2025/07/24 by Dewald, Eric
#BoJack Horseman #animation #anthropomorphism #depression #television studies
paper · doi:10.6092/issn.2421-454x/19312
Bucking the trend of live-action television, the Netflix production BoJack Horseman (2014–2020) takes a rather unusual approach to its portrayal of mental ill-health. Often described as a "funny show about depression", the animated series about an anthropomorphic horse named BoJack, relies on a colorful drawing style and an ensemble of wondrous characters to lure its audience into "dark places" of mental distress. Over the course of its six-season run, the show has managed to address a wide range of mental health issues, including trauma, depression, and addiction, as well as attempts to treat them. This essay examines, how certain production choices – namely high serialization, animation, and anthropomorphism – can serve dramaturgical purposes in mental TV storytelling. Although the parameters are initially discussed separately, this study also attempts to present initial assumptions about how their aesthetic interplay at the moment of reception may affect the audience’s perception of mental ill-health.