Will Arnett has made a career out of playing one horse’s ass after another, but in Netflix's upcoming first original animated series, he’ll play the entire horse. BoJack Horseman, a surreal take on the lives of former celebrities, is set to debut on the streaming site next month, and it now has the above poster to promote its boozing and brooding titular main character. This is perhaps the first professional image I’ve ever seen that uses a horse gut to full effect.
As a piece of marketing, this poster (via Collider) does everything right, giving you all the clues you need to know in order to understand the world of BoJack Horseman. BoJack (Arnett) was the star of the hit 1990s sitcom Horsin’ Around, but has turned into a cynical substance abuser in the years since. He lives his days in his Hollywood Hills home, banging his agent and occasional cat girlfriend Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris) and hanging out with his laidback and ever-present best friend Todd (Aaron Paul). Life should be good, but BoJack’s rampant negativity won’t allow it.
Sounding almost like a terrible Adult Swim premise, BoJack Horseman was created by Olde English comedy troupe member Raphael Bob-Waksberg, who was one of the guys behind the fairly interesting The Exquisite Corpse Project. The show is executive produced by Arnett and Paul, among others, and also features in its cast Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins and a handful of comedy-friendly guest stars. Luckily, Collider also included a few extensive character descriptions to give us a better idea of who these guys are playing. Not that BoJack Horseman looks like a series where you need to know the details to get the jokes. (Unlike Arnett’s other Netflix venture, Arrested Development.)
We’re pretty aware that BoJack is a neuroses-laden madman, and Todd will be almost the exact opposite. He’s the kind of guy who falls ass backwards into weird situations and still manages to get out of them without harm. Princess Carolyn prides herself on keeping her professional and personal lives separate, but still manages to end up in bed with BoJack despite his heinous attitude about life. Anywhere else, she might seem like the weird one, but when compared to the rest of these guys, she’s normal.
Brie plays the brainy Diane, a human hired to help BoJack write his memoir. She never really meant to end up in entertainment writing, instead hoping for a classier version of literary fame. And then there’s Tompkins’ Mr. Peanutbutter, a golden retriever who starred in the sitcom Mr. Peanutbutter’s House and retained his oblivious sense of positivity. His life may not be that much better than BoJack’s but he’s mentally equipped to not bother himself with being downtrodden over his C-list career.
Check out the trailer for BoJack Horseman below.
While I doubt we can expect BoJack to take over Emmy nominations like Orange is the New Black did, we can at least hope to be extremely amused when the animated series hits Netflix in its entirety on Friday, August 22.
