Why was BoJack Horseman canceled?

Buckle up, folks! We’re here to talk about BoJack Horseman. 

I binged BoJack Horseman during college, and it quickly replaced Bob’s Burgers as my go-to show to watch when I was stressed or had a lot of mindless work to do. The animated series is raucously funny, deeply tragic, and wonderfully poignant when you’re least expecting it.

Even though the series is a cartoon and firmly rooted in fantasy, BoJack Horseman manages to tackle subjects like depression, drug addiction, sexual assault, fame, racism, and the human condition with frightening realism.

Fans of the critically-acclaimed series will recall that BoJack Horseman was canceled last year. As reported by Business Insider, series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg later confirmed that it was Netflix’s decision to cancel the show. Bob-Waksberg expressed his confusion over the cancellation news and wondered about Netflix’s choice not to renew BoJack for another season.

Here’s what he had to say:

"When we started on ‘BoJack,’ it was understood that the Netflix model was to give shows time to find an audience, and to build that audience, and I remember being told, ‘We expect the biggest day ‘BoJack’ Season 1 is going to have is when we launch ‘BoJack’ Season 2.’ We didn’t get a full two-season pickup, but that was the understanding, that these things take time to build. It was my understanding that that was, at the time, the Netflix model: to give shows time to build. I think it’s a shame that they seem to have moved away from that model."

However, Bob-Waksberg did note that he was glad Netflix gave him a heads up about the cancellation beforehand. He continued:

"I said [to Netflix] I would appreciate it if I could have the forewarning to give the show a proper finale, and not set up some cliffhangers that will never pay off. When [Netflix] picked up season six, they said, ‘Hey, remember how you asked for that heads-up? We think that this is your heads-up.’ So I’m very grateful that we got that notice."

At least Netflix gave the cast and crew ample time to prepare for the series’ conclusion. The sixth and final season of BoJack Horseman, especially the stunning and thought-provoking final few episodes, was spectacularly written.

Even though I’m sad the show is over, I’m happy with the results! All six seasons of BoJack Horseman are currently available to stream on Netflix.