to see a little sharpening of that perspective. What kind of stories do we want to be telling right now? Is this the best use of any of our time?

The showrunner admitted his feelings might change within the span of a few months, though Season 4 at least has its own specific focus with regard to BoJack’s journey:

I will say that a big thing I was thinking about a lot over the course of the season, which I’m still thinking about obviously, is about stories and the purpose of stories and the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we tell other people. What value do they have?

BoJack Horseman Season 4 has yet to claim an official date within 2017, but how might it, and other Hollywood shows pivot to reflect a post-election world? Could BoJack himself end up running for office as a parable?