It’s fair to say that Bojack Horseman was one of the more surprising hits among last year’s new programming. A dark animated comedy featuring Will Arnett as an out-of-work sitcom actor who also happens to be an anthropomorphised horse, the show launched on Netflix with relatively little fanfare. But as word of mouth spread, Bojack Horseman found an audience of loyal fans, spawning a Christmas special and now a second series. The end of Bojack’s first season saw its eponymous lead’s life turned upside-down as he was confronted by all of his failings in black and white thanks to the release of his ‘autobiography’ (Written, of course, by ghost-writer Diane – played here again by Alison Brie) and then offered the lead role in a new biopic charting the career of his childhood hero. It would have been easy at this point for series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg to deal with and wrap up these plotlines within the first episode and return to the status quo, but instead both elements loom large throughout the series. It’s a move that profoundly changes, and adds further emotional depth to, the main character, as he starts battling his natural instincts in an effort to become a better Horseman. Rest assured, however, that he doesn’t always succeed. Aaron Paul’s Todd returns as the perpetual hanger-on in Bojack’s life, and though he gets some highly amusing B-plots, including opening his own theme park, there’s a feeling that he’s in some ways peripheral to the series at the moment. However, the show seems acutely aware of this, and it’s likely that the latter half of the season will see him trying to deal with the problem. In its second year, Bojack Horseman continues to attract some fantastic guest stars, with returning actors such as Patton Oswalt, Stephen Colbert and Olivia Wilde joined by the likes of George Takei, Joel McHale and Henry Winkler. But by far the biggest addition is Lisa Kudrow as Bojack’s new love interest, an owl called Wanda. Kudrow is excellent as the (literally) wide-eyed innocent, who adds a much-needed optimism to proceedings and counter-balances the moody Bojack perfectly. Season two of Bojack Horseman is unlikely to win over viewers who didn’t enjoy the first batch of episodes; the characters are still flawed, selfish and tinged with darkness. But for those who enjoyed the first season for that very reason, the new run is deeper, richer and – dare we say it – even funnier than before. BoJack Horseman season two is available now on Netflix. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
