Long ago, whenever vulgarities were becoming culturally acceptable, the term "dick move" was coined. Urban Dictionary defines the phrase as the violation of an understood social expectation, particularly between two males. By now, though, we’ve moved past gender association when it comes to the word "dick" when used as an insult. Anyone can be a dick, and thus anyone — or anything — can execute a dick move. These violators did so on television this year. They violated an understood expectation between two characters within the show, the writers and audience watching at home, or both simultaneously.

Below, we will explain in further detail why each of these TV programs deserves to be chastised for their 2015 actions. But for now, just know that they are all the biggest dicks of the year.

[Editor’s Note: Spoilers for the 2015 TV season are listed below. We’ve done our best to keep them out of the headlines, but ultra wary watchers should still be mindful they exist.]

READ MORE: The 25 Best TV Episodes of 2015

Ensemble "Big Swingin’ Dick" Award: "True Detective"

Let’s be frank: "True Detective" Season 2 is like a black mark on the otherwise clean, white canvas of the 2015 TV season. Whether you hated it — as so many of us did — or somehow found its consistent failure to entertain, let alone make sense, pleasurable, discussing "True Detective" in 2015 was an invitation for disaster. No matter who you were speaking with, opinions varied wildly on what exactly was wrong with it and what few things it was doing well.

One thing we can all pretty much agree on, though, is that the stars of Season 2 were pretty horrible people. Starting with Colin Farrell’s Ray Velcoro and his emotionally abusive relationship with his son and working your way down the line to the actual villains, just about every person did something awful during the eight-episode season. (Even Ani, our favorite, nearly broke up her partner’s marriage.) But moreover, because the series was riding such an unstoppable tidal wave of devotion built off Season 1, we had to keep talking about "True Detective" long after we knew it was beyond redemption. That would be the biggest dick move of them all, had some people not fallen for Ray’s fake death drama stunt to end Episode 2. 

Runner-up: "The Affair"

14. "The Leftovers" Renewed for Its Final Season

Far be it from us to complain about anything related to "The Leftovers," but HBO and Damon Lindelof’s decision to both renew and cancel the show in one fell swoop still feels wrong. After months of speculation regarding the future of the much-heralded drama, an announcement finally came days after the Season 2 finale. "The Leftovers" Season 3 was happening! Hooray! It’s not over! …until it is. The same season everyone was looking forward to is also the season everyone was dreading: Season 3 is the last season of "The Leftovers." While learning that now is better than being told this time next year, knowing the best series on television won’t live past its junior year is still a tough pill to swallow (especially after "Hannibal" suffered the same fate in 2015).

13. "Fargo" Never Identifies the UFOs

By now we all know "Fargo" isn’t actually based on a true story, so some leeway in terms of believability is a given. That beings said, Noah Hawley has done such a fine job grounding his first two seasons in realism — both to the geographic locations being depicted and the characters living in them — that such an odd intrusion as aliens demands some sort of justification. Yes, the Coen brothers have incorporated similar otherworldly themes in films like "The Man Who Wasn’t There," but context is key for an element as extreme as this one. The existing story has to justify such an inclusion, not merely referencing a (rather obscure) separate movie. It would be one thing if the UFOs’ validity was questionable, but Season 2 saw one major scene in which multiple characters noticed the spacecraft and doing so changed the outcome of the story. Considering belief in aliens isn’t quite on the same level of presumed acceptance as, say, a mafia based out of Kansas City, the lack of explanation irked a few viewers — especially considering their ultimate impact on "Fargo."

12. "Bloodline" Turns Coach Into a Killer

Anyone going into "Bloodline" expecting Kyle Chandler to reprise Coach Taylor’s kind and generous spirit was in for a rude awakening. The Netflix drama established Chandler’s John Rayburn as a bad boy from the start, quickly upending any connections to the "Friday Night Lights" father, but it wasn’t until late in the season that we learned just how dark John’s truth looked. Watching Chandler play someone who could attack, strangle and drown his own brother was jarring to say the least. Clear eyes and a full heart aren’t part of John’s anatomy.

11. "Ash vs. Evil Dead" Should’ve Never Happened

Don’t get us wrong: We’re in love with the new Starz series and are so, so happy to see Ash back in action. That being said, the new wave of Deadites stirring up trouble would’ve never come to life had our star not been thinking with his dick. Ash started this whole mess by reading from the Necronomicon in a misguided effort to impress his date. Thinking if she was impressed with poetry than she’d just start ripping off her clothes for what’s inside the Book of the Dead, Ash read the text that brought to life all of Earth’s evils. And all for a one-night stand. Way to go, Ash. Thanks a lot.

10. "Veep" Takes It Out on Dan

The first few weeks of the Meyer presidency didn’t go all that well, and that was before the press found out about data leak that targeted bereaved parents. Their first issue was dealing with the person responsible for going on national television and identifying a young girl who was HIV-positive, thus exposing her to the wrath of her worried and ignorant immediate community, as well as the world around her. Though Ben (Kevin Dunn) initially volunteered to fall on the sword, it turned out Dan (Reid Scott) was the one to get the boot — even though he had nothing to do with the blunder. "It’s a fickle world, and you’ve just been ficked," a less-than-sympathetic Ben told the young White House staffer. Considering how much assholery goes on in D.C. (and "Veep," specifically), this is a relatively minor dick move. Still, we like Dan, and the Meyer administration shouldn’t be let off the hook for its many, many transgressions in 2015. 

9. Pam Befouls the Elevator on "Archer" 

To be fair, no one in the "Archer" crew handled themselves well when trapped in an elevator (save for Archer destroying Cyril’s "literally good for nothing" sweater vest), but Pam has to take the cake for worst prisoner. Just as Lana was setting the ground rules for rationing food among the group, Pam knowingly chugged the "third of a gallon of malt liquor" she carried into work that morning. Not only was it a selfish move for a room full of alcoholics, but it made her have to urinate in a confined space without a bathroom. None of this ended well, but Pam’s efforts (or lack thereof) may have been the worst part of the constricted ordeal (especially for Ray, who had to lay down a very wet floor in his very wet suit).

8. Jeremy’s "UnREAL" Proposal to Rachel

Okay, Jeremy. We get it. A year after freaking out on national television and disappearing from your life, Rachel returned and ruined your life — again. She made you think you two had a future, which lead you to end a healthy relationship with your fiance and led her to have casual sex with the star of "Everlasting." So maybe she deserved to be embarrassed in front of the entire cast and crew of your shared reality show, but doing so by making her think you were about to propose seems a little too cruel. Let’s not forget that you were the one who pushed a borderline sociopath into a committed relationship far too quickly. You were the one who decided to go for it with Rachel after one questionable round of "grief sex." You were the one who made things ultra-serious without checking to see if she wanted that. And finally, you were the one who should’ve known how much work had to go into maintaining a relationship with a person like Rachel. She’s not going to make things easy on you because nothing is ever easy for her — including this dick move of a proposal from the one guy she thought she could trust. 

7. "House of Cards" Comes Crashing Down on Claire

If pushed to pick the moment when Claire and Frank’s relationship fractured, their fight on board Air Force One over gay rights’ activist Michael Korrigan’s protest in a Russian prison seems to be it. Yes, they made up after their vehement verbal rat-a-tat, but nothing seemed to be as it was before Claire’s public takedown of Russian President Petrov put a damper on Frank’s international relations with the country. Moreover, some words you just can’t take back, like when Frank said, "He was a coward, and I’m glad he’s dead," about a man who just gave Claire a "profound moral epiphany." It wasn’t so much what Frank said as what he implied by saying it. He didn’t care about Claire. She wasn’t a priority to him when she had always made him her first priority. Thus, it was fitting when Claire walked out on her husband in the middle of his presidential campaign, ruining his chances at a swift and secure return to highest office, but she certainly wasn’t the dick in that power couple. 

6. Tandy in "The Last Man on Earth" Season 1 and Everyone Else in Season 2

In an interesting and necessary twist, "The Last Man on Earth" Season 1 focused on Tandy’s flaws, while Season 2 switched over to the rest of the survivors. Think about it: In Season 1, we saw Tandy try to sleep with every woman he came into contact with, lie and manipulate his way to the top of the food chain and end up getting banned from the last remaining community on Earth. But in Season 2, Tandy has been working to improve himself while everyone else is up to no good. The man who was given Tandy’s not-so-good name in Season 1 tried to tarnish it even further in Season 2 by abandoning his pregnant girlfriend. Todd was caught hoarding a massive supply of bacon. Heck, even Carol killed a guy…accidentally (R.I.P. Gordon). What it boils down to is that everyone can be a dick — even big dicks sometimes. We all just need friends to set us straight. 

5. "The Affair" Finds Its Villain

If you’ve been keeping up with Indiewire’s episode reviews of "The Affair," then you know there have been quite a few unkind advances peppered throughout Season 2. So many, in fact, the Showtime drama earned our runner-up prize for the Ensemble "Big Swingin’ Dick" Award (see above). With that in mind, instead of choosing a specific moment as the show’s biggest dick move, we’re only going to narrow it down to one person: Noah. Dominic West’s character descended to new lows in 2015, portraying a character that, no matter how you tell the story, is the series’ de facto villain. And in show featuring four main characters who could all fit that archetype without Noah around, that’s really saying something.

4. "American Horror Story: Hotel" Rips Off David Fincher

After seeing "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakes" pay loving homage to its influences while still establishing its own identity, Ryan Murphy’s ugly FX anthology series looks all the worse for stealing from great horror movies without so much as a knowing wink. For anyone who hasn’t watched any of "Hotel," we went over in detail just how nasty the new season can be when "borrowing" from movies like "Se7en" and "The Shining." For those who had the misfortune to visit, Murphy’s thievery is as bluntly obvious as everything else about "American Horror Story" — which is a big part of the problem itself. Nothing is subtle, even when it needs to be.

3. The "Too Much TV" Debate

Thanks to John Landgraf’s pointed speech at FX’s summer TCA panel, much of 2015’s second half was spent discussing the idea of "too much TV." Were a lot of good shows distracting audiences from the truly great programs? Was Landgraf just trying to get people to notice his own slate of unjustly ignored dramas? Is it possible to have too many choices when it comes to entertainment? Maybe, yes and don’t be silly. While the idea of 400-plus original scripted dramas does indicate it’s impossible for any one person to keep up with them all, no one is arguing that to begin with. The greater purpose of "too much TV" is to expand the medium’s reach to groups of people usually ignored by broadcast networks and even basic cable. Diversity in programming has increased along with the series count, meaning more unique stories are vying for a variety of new demographics instead of the same networks fighting over the same audience. Plus, more shows means more TV professionals both in front of and behind the camera, and who in their right mind would complain about an abundance of jobs? Not us, that’s for sure.

2. "Hannibal" Cancelled at NBC, Not Picked Up by Amazon

While it’s hard to blame NBC for cancelling "Hannibal" — it’s a business, after all, and ratings drive its profits — the fallout following the decision certainly felt like a knife in the back to fans of Bryan Fuller’s horror show. The creator’s genuine thanks to NBC for sticking with it as long as it did and optimism for the future so quickly after getting the axe certainly made it seem more likely than not that we’d get to see a fourth season of "Hannibal." But then negotiations stalled. Netflix didn’t want to pick up a property that wasn’t exclusive to the streaming company, and Amazon — which had rights to the first two seasons — balked at the time it would take for Fuller & Co. to produce a new season. Even after Fuller announced his show wouldn’t be moving to Amazon, he remained optimistic it could survive elsewhere. But slowly and steadily, all the pieces fell apart. Though it’s hard to find a specific target for our frustration, holding everyone accountable only seems fair for one of the biggest dick moves of the year.

1. "BoJack Horseman" Escapes Los Angeles, But Not Himself

To be fair, it’s hard to be too mad at a guy — or in this case, a horse — who is a self-proclaimed dick. Self-awareness earns you a little bit of leniency, but what BoJack Horseman did in the penultimate episode of Season 2 went far beyond any latitude we can grant. After being taken in by an old friend’s family in his time of need, BoJack proceeded to turn Charlotte’s good intentions into a horrible mistake as he not only tried to make a move on her, a married woman, but also went after her teenage daughter. BoJack may have been in a dark place, but that kind of pitch-black self-sabotage can only be described in two words — and they’re in the headline of this article.

READ MORE: The Top 10 TV Shows of 2015, According to Indiewire’s TV Team

This is not a Top 10 list. For one thing, as even the numerically challenged will shortly notice, my list of the best TV shows of 2015 has more than ten things on it. For another, the list, which is ordered but not numbered, employs a revolutionary new system I’ve dubbed Dynamic Ranking™, in which entries within a few places of each other may be transposed with no effect on the whole. I like shows near the top more than those near the bottom — although all, of course, at least brush up against greatness from time to time — but it’s foolish to waste time fretting over whether, say, number 5 is better than number 7. (This is maybe the dumbest of all forms of argument.) 

I’ll also own up to the fact that there are many shows on other critics’ lists I haven’t seen, or have seen only a little of. The most glaring omissions, consensus-wise, are "The Leftovers" and "You’re the Worst," both shows that failed to grab me in their first seasons and I lacked the time or motivation to catch up on later.. (Also on my List of Shame: "Review," "Inside Amy Schumer" and most Comedy Central shows; "Rectify"; "Documentary Now!"; "Catastrophe"; anything you love that isn’t mentioned below.) Nearly every critic who’s kept watching says they’ve grown by leaps and bounds since then. ("You’re the Worst," in particular, sounds like it’s moved into much more promising territory.) But like most other TV watchers, professional or not, I’ve grown wary of assurances that this or that show really catches on if you just stick with it. As the New York Times’ James Poniewozik wrote, "There is always someone who will tell you that a Netflix series gets good six or seven episodes in. I have only so many more six-or-seven-hour stretches left in my life." If I had the power to beam a single message into the brains of every TV creator in Hollywood, it would be this: Don’t "get good." Start good. Get better.

You may, if you wish, cut this off after ten entries and call it a Top 10 list: You’ll lose some top-notch shows, but if I had to pick ten, the first ten are the ten I’d pick. But I don’t, so I didn’t. Clear enough?

The 13 Best TV Shows of 2015

"Transparent": Without getting into the tiresome TV vs. movies debate — which is better: knives or spoons? — television’s Achilles’ heel is the stylistic straitjacket imposed by its assembly-line production system. From the stunning four-minute shot that opens its second season, Jill Solloway’s series gives those conventions a loving but mighty shake, employing a fluid visual language more akin to independent films than traditional TV shows. Eschewing the ostentatious mock-greatness of "True Detective" or "Fargo," " Transparent" is deceptively light on its feet, never letting us settle into a comfortable or static relationship to its perpetually screwed-up characters. Having spent the first season getting us more or less on the Pfeffermans’ collective side, Solloway uses the second to dig deeper into their shared pathologies — a show about boundaries challenging its audience to redraw their own.

Read more: Why "Transparent" Season 2 Is Auteur TV

"BoJack Horseman": I wouldn’t have guessed at the beginning of 2015 that a show about a washed-up sitcom star who happens to be a cartoon horse would haunt me more than any other, but Peak TV has allowed many strange flowers to bloom. Like "Transparent," "BoJack" spent much of its second season doubling down on its hero’s least likable qualities, namely his pathological narcissism and morose anhedonia. But it also placed those potentially alienating traits in the context of what, though it was never named as such, became one of the most detailed and empathetic portrayals of clinical depression that either the small or big screen has ever seen. "I want to feel good about myself," BoJack tells his nemesis, the thoroughly mediocre yet perpetually upbeat yellow Lab Mister Peanutbutter. "And I don’t know how. I don’t know if I can." A mirage of past contentedness offhandedly referenced in early episodes grows into an obsession, which the show’s equine hero then demolishes in a grotesque act of self-sabotage. But in hitting rock bottom, he finds a kind of freedom, and a sliver of hope in a closing conversation I’ve thought of dozens of times since. "You have to do it every day." You really do.

"Mad Men"/"Justified": When viewers have years invested in a show, paying off that accumulated expectation can be almost impossible. But both "Mad Men" and, more surprisingly, "Justified" went out at the top of their game, with final seasons and final scenes that retrospectively deepened all that had come before.

Read more: Debating "Mad Men’s" Finale, "Lost Horizon": What Does That Ending Mean?

Read more: "Justfiied’s" Finale Did Just Enough to Be Perfect

"Last Week Tonight With John Oliver": The timetable doesn’t allow for the instant gratification of John Oliver’s former gig, but he’s made his weekly HBO half-hour compulsory viewing, taking on subjects with depth and insight that neither "The Daily Show" nor its straight-news counterparts can (or choose to) match. Part viral #content, part longread, "Last Week" is ingeniously conceived to hit 2015’s culture right where it lives.

"The Americans": True believer Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) starts to question her allegiance to Mother Russia in the FX’s series darkest and most visceral season yet. Nina Sergeevna’s Russian Prison Adventure didn’t go anywhere interesting, and the wrapup to the Martha subplot felt like a failure of nerve, but Lois Smith’s heartbreaking turn as a knowing victim of the Jennings’ cold-blooded spycraft sent a chill through the whole series.

Read more: In a Gruesome Season of "The Americans," a Bloodless Death Is the Most Disturbing of All

"UnReal": TV’s most engrossing hot mess, Shiri Appleby’s Rachel Goldberg is an avowed feminist with an uncanny aptitude for wooing other women to their doom. Co-created by reality TV veteran Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, the show offers a corrosively cynical take on the construction of romantic narratives while both admitting and exploiting their power.

Read more: "UnReal": This Is What Feminist TV Looks Like

"Fresh Off the Boat"/"black-ish": Perhaps if this series about an Asian-American family displaced to the Florida suburbs hadn’t launched in the same year and on the same network as "black-ish," the two shows would be easier to separate, but at least for me, the latter lives slightly in the former’s shadow. "Black-ish" is arguably bolder and unquestionably bigger, but I prefer "Fresh’s" low-key sliders to "black-ish’s" over-the-top fastballs. Nonetheless, I dream of a time-travel comedy where Constance Wu and Tracee Ellis Ross’s characters hit the road in search of adventure.

"Jane the Virgin": The abrupt fast-forward near the second season’s midpoint felt like an acknowledgment that this postmodern soap opera was losing steam, but when the Villanueva women gather in their kitchen, there’s no place I’d rather be — except perhaps gazing deep into Rogelio’s eyes.

"Hannibal": The last stretch of the series’ final (sob!) season felt like the first time showrunner and Thomas Harris remixer Bryan Fuller was defeated by his material: "Hannibal’s" "Red Dragon" may have been the best, but it was still the fourth, counting Harris’ novel and two previous films, and diminishing returns set in. Still, the season opened on a bold aesthetic note and closed on a delirious high, and if this is indeed the end, it was a delectable one. Farewell, "Hannibal." We will not see your like again.

Read more: The "Hannibal" Finale and the Dangers of Postmortem Interviews

"The Flash": TV lists compiled at the end of a calendar year are in the awkward position of judging halves of two different seasons: Were I considering the end of "The Flash’s" first season, it would be higher; the beginning of its second might not have made this list at all. First, the bad: "The Flash" and its lesser cousin, "Arrow," spent far too much of the fall setting up the "Legends of Tomorrow" spinoff; the interconnectedness of the CW/DC universe is one of its strengths, but both shows were hamstrung by the need to lay track for the network’s latest property. The good: The perfected mixture of comic-book absurdity — Telepathic gorillas? Sure! Parallel dimensions? You betcha! — and surprisingly involving melodrama. (Other shows that have trouble letting male characters show emotions other than anger and resolve should hire Jesse L. Martin to give crying lessons on-set.) Goal for 2016: Figure out what to do with female characters who aren’t Caitlin Snow.

"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend": Ironically re-appropriating what the show’s theme song acknowledges is "a sexist term" cost Rachel Bloom’s musical black comedy some initial viewers, but the show found its feet, if not much of an audience, and even when it stumbles, it’s so far out in its own unique territory I’m willing to forgive the false steps. Like "UnReal" and "BoJack Horseman," "Crazy Ex-" filters a bracing depiction of mental illness through the lens of a genre that tends to normalize it. When someone asks what’s wrong with her and Bloom’s Rebecca rattles off "low self-esteem, a lack of maternal affection and a genetic predisposition for anxiety and depression," it’s a laugh line; when she repeats it in a later episode, you realize you’re hearing the fruits of a lifetime of therapy that has brought her understanding but not anything approaching happiness. The musical numbers, many co-written by Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger, are perversely catchy (and vice-versa), and though the show is still finding itself, it has moments of incandescent greatness. It will take some serious Peak TV magic for its anemic numbers to translate into a second season, but the TV gods took "Hannibal" away this year — they owe us one.

Read more: "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" Went Full-on Fred and Ginger Last Night

Honorable mentions: "Mr. Robot" has a visual style as ostentatiously distinct as any show on the box, but the sub-"American Psycho" plotline involving Eliot’s tech-bro nemesis is a consistent drag. "Game of Thrones" is dazzling in its scale, but it’s starting to show signs of story fatigue; it’s getting bigger, but not deeper. "Master of None" knocked out several sharp episodes, and "Jessica Jones" took on heady themes, but both have Netxflix Problems, too uneven (the former) and too long (the latter) to maximize their cumulative impact. (Likewise "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," which swung for the fences but whiffed as much as it hit.) Perhaps it was a letdown only by the standards of the previous year’s high, but "Veep’s" fourth season was only fitfully great, although "Testimony" is an all-time classic.

Disappointments: The long-awaited "Mr. Show" reunion "W/Bob & David" felt like a weekend project Bob Odenkirk and David Cross put together on leave from their day jobs: It was thrilling to see the gang back together, but the old magic surfaced only in spurts. "Supergirl," CBS’s attempt to cut off a slice of that CW comic-book magic, started off strong, but for all its Tiffany Network sheen, it managed to look cheaper than "Arrow", and its go-girl feminist rhetoric wasn’t matched by storytelling that embodied it. The Flash doesn’t spend every episode fretting over whether his crushes like him like that, and neither should Superman’s cousin. As for "The Good Wife," where to begin? The sixth season’s distended Kalinda send-off became a full-on free-fall in season seven: the good ideas were recycled, and the new ones were all bad. I’ve loved the show for years, but if it continues on like this much longer, I’m ready for Alicia Florrick to close up her practice.

Criticwire’s Daily Reads brings today’s essential news stories and critical pieces to you.

1. "The Revenant" and "The Hateful Eight" Go to Hell, But Only One Comes Back. Both "The Revenant" and "The Hateful Eight" are similar in many superficial ways: They’re both long revenge films set on the frontier featuring uninhibited masculine aggression and gory violence. But though their similarities make them nice prestige companion pieces, The A.V. Club’s Ignatiy Vishnevetsky argues that they employ the mythic American past to radically different ends, i.e. both go to Hell, but only one looks up at the Earth.

But what’s genuinely interesting about this twosome is how they’re really nothing alike. They are going into the same mythic American past, and passing by a lot of the same markers, but for very different reasons. And that’s the way it is with Westerns, which tend to be more similar than not, the side effect being that whatever makes a given movie special or unique gets highlighted. Westerns deal in individualism and community, lone figures and landscapes. They stage acts of principle against backdrops of rock and desert. Movies don’t have to be about anything, but it’s better when they are, and in a best-case scenario, Westerns are about how the people making them feel about the fundamentals of justice, moral sense, and the whole business of how people relate to and tolerate each other. What’s frustrating about "The Revenant" — a mind-bogglingly expensive art film greenlit on the success of director/co-writer Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Best Picture winner "Birdman" — is that it doesn’t seem to be about much of anything, aside from an anti-humanist vision of the frontier landscape. Its Herzog-by-way-of-Tarkovsky viewpoint and transcendentalist overtones paint nature as equal parts cruel and metaphorically charged. This is a place where no man — and Iñárritu is working in that tradition where men stand in for humanity and women for everything else — is meant to survive, but which also serves as a gateway into the mystical unknown. The title posits trapper Hugh Glass — who crawls hundreds of miles to kill the man who murdered his son — as an avenger returned from the afterlife. And what is Minnie’s, the tavern where most of "The Hateful Eight" is set, if not writer-director Quentin Tarantino’s version of hell, where badmen are trapped by snow, with only their worst urges, past misdeeds, and itchy trigger fingers to keep them company? Being a genre of myths, the Western is also a genre of demystification, and both The Revenant" and "The Hateful Eight" look to the vaunted frontier past and find nothing but torment. Theirs is a cold and inhospitable West of racism, sadism, and sexual violence, where sin roams. This is the hell of the American past. It’s possible to chart the development of film as an art form through visions of hell — which is to say, its evolution from a medium that showed audiences what they wanted to see to one that could confront them with what they didn’t. And the only reason someone would go to hell would be to find something there, except in the case of "The Revenant." Despite its superb action set pieces and its metaphors of transformation (e.g., a bizarre re-birthing scene in which Glass crawls naked in and out of a dead horse), it reaches its end goal somewhere around what used to be called the opening reel. It takes viewers to a place, and keeps them there. Which brings up one of those ironic inversions that critics can’t resist: "The Revenant" is a movie about a journey of hundreds of miles that is basically one sustained mood, and "The Hateful Eight" is a movie about people literally going nowhere where just about everything constitutes a step toward the final scene.

2. "The Force Awakens" Set Records, But That Doesn’t Mean It Will Change Hollywood. You may have heard that the most recent "Star Wars" film surpassed "Avatar" for the highest grossing film in the U.S. This is good news for people who think "Avatar" was tripe (me), but also theoretically points to a future where more films have diverse casts. However, The Washington Post’s Alyssa Rosenberg writes that the records "Star Wars" breaks doesn’t mean it will change Hollywood.

For all that Hollywood tends to be motivated by money, part of what’s interesting about the industry is the times when it diverges from cold economic logic. The movie "The Force Awakens" is unseating at the top of the box-office charts is "Avatar," a film that broke records and was supposed to spawn sequels but faded quickly from public memory. I’m cynical enough about Hollywood to find it entirely possible that the entertainment industry will credit anything other than Rey for the financial success of "The Force Awakens," or at least to treat Rey as a non-entity, rather than a character to emulate. Even if Hollywood decides that it wants more Reys in the mix, the past month is a great illustration of the many ways in which the entertainment and retail industries will have to break free of old assumptions and shake up long-established habits to respond to the enthusiasm for these new characters. Hasbro neglected to make Rey playing pieces for the "Force Awakens" edition of Monopoly, then tried to pass the choice off as an attempt to avoid spoiling the movie for fans. The character was left out of other figurine sets as well, just as companies have neglected to make toys of female characters from some of Disney’s other other franchises. And it’s not just action movies where big companies have underestimated the demand for products tied to beloved female characters. "Frozen," Disney’s animated musical, was much more explicitly aimed at girls and young women than "The Force Awakens" ever was, but even so, merchandise for the film sold out rapidly, leaving parents to take dramatic steps to try to track down Elsa costumes. Perhaps it’s better to be sold out than to find yourself with a lot of leftover figurines or blonde wigs. But these sorts of omissions and shortages suggest just how strongly entertainment-industry thinking is aligned toward men and boys. Changing what sorts of movies get green-lit, and what sorts of actors get to lead projects, is an important start.

3. Can Americans Be Trusted With "The Revenant’s" Geocaching Promotion? In Alejandro González Iñárritu’s new film "The Revenant," the band of white trappers bury their pelts in the snow because they can’t carry them on their long trek, so the folks at 20th Century Fox and Geocaching.com decided it would be a good promotional idea to hide 20 prop packages across the U.S., Mexico, Europe, and Australia, encourage people to find them, log them on the site, and then move them for "another trapper" to find. The Verge’s Tasha Robinson writes about if Americans can be trusted with such a crazy promotional gimmick.

Momentarily leaving aside the commercial co-opting of yet another stubbornly personal, profit-free hobby, Fox’s press emphasis on sending people out to "discover lost treasures" seems likely to provoke the wrong kind of interest. Judging from participants’ selfies on Geocaching, the "Revenant" props are mostly pretty mundane objects — battered leather bags, tattered climbing ropes. But they’re still film props, objects with a thriving eBay marketplace. Even studios themselves have been peddling props online since they figured out it was a good way to recoup production money. By referring to caches as "treasure," Fox seems to be trying to court fans of the film instead of fans of the sport. And unlike geocachers, people who dig up "treasure" usually don’t put it back for the next person to find. The uninitiated might just read this as an open invite to walk off with their own personal souvenirs of Leo DiCaprio’s would-be Oscar journey. More than anything, the Hitchbot experiment comes to mind: in mid-2015, the hitchhiking robot that had already successfully toured Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands was sent out in the States in a similar bid for a nationwide collaborative art project. Less than two weeks later, it was vandalized and dumped in a Philadelphia alley. This is why we can’t have nice things, or at least nice, unsupervised, wandering robots. It remains to be seen whether America can do any better when tempted by objects once touched by Leonardo DiCaprio.

4. The Sophomore Lunge: "The Leftovers" and "BoJack Horseman" Come Alive in Their Second Seasons. TV shows are fickle beasts that almost always need to time grow and develop into something worthwhile. In fact, sometimes it takes an entire season for good shows to become great. At Playboy, Greg Cwik examines "The Leftovers" and "BoJack Horseman," and how they came alive in their second seasons.

The first seasons of "The Leftovers" and "BoJack" weren’t exactly feel-good romps, what with the suicides and alcoholism. Delving even deeper into darkness and depression could have gone horribly awry. "The Leftovers’" sprawling narrative wigwagged between a huge assortment of characters in season one, often allotting one episode for each character, and it occasionally stumbled as it tried to tie everything and everyone together. The second season is something else entirely. The showrunners assembled a host of ace directors, including Mimi Leder and Craig Zobel. Based on original teleplays and free from the shackles of its best-selling source material, season two expounds on the mysteries of season one and inflates them to an almost cosmic scale (the opening credits insinuate as much, with people-shaped ciphers replacing the first season’s Michelangelo-inspired art) while delving even more intimately into the lives of not only the Garveys but a new family, the Murphys. The second season opener makes a number of ballsy moves, eschewing, for the most part, the Garveys, our emotional liaisons to this world, with no initial explanation. It opens with a 10-minute pre-historic allegory devoid of dialog. It demands that you pay attention from the first frame. It subsequently moves to a new town, leaving behind most of the inhabitants of Mapleton. The season works in mysterious ways, not meandering as much as coming to us in a carefully shuffled order. Kevin Garvey is losing his mind. The degradation of his mental health now manifests in spectral appearances of a woman (Ann Dowd) whose suicide he unwittingly abetted. Its willingness to explore mysteries without answering questions sets it apart from the year’s other prestige shows. It doesn’t pretend to peddle in certainty or closure; like the characters, we’re trapped in vagueness and anxiety. The season reaches peak audacity with its eighth episode, channeling "The Sopranos’" seminal "The Test Dream," in which Tony Soprano lingers in a hallucinatory purgatory. "The Leftovers" doesn’t explain anything (and doesn’t have a title as helpful as "The Test Dream") and doesn’t let us come up for air. We’re trapped with Kevin in his suffocating death dream, sharing his final fleeting moments of life. We don’t get to see the real world again until Kevin, defying death, claws his way through the soil in the episode’s closing seconds. As the lone witness to Kevin’s resurrection so eloquently says, "Holy shit." "BoJack" doesn’t ask unanswerable questions as much as it ponders one prevalent question: Will BoJack ever be happy? The show often unveils information in a nonlinear fashion (again, like "The Leftovers"), taking advantage of streaming’s infinite replay abilities. The show teases recovery before giving us relapse, again and again, like an equine Tantalus. He’s has been slowly committing suicide for years, and in season two he finally becomes aware of the corrosive effects his self-loathing has on the people who care about him, a coterie of quickly diminishing numbers.

5. A Critic and Documentary Filmmaker’s Struggle to Live With Grief. After a loved one or a close friend dies, it’s difficult to live with the pain of their loss. Many will claim that it’s important to move forward and leave grief behind, but sometimes it’s necessary and important to live with grief, not to leave it behind but incorporate it into your self. At Elle, critic and documentary filmmaker Farihah Zaman writes about her father’s murder and how she learned in the process that grief wasn’t a weakness.

On a recent trip with friends, a goofy all-in-good-fun game of Truth or Dare turned sour for me when someone was asked to recall the first time they experienced the loss of a loved one (I suggest never playing Truth or Dare with documentary filmmakers, because they go there). As he talked about the death of his grandfather, I went to the bathroom to quietly hyperventilate. I wanted to run away but forced myself to return and asked the group to move on from the subject. However, I felt so embarrassed that I squeezed the words out in a nonsensical jumble, prolonging the agony as I was then forced to elaborate. While everyone looked at me with sympathy that I read as pity, two of my friends locked me in a tight hug. I should have felt nothing but love and support, but my gratitude for their understanding was tinged with the humiliation of having even more attention drawn to me and my lack of control. As a filmmaker and a critic, I’ve found to my dismay that there are certain movies I can’t watch anymore. I used to pride myself on my iron stomach, and I was one of the few women with a dedicated genre column, often tackling bloody cult films. But now I react poorly, and visibly, to gun violence or even sustained action sequences. I spent most of "Mad Max: Fury Road" with my eyes closed, lightly shaking with agitation. However, even worse are situations with no clear correlation to my father’s death. Milestones — other people’s weddings, birthdays, anniversaries — might cause me to suddenly burst into tears. There is a melancholy brewing so close to the surface of my skin that any event, any strong feeling, might suddenly release it like a cold sweat. As a result, I wonder if I’m being pathetic, melodramatic, a narcissist for whom everything is now about me, my father’s death, my pain. My mother, who lived through the bloody Bangladeshi Liberation War, immigrated to the U.S. and raised three willful (to put it mildly) daughters while married to someone who was away as much as he was home, taught me that a stiff upper lip is the best strategy in hard times. In Bengali culture, pain, grief and depression are personal matters to be indulged in privately. As I grew up, I came to idealize not indulging at all, even during traumatic events, like the sudden deaths of others in our family of diplomats. This veneer of unflappable fortitude became integral to how I saw myself and how I managed the great weight of my fears. I enjoy being thought of as a badass. I love a challenge. I love adventure. I sometimes love straight-up crazy recklessness. One of the reasons I make documentaries is that I like to push myself. For my film "This Time Next Year," about a New Jersey community in the year after Hurricane Sandy, I trudged through flooded marshes in full-body waders, went 60 feet up in a fireman’s crane, climbed out onto slippery moss-covered jetties and through crumbling construction sites in a dress. I’ve embedded with U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti, learned to shoot an AK-47, gone on night raids and into riots wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet. In the face of chaos, I grow only more calm and practical. In times of vulnerability and need, however, the strategies I’ve adapted to protect myself instead fill me with doubt. I panic at the idea that if I’m not constantly that tough girl, then I’ll be too weak to go on.

Tweet of the Day:

the weirdest part of EYES WIDE SHUT is that tom cruise would drink budweiser out of a can

— Sales On Film (@salesonfilm) January 7, 2016

Bird Person ("Rick and Morty")

"Is Bird Person a bird or a person?" is a debate “Rick and Morty” fans… don’t really have too often. So, for the sake of this list, we say bird. Bird Person is only in a handful of episodes, but of all the tertiary characters, he is the most prominent. He is still the only character who Rick considers a true friend and the only one who can calm Morty down from a freakout. He represents just one world in “Rick and Morty’s" absurd multiverse, but even our brief glimpses into the universe of Bird Person(s?) flesh out the asinine amount of detail put into every square inch of the show. And if that last episode of Season 2 is any indication, we are in for a lot more of Bird Person in Season 3.

Mr. Peanutbutter ("BoJack Horseman")

Every anthropomorphic animal on Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s gut-busting Hollywood satire "BoJack Horseman" deserves a spot high on this list, from Will Arnett’s self-destructive titular horse to Amy Sedaris’s high-strung feline agent Princess Caroline, but there’s something about the lovable Mr. Peanutbutter we just can’t get enough of. Voiced with infectious enthusiasm by Paul F. Tompkins, Mr. Peanutbutter is the kind of handsome, smiling labrador retriever you’d run across the street just to pet, and it’s the way the voice actor plays him as a beaming pile of joy that never ceases to make you giggle. Mr. Peanutbutter is one of the few wholeheartedly good people in the show’s wacked out Hollywood, and his constant optimism shines through in ways both hilarious and, in typical "BoJack" fashion, deeply sad, since he’s an easy one to fool (here’s looking at you, BoJack and Diane).

Brian Griffin ("Family Guy")

Over the course of 14 seasons, the Griffins’ anthropomorphic pet dog’s quick wit, overwhelming rationalism and love for his family and friends has charmed his way into the hearts of critics and audiences alike, proving his value not just to "Family Guy," but television as a whole. Yet it is Brian’s egocentrism, hubris, staggering alcoholism and other flaws that make the character relatable and humanistic. These conflicting traits are some of the reasons why Brian has continued to appeal to the millions of people who tune in every week to catch the latest exploits of him and his outrageous family. I mean, what other cartoon character has the clout to be killed off and then brought back to life? Kenny, I’m looking at you.

Bugs Bunny ("Looney Tunes")

The Looney Tunes family may be just lousy with creative animated characters, but there’s only one true king of the "that’s all" brethren is undoubtedly Bugs Bunny. Originally voiced by the famously chatty Mel Blanc and eventually ceded to other talents (including the recently departed Joe Alaskey), Bugs has long been the forward-facing, well, face of everything that the looniest of tunes embody. Quick-witted, whip-smart, maybe allergic to characters, weirdly pantsless, Bugs is, for most fans, Looney Tune Number 1. Complete with an infamous, sputtering nemesis, plenty of pals and a later-introduced love interest (hey, Lola Bunny), Bugs is basically the center of the tune-iverse, and for good reason. He’s just so damn funny.

Heffer ("Rocko’s Modern Life")

Though the relatively short-lived Nickelodeon comedy sported a number of excellent talking animals — from the titular Rocko, an oft-worried wallaby, to the neurotic Filburt, a turtle eager to duck inside himself — the most outspoken member of the trio is also the one who made the most of every adventure. When the spotlight shown down on Heffer during the episode’s opening titles, we knew we were in for a treat. The out-of-left-field fact that Heffer was raised by wolves, including a particularly crabby grandpa, only accentuated his addictive and eternal glee. Whether he was taking to the high seas to do battle with underwater fisherman or crossing over to Heck to make fun of Peaches (the devil’s helper with a name Heffer couldn’t help but laugh at), this ever-hungry steer was hard to bring down, and, in doing so, he kept the show on the ups.

Max ("Goof Troop")

With a dad as crazy as Goofy, it’s not so easy to see where Max Goof gets all his coolness from. Unlike his father, who vacuums while singing and wearing a towel turban, Max loves to skateboard and hang out with his friends. Their opposite personalities often clash in "Goof Troop," and even though Max and Goofy don’t always see eye-to-eye on things, Max knows his dad is one-of-a-kind, and they still put family above everything else.

Poochie ("The Simpsons")

Nobody in Springfield liked "party to the extreme" Poochie, the corporate mandated addition to "Itchy & Scratchy," and was promptly killed off after his first episode. But that didn’t stop him from becoming the most beloved talking dogs to ever grace "The Simpsons." Kitschy, disingenuous and totally radical, Poochie represented everything good and evil about the pop culture world that the show has thrived for almost thirty years. Long may you run, Poochie!

Waddles ("Gravity Falls")

Okay, Mabel’s beloved pet pig only really spoke the once, but when he did he spoke with the voice of Neil deGrasse Tyson. Which is just incredible. In the episode "Little Gift Shop of Horrors," Waddles ate some goo that made him hyperintelligent for a short time, part of which he spent building a communication device that would translate his pig squawks into the voice of America’s favorite astrophysicist. Waddles taught us a lot about friendship and science before reverting back to his cute pig state, and he also gave us the gift of Neil deGrasse Tyson saying "yummy yummy in my fat pig tummy." Thank you, Waddles. 

Kate Erbland, Bryn T Gelbart, Mike Lown, Riyad Mamedyarov, Liz Shannon Miller, Lauren Vanessa Townsend and Ben Travers contributed to this list.

READ MORE: Review: HBO’s ‘Animals.’ Is Weird, But Not Wild Enough

Criticwire’s Daily Reads brings today’s essential news stories and critical pieces to you.

1. The Revolution Will Be Streamed: The Paradigm Shift That Favors the Season Over the Episode. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s quite a bit of original programming featured on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. The Atlantic’s David Sims examines television’s paradigm shift that favors the season over the episode.

The television industry is currently in the middle of a radical paradigm shift, as streaming networks like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu look to create as much original content as possible. One of the most notable changes evident in the flood of new content is the total abandonment of the long-accepted idea that a show needs to hook a viewer in its first act, or at least its first episode. But streaming shows like "The Path," "Bloodline," "Hand of God," "Love," "Sense8," and many others are taking this to extremes, seeming barely concerned with letting stories pay off until viewers have sat through a whole season. The "New York Times" critic James Poniewozik’s take on "The Path" was particularly apt (and telling): "I could see it having a strong second season." That’s the new reality of the medium — it can take a whole year before a show even needs to be good, which has unfortunately led to pervasive issues with pacing and plotting that hurts the overall viewing experience for streaming audiences. Poniewozik has written more extensively on the topic, noting that streaming networks don’t have to worry about the situational strictures of broadcast television. A viewer can discover a show at her own pace and (more than likely) watch it all at once. A streaming network exists simply to offer a broad repository of content for subscribers to check in with, rather than a daily deluge of explosive plot twists and special guest stars to keep people tuning back in. Even comedies like Netflix’s "BoJack Horseman" have this type of structure — one episode viewed in the abstract might be mildly funny, but watch the entire season in a short burst and it feels suddenly like a work of art.

2. Richard Linklater, Maleness, and the American Coming-of-Age Story. Richard Linklater’s "Everybody Wants Some!!" received mostly positive acclaim from critics for its plotless examination of masculinity within a group of college athletes in the 1980’s, but there are some who wonder why women don’t receive similar treatment from Hollywood. For Movie Mezzanine, Monica Castillo examines Linklater’s new film and why women don’t have coming-of-age stories of their own.

I can’t fault Linklater for making beautiful films about his youth, and hell, I enjoyed "Everybody" for reminding me of my summer living in an MIT frat. What frustrates me is how similar coming-of-age stories about women are not nearly given the same reach as a Linklater film. Our stories aren’t seen as universal; they’re labeled as "women’s pictures." This then reaffirms the notion that an "All-American" tale is intrinsically a male one. It’s almost as if we need to leave the States to see stories that vaguely reflect our experiences. After watching the re-release of Isao Takahata’s "Only Yesterday," I was shocked that an animated film steeped in the nostalgia of primary school would dare discuss menstruation and the trauma of boys teasing the protagonist. It was apparently too candid: Studio Ghibli’s former distributor Disney decided against importing "Only Yesterday" to American movie audiences. Last year, Academy audiences nominated Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s "Mustang" for Best Foreign Language Film, a movie about sisters coming of age into their culture. Céline Sciamma’s "Girlhood" was also released stateside in 2015 — a film about female friendships among black French high-school girls. Is there an American companion to these movies? It doesn’t seem like many movies about girls surviving high school have made their way to the big screen post-"Mean Girls." But some filmmakers like Kelly Reichardt are reclaiming the Americana mantle from its androcentrism. A contemporary of Linklater’s, Reichardt (finally) gained attention in the late 2000s with "Wendy and Lucy," a film about a homeless young woman and her dog, and "Meek’s Cutoff," her revolutionary look at women on the American frontier. Her upcoming film "Certain Women" follows three female characters in the American Midwest as they struggle with their relationships. Reichardt taps into Linklater’s Anywhere, USA feel, yet her style is radically different, preferring quiet characters over chatty ones, and inhospitable landscapes that are just as unwelcoming to women as American society. There are no rose-colored glasses here.

3. On Scandal, and/Or, and "American Crime Story: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson." Ryan Murphy’s true-crime mini-series "American Crime Story: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson" ended last Tuesday with a predictable, but nonetheless stunning conclusion to the trial. There has been plenty of writing on the series’ depiction of race, gender, and the complicated relations between those two in the legal system. The L.A. Review of Books’ Lili Loofbourow and Phillip Maciak explore the series and its various dramatic victories.

This is living history in every possible sense of the word, and whenever anyone heard about this show, their first question was: which way would OJ Simpson be portrayed? Would he be innocent, or would he be guilty? Ryan Murphy could have milked that for tension and stakes. Instead, he dispensed with the question deftly and with remarkable confidence: Simpson is guilty. Schwimmer’s vomit after the verdict testifies to that just as much as Gooding’s tears did during the closing, but there was no real ambiguity, even earlier, about the show’s point of view. "PVOJ’s" heroes are unquestionably Brown’s Darden and Sarah Paulson’s transcendent Marcia Clark. Those are the weights, those are the parameters. Still, within that framework, the show helps us out of that stark dichotomy and refocuses our attention on the crosscurrents that develop in any closed system — which the Simpson case certainly was. In particular, it dramatizes Darden’s deep understanding of the racial battleground and his position within it, Clark’s power in court despite the ostracism and loneliness and fame, and Cochran’s spectacularly amoral approach to a moral cause to which he remains sincerely committed. (Cochran and Darden were electric onscreen as they fought explicitly over evidence and obliquely over "the community." I love that Cochran’s offer to reintegrate Darden was made with both good intentions and extraordinary arrogance, and I love that Darden replied "I never left." Those are not new conversations about race, but they are important new additions to the tired discursive loop race ran around this case.) Most importantly, perhaps, the show conceded OJ Simpson’s guilt without granting that concession the central ground it has implicitly occupied for so long in America. Here’s what I mean by that: despite essentially stipulating Simpson’s guilt, the show makes clear that there is much, much more to say, and its approach was even-handed and accretive: Simpson is guilty and the LAPD is racist against black men whose tennis courts they don’t use and whose autographs they don’t seek. Cochran’s larger cause was good and he made a difference and he was abusive and he was, for all intents and purposes, a bigamist. Barry Scheck exonerates prisoners through the Innocence Project largely through the use of DNA and he played a significant role in invalidating its evidentiary value in the Simpson case. The LAPD was incompetent and starstruck and it harbored racists and framed innocent men. OJ Simpson was a murderer and he was driven mad — temporarily — by grief. Mark Fuhrman was a racist and, on this occasion at least, did fine detective work. There is nothing timid about these once-incompatible assertions in "PVOJ": Murphy dove deep into a national wound that still hasn’t scarred and substituted “ands” for the criminal justice system’s inexorable list of "ors."

4. Fans Who Donated Money to Finish Orson Welles’ Last Film Wants Their Money Back. Shot in the 1970’s, Orson Welles’ "The Other Side of the Wind" is the uncompleted last film of the legendary director. Though a crowd-funding campaign raised over $400,000, little progress has been made, and now Netflix has thrown its hat into the ring for the worldwide rights to the film. New York Post’s Lou Lumenick reports on the story.

Shot between 1970 and 1976, the film follows the last night in the life of a once-famous director (Welles’ friend John Huston) who is trying to restart his career with an edgy film called "The Other Side of the Wind." The cast also includes Dennis Hopper and Croatian actress Oja Kodar. Kodar, who lived with Welles in his final years, holds part ownership of the film and apparently physical custody of the negatives. Previous efforts to complete the film — including one backed by Showtime a decade ago — supposedly foundered in part because of bad blood between Kodar and Beatrice Welles, the filmmaker’s daughter by his third wife and his other main heir. Another group of would-be restorers — including "Jurassic World" producer Frank Marshall, who worked on Welles’ film — announced in October 2014 they had reached an agreement with Kodar and that the film would be completed in time for a showing on the 100th anniversary of Welles’ birth on May 6, 2015. Instead, a $2 million crowdfunding campaign was launched last May 7 on Indiegogo. After a disappointing start, the goal was cut to $1 million and the campaign was extended, eventually raising only $406,605 from 2,859 backers before it closed on July 6. A year later, donors lured by tickets to the film’s premiere — and perks like "commemorative terrycloth robes…just like Orson used to wear on the set" — have started getting restless at the seeming lack of progress in restoring the film, which the organizers said on the Indiegogo website "we hope to complete…in Orson’s centennial year." "This is akin to organized fraud," one irate donor identified as Jérôme Stavroguine wrote two months ago on the comments section of the campaign’s Indiegogo page. "More than 400,000 USD disappeared with the promises of finishing a masterpiece. What can we do in order to get a refund and report this fraud to Indiegogo and to the FBI?" An Indiegogo spokesman said the crowfunding platform, which serves only as a go-between, had received "only" five requests for refunds and referred them to the campaign’s organizers, who were given their $406,605 shortly after the campaign closed last summer. The spokesman said it was "our understanding the refunds are being paid to people who ask and that the organizers are confident they will finish the film."

Tweet of the Day:

Resting Lubitsch Face pic.twitter.com/Rdo76r7fSJ

— Jim Gabriel (@flipyourface) April 6, 2016

Life can be depressing. And if it’s depressing enough, @Netflix might make a show about it.https://t.co/imfzrHpzf6

— BoJack Horseman (@BoJackHorseman) May 25, 2016

At the end of last season of Netflix’s critically acclaimed animated dramedy "BoJack Horseman," BoJack (Will Arnett) has vowed to improve his life. After years of self-loathing and coping with failure and regret, BoJack decides to take a few simple measures to become a better person, so as not to hit yet another personal and professional rock bottom. We last see him jogging up a hill and collapsing at the top, accepting that good things only come with hard work and dedication. But in the latest trailer for the new season of "BoJack Horeseman," it’s clear that BoJack hasn’t given up his snarky personality. After some choice quotes from critics praising the series, we see BoJack at dinner with his agent and former girlfriend Princess Caroline (Amy Sedaris) calling critics "the worst" and that they can "eat a flat butt." He may be a critical darling, but he’s still BoJack Horseman. Watch the trailer above.

READ MORE: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Creator on Season 3, Cosby, Top 10 List Nerves and His Rejected ‘Fuller House’ Pitch

Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, "BoJack Horseman" also stars Alison Brie ("Community"), Paul F. Tompkins ("Mr. Show with Bob and David"), and Aaron Paul ("Breaking Bad"). Though the show initially received mixed reviews, critical reception eventually turned around towards the second half of the first season and the beginning of the second. Its second season landed on The A.V. Club’s list of Top 20 shows of 2015. 

The third season of "BoJack Horseman" will premiere on July 22nd on Netflix.

READ MORE: Why ‘BoJack Horseman’ Makes Netflix Matter in the Online Television Age

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Our favorite talking horse is back. After two seasons of off-kilter humor and surprisingly sobering reality that prove an animated animal can investigate the most weighty of topics, Netflix is gearing up for his return, debuting the “BoJack Horseman” Season 3 trailer.

READ MORE: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Creator on Season 3, Cosby, Top 10 List Nerves and His Rejected ‘Fuller House’ Pitch

Coming upon big box office success, BoJack finds himself in the conversation for an Oscar. Parodying the politics of the Oscars and the stars that win them, BoJack feels that the award could give his life meaning and that he doesn’t belong with the “not famouses.” But with the show’s classic kick of reality, he soon realizes the award may not be all that it’s hyped up to be and that connections are more important than how we’ll be remembered. The creator, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, warned us that Season 3 may get darker and weirder, but, in turn, have more warmth. It looks like he’ll fulfill that promise.

Check out the Season 3 trailer below as BoJack deals with the trials and tribulations of movie stardom. Season 3 premieres on July 22 on Netflix.

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When you look for beauty in life, the most rewarding moments are the unexpected. And for the third season in a row, the Hollywood comedy “BoJack Horseman” has surprised us.

That’s weird to say about a show which stars a cartoon celebrity horse (voiced by Will Arnett) whose personal morals are pretty much nonexistent. But Netflix and creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg have made something profound, re-watchable and dense — and yes, also beautiful and traumatizing.

READ MORE: 8 of Indiewire’s Favorite Talking TV Animals

Start with the very first episode of “BoJack,” and you’ll find that the show’s initial, somewhat nihilist message was that TV exists not to solve your problems, but to suppress them. (That’s what happens, after all, with a series about a washed-up TV star coasting on quickly-acquired fame.) What’s so daring and bold, though, is that it’s never strayed from that message. Instead, rather than remain static, it’s instead pushed beyond to what happens when TV isn’t enough.

In Season 2, “BoJack” examined the question of happiness: What does it mean to get what you want? When you achieve your goals, does that success solve your problems? It’s a big question, but also an easy one. Meanwhile, nothing about Season 3 of “BoJack” is easy. “BoJack,” instead, just challenges us to be better.

Season 3 picks up with a number of the cliffhangers introduced during the Season 2 finale, including the question of what it means to BoJack now that he’s a genuine Oscar contender for “Secretariat,” his dream film. That journey is actually not as dominating as you’d expect, for the betterment of the series. After all, bashing the awards cycle doesn’t really feel fresh anymore (especially in the heat of Emmys campaigning). It’s an important storyline, but a different show would put his journey center stage. Instead, Season 3 keeps its focus on life beyond the awards race.

Because, as Bob-Waksberg has proven so keenly aware, what matters is the actual viewing experience. For years now, critics have been trying to figure out how to approach, on an episodic level, the binge-viewing model. The concept of thinking of a season of television as a novel, rather than a collection of episodes, has exploded thanks to us no longer having to wait weeks for the full story. But “BoJack” Season 3 might be the platonic ideal of a Netflix show that also still celebrates the concept of stories told in installments.

Many Season 3 episodes are definable in simple terms (“the one where BoJack goes on a press tour,” “the one where BoJack fights with Princess Carolyn,” “the flashback episode”). They actually function as stand-alone on a level that you honestly don’t see too often.

This leads to some jaw-dropping installments, which iris in on character on levels that range from hilarious to heartbreaking. For example, the fourth episode, in which BoJack goes to a film festival beneath the sea, is largely dialogue-free and inspires comparisons to the film “Lost in Translation” in the best sort of way; the way where it’s not imitation, but inspiration.

And yet it’s the more character-focused stories that stick in your craw, as Todd tries to launch yet another business idea, Princess Carolyn tries to find love and Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter work on their marriage. It’s an ensemble we now care about like they’re friends. After all, we’ve seen them at their best and their worst.

The guest voice work is incredible, with a short list that includes Angela Bassett, Candice Bergen, Abbi Jacobson, Diedrich Bader, Wyatt Cenac, Weird Al Yankovic, Constance Zimmer and Character Actress Margo Martindale!!!!!!! — all of them pushed beyond tropes or stereotypes, often given a chance for vulnerability that you don’t normally expect from this sort of work. This sort of show.

“BoJack Horseman” is a show that’s not afraid of being mean. Mean to its characters, mean to its viewers, and especially mean to its protagonist. And maybe he deserves it? However you feel about the fact that TV’s Golden Age has corresponded with the rise of the antihero, the fact is the two tracks remain relatively interchangeable. But while shows like “The Sopranos” and “Mad Men” never truly tore down their heroes, “BoJack” is fearless in acknowledging that wanting to be a good man is no guarantee you are one — especially if you’ve made your share of mistakes.

Grade: A

“BoJack Horseman” Season 3 premieres Friday, July 22, on Netflix.

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What a day to be alive for “BoJack Horseman” fans! Fresh off its Season 3 release (the entire third season just became available on July 22), Netflix has confirmed that everyone’s favorite talking horse will be back for a fourth season.

The news was announced on the show’s official Twitter account. “Guys, Season 4… it’s happening!” reads the tweet, which is accompanied by a hilarious illustration that features BoJack passed out next to a number four created out of beer bottles.

guys. season 4… it's happening! #ibingedtoohardlastnight #thankyoutomyfans #hopeyouarelovingseason3 pic.twitter.com/lZwuqRkpj0

— BoJack Horseman (@BoJackHorseman) July 22, 2016

READ MORE: Review: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3, Episode by Episode, Stays Beautiful — But Never Apologizes For Going Dark

The fourth season will see the return of Will Arnett as BoJack, Aaron Paul as Todd, Alison Brie as Diane, and many more.

In the meantime, Season 3 has the title character finding himself in the conversation for an Oscar. Grappling with his legacy, BoJack struggles with how he will be remembered by his fans and how the award would give his life meaning since he doesn’t belong with the “not famouses.” 

READ MORE: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3 Premiere: Can ‘Bad’ TV Be Better Than Oscar Movies?

Read our A-grade review of the third season where Liz Shannon Miller writes that the series, “proves to be a game-changer on an episodic level.”

The third season of “BoJack Horseman” is now available to stream on Netflix.

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[Editor’s Note: “BoJack Horseman” Season 3 is a feat of storytelling on both a serialized and episodic level. To honor the impressive accomplishment, IndieWire will be reviewing all 12 episodes over the next few weeks. Below, we delve into Episode 4.]

“You’ll find me in a sea of dreams where no one cares about my words.”

That Raphael Bob-Waksberg would make a largely silent episode of “BoJack Horseman” is as surprising as it is fitting, but the diegetic reason the episode features little dialogue (and none underwater) takes a well-executed punchline and turns it into transcendent TV. Revealed in the final seconds of “A Fish Out of Water,” we learn BoJack could have been speaking the entire time had he not been ignorant of how to use his underwater oxygen bubble. When he finally pushes his communication button and realizes the gaffe, BoJack lets out a frustrated “Oh, you have got to be kidd–” that’s cut off by the credits. While funny as a kicker to an episode building to a crescendo of mistakes, the choice also speaks to our antihero’s larger mental state and why he so consistently struggles to accomplish the simplest of tasks — he doesn’t want to.

All of BoJack’s problems in the episode stem from the idea he can’t speak — an astute decision on multiple levels, but conversely clever in that “BoJack Horseman” is the ideal series to experiment with a silent episode. So much of its humor, drama and general emotions stem from the visuals, be it the alluring color combinations, punny signs or inventive world-building (showcased doubly with this never-before-seen underwater universe). The screen is packed with new information every time the setting shifts; so much so that it’s actually fun to watch episodes with the sound off after appreciating the verbal repartee the first time through.

Note the name in feed at the bottom.

Netflix

So creating an episode wholly devoted to the visuals is an excellent means to draw attention to the hard work done by the animators, week in and week out, and how well their choices are incorporated into the larger story. But one reason isn’t good enough. Bob-Waksberg uses the silence to show us what BoJack is lacking in his life, and why. Think back to the opening, when Ana asks BoJack if he knows what a thumbs up means. He says he does without even considering the context of her question — that a foreign “land” may interpret our innocuous gestures differently. This gets him in trouble with the national media; a fact he’s oblivious to even when screens showcase the mistake all around him.

Unless BoJack is forced to learn something — usually the hard way — he doesn’t learn it. Instead, he coasts by on his celebrity status; a status he uses as an excuse to be a jerk, or, to be more specific, a status he uses to convince himself he’s not the one doing something wrong. It’s Famous BoJack; Celebrity BoJack; a side of BoJack he doesn’t consider his true self. But when he’s left alone, literally in the middle of nowhere, with a newborn baby seahorse, BoJack has no excuse. He knows if he abandons his responsibility, no one else will fix it for him. His publicist can’t take care of it. Neither can Princess Carolyn. This is a moment he has to embrace, and he does.

Rescuing the baby stands as a successful accomplishment, and it leads him to what would’ve been another — his apology to Kelsey Jannings — except, well, Famous BoJack gets in the way. Because he never realized he could speak to her, BoJack instead writes down his apology on a note that is ruined by the water surrounding him. Had BoJack simply learned how to exist underwater — to exist in a foreign land not unlike what the world must feel like to celebrities who transition from “normal” to famous — he would have been OK. He would have saved the baby and saved himself.

Instead, he fails — again. One success does not lead to another. In BoJack’s mind, one selfless good deed does him no good in the long run. Saving the seahorse may have helped him figure out what to say to Kelsey, but it didn’t help him obtain her forgiveness. If he’d make the effort to trace his problems back to their root, he’d be better off. But BoJack refuses to go there. In part, it’s because he connects fame and status with a specific attitude (an asshole) unconducive to growth — because growth requires effort. Still, BoJack’s a step closer to understanding as much after this episode. Why? Well, let’s move on…

EPISODE 1 REVIEW: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3 Premiere: Can ‘Bad’ TV Be Better Than Oscar Movies?

Key Foreshadowing

For Non-Bingers: Seahorses! Ever since we saw the adorable green babies fall out of a UFO and surround Mr. Peanutbutter, we either knew they’d come back or hoped they would. They did — in orange form this time — and BoJack got to experience parenthood in a (very) limited session.

For Bingers: BoJack’s accidental excursion with a baby seahorse may have directly exposed one major void in his life — an innocent source of joy (as opposed to his many fun vices) — but it also hints at why he couldn’t stop thinking about Penny, his friend Charlotte’s daughter who he nearly slept with at the end of Season 2. It’s often cited how adults don’t fully understand what it means to have a child until, you know, they have one. BoJack didn’t have a kid, but he was responsible for one. And that responsibility affects his perception of children as he moves forward.

Because he’s never been exposed to anything as wholesome as the family life he embraced in New Mexico, it makes sense (on a low level) why he would consider sleeping with Penny in the first place. But BoJack’s self-imposed ignorance was corrupted in Episode 4 — meaning his already lame attempts to justify his despicable actions are going to get even harder to explain, even to himself. His guilt drives him to some dark places as the season progresses, and a little baby seahorse has a lot to do with why.

EPISODE 2 & 3 REVIEW: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Eviscerates SeaWorld With Killer (Whale) Strip Club Sequence

The Joke You May Have Missed, In a .gif

Spike Lee is in the corner, on hand to promote “Do The Right Thing 2: Do The Thing More Right”

Netflix

Best Pop Culture Reference

Call us suckers for a movie pun, but “Free Willy International Airport” seems all too fitting for an episode about a horse who feels trapped underwater. It may not be as deep as we could pretend — “Think about how Willy escaped, you guys! Remember? He flew to freedom!” — but it’s still a great choice.

SEASON REVIEW: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Review: Season 3 Deserves an Oscar (And Every Other Award)

Quote of the Week

The quote of the week is actually the image of the week, if not the image of the season. No one can deny how striking the above visual was both within the context of the episode and as a standalone moment of visual poetry. BoJack, cradling a pure source of joy in his arms, swims away from a disaster he created; preserving his lone source of happiness as the rest of the world suffers.

If we must tie it to words (which seems wrong, given the episode), the image does call to mind a quote from Episode 3: “Sometimes you need to take responsibility for your own happiness.” Cuddly Whiskers (Jeffrey Wright) said this while defending his own choices and explaining to both BoJack and Diane what they need to do to find happiness. BoJack may not be purely self-motivated in swimming away from the destroyed taffy factory, but he is taking responsibility for his happiness while protecting someone else. The fact that he couldn’t hold onto the lesson isn’t insignificant, but the fact that he found even a fleeting moment of joy without money, status or corruption is hugely important to BoJack. Hopefully, he can remember as much down the line.

Grade: A+

[Editor’s Note: “BoJack Horseman” Season 3 is a feat of storytelling on both a serialized and episodic level. To honor the impressive accomplishment, IndieWire will be reviewing all 12 episodes over the next few weeks. Below, we delve into Episode 6.]

“It’s a joke. You get that it’s a joke, right?”

Of course, Diane did not “get” that Sextina’s pop song in response to internet feedback on her (fake) abortion, “Get That Fetus, Kill That Fetus,” was a joke. But that didn’t matter because the unnamed woman who defended Sextina did. Diane knew what she wanted to do as soon as she found out about her pregnancy and was vocal about it from the get go. Yes, she and Mr. Peanutbutter had a brief, difficult conversation, but that’s by far the best case scenario for a couple making this choice. More to the point, Diane never wavered once she spoke her mind. She didn’t flinch when the doctors told her she had to listen to the heartbeat — even if the news was rough on Mr. Peanutbutter — and she moved forward quickly with the procedure itself.

“Get That Fetus, Kill That Fetus” wasn’t for her. It was for everyone else.

Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s message in “Brrap Brrap Pew Pew” brilliantly depicted how a popular piece of entertainment — even one constructed for the wrong reasons and initially depicted as horrifically insensitive — can also work to shatter stuffy social stigmas and, most importantly, make people feel safe. By showing both sides of the issue — Diane, who was angered by the backstory of Sextina’s song as well as its brash construction, and the unnamed woman who saw the song as an extreme satirization of insensitivity via over-application of in-your-face lyrics — Bob-Waksberg shifted the conversation from the Pro-Choice/Pro-Life debate to a more vital point: How we talk about abortion is important.

READ MORE: How ‘BoJack Horseman’ Achieved Perfection Without a Word

Treating it sensitively is one thing, but over-emphasizing the act makes it all the harder to go through with — which is the goal of the Pro-Lifers, but not what progressive Americans should be concerning themselves with in 2016. The laws in effect requiring patients to listen to the heartbeat of their unborn fetus are obviously designed to push a Pro-Life agenda, and that they exist post-Roe v. Wade is an embarrassment worth calling out in an equally extreme fashion. Hence, “Brrap Brrap Pew Pew.”

The beauty of the episode lies in what function as opposing dynamics in the narrative, but become a two-pronged attack on ignorance for viewers. It’s okay that Diane wanted Sextina to take the topic seriously because it is a serious topic, but the unnamed woman at the abortion clinic was right to stick up for Sextina because the song helped her get through a difficult time. And what greater purpose could a song — or TV show — serve than make people a little more comfortable discussing a difficult topic? Twitter schmitter. “BoJack Horseman” proved itself the best forum for this discussion.

READ MORE: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3 Premiere Review: Can ‘Bad’ TV Be Better Than Oscar Movies?

Key Foreshadowing (Spoilers Below)

BoJack dropped a major bomb in the foreshadowing department; a tease that doesn’t pay off until the season finale (so non-bingers, be warned: spoilers ahead for the season finale). When BoJack found out Diane was getting an abortion, the self-centered actor turned the conversation back to himself.

“I had more than my fair share of abortions in the ‘90s,” BoJack said (to no one in particular). “Well, I didn’t get them. I paid for them… Gee, I really hope all those women actually got the abortions and didn’t just keep my money.”

Well, it looks like one did. In the season finale, we see a college-aged kid unsuccessfully trying to connect with BoJack, and the implication is that our suicidal antihero has been a papa for two decades (or more). How that affects his future will certainly be addressed in Season 4, but demanding this kind of attention to detail from fans is what makes “BoJack” such a delightful binge, time and time again.

READ MORE: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Eviscerates SeaWorld With Killer (Whale) Strip Club Sequence

The Joke You May Have Missed, In a .gif

“This just in: Nevermind.”

Netflix

Harrowingly on point, even as an easily-missed addition to a news scroll.

Best Pop Culture Reference

The shouting. All the shouting. It’s just…it’s so fucking good.

Not only that, but these exits create a pattern in and of themselves, emphasizing how streamlined the series is overall. The writers don’t even waste time shifting between conversations. Bob-Waksberg & Co. instead create a series-long motif to experiment with again and again. (Oh, and in case you were wondering, that’s Jay Mohr doing the voice of Jurj Clooners.)

And, of course, Mr. Peanutbutter’s mysterious Erica — the instant classic that started it all:

Quote of the Week

BoJack: “He’s not God. He’s just an old guy who loves pranks.”
Todd: “Sure sounds like God…”

It’s worth noting this is as close as the episode came to addressing the religious aspect of the abortion debate, which again speaks to how “BoJack,” as a series, moved past the moral part of the debate in general — it’s no longer a question whether or not a woman should have the right to choose, nor should it be. But what matters about this joke — as well as all the others in “Brrap Brrap Pew Pew” — is that it exists.

People will argue this isn’t the right medium to talk about abortion because it’s a comedy, or because it’s an animated comedy, or because it’s not taking it “seriously.” But the parallels between Sextina’s song and Episode 6 are quite clear: Both exist to make it easier for viewers to discuss abortion on practical and emotional levels. That’s what matters. That’s what we need. That helps people. The medium doesn’t matter when the message is this good.

Grade: A

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Long before fans discover the dark depths of “BoJack Horseman” or pick up on the show’s nonstop assault of jokes, they first fall in love with its opening credits. A minute-long fast track through the self-destructive world of the main character, the opening credits get an iconic kick from its theme, a jazzy composition from “The Black Keys” drummer Patrick Carney that captures the core of BoJack’s hard-partying delirium.

READ MORE: Review: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3, Episode by Episode, Stays Beautiful — But Never Apologizes For Going Dark

Carney recently joined his uncle, Ralph Carney, on Hrishikesh Hirway’s “Song Exploder” podcast and revealed the surprising origins of the infectious theme song. Most shocking of all is how the track wasn’t even written for “BoJack Horseman” to begin with, which is surprising given how perfect it matches the show’s main character. According to Patrick, the theme started just as a way to test the equipment and acoustics of his new studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The drummer sent early chords to his uncle, who realized his nephew was working on something pretty special. Ralph added the song’s signature mix of tenor saxophone, bass trombone and baritone sax.

Eventually Patrick was contacted by “BoJack” executive producer Noel Bright, who was feeling confident he could land the musician to do the theme after the show’s producers secured all of their top picks for vocal talent, including Will Arnet and Aaron Paul. Bright wanted something emblematic for the show, and his first pick just happened to already be cooking something up.

“When we heard the original track, we knew immediately it worked,” said Bright. “It just captured the tone so well. When you hear the saxophone and you hear the dream-like quality of the piece, it was something we weren’t looking for, but we knew it was right when we heard it.”

Fans will most certainly agree with Bright. Listen to more about the creation of the “BoJack” theme straight from Patrick and Ralph Carney in the podcast below. The talk ends with the debut of the four-minute version of the song.

The first three seasons of “BoJack Horseman” are now streaming on Netflix. The show has already been renewed for Season 4.

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Musical duo Tegan and Sara released the music video for their track “Hang on to the Night,” which might catch the eye of “Bojack Horseman” fans. The two rock some major similarities – especially since the star of the clip is an animated horse – and that’s because the clip was directed and illustrated by Lisa Hanawalt, production designer and producer for the Netflix comedy. 

The singing-songwriting sisters reached out to Hanawalt and entrusted her with the creative direction for the video. “When [Lisa] sent me her drawings, I already felt very realized, as if she saw me,” Sara told Nylon. The song was a response to a number of sudden deaths in the sibling’s family and their anxiety about morality. The video explores, both literally and figuratively, the “regenerative” aspect of the night. “If you can manage to hang on, you can face another day,” Sara added. 

READ MORE: Cate Blanchett Stars in the New John Hillcoat-Directed Massive Attack Video for ‘The Spoils’ — Watch

The “Bojack” artist was inspired by traditional folklore and moments from “Fantasia” and had Nicole Stafford in charge of animation. The story follows a purple horse who is the guardian of the night sky and two star-crossed lover cats who share intimates moments and then take to the sky. The trippy video also features a slew of exotic creatures (just wait until you see the snakes with breasts) who are awaken by the horse and dancing half-human/half-plants.

“Hang on to the Night” appears on the duo’s latest album “Love You to Death.” Watch the video below:

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Margo Martindale still remembers the moment she decided she wanted to be a screen actress.

“When I left University of Michigan, I went to Harvard to act in a play at Threepenny Opera with Christopher Reeve,” the actress recently told IndieWire. “I remember sitting on the campus of Harvard, sitting under a tree and a light hit me in such a way. I was just thinking and I thought, ‘That’s what I’d like to do.'”

READ MORE: ‘The Hollars’ Trailer: John Krasinski Deals With Dysfunctional Family Drama

It may sound a bit like divine intervention, but Martindale had long been thinking about making the jump from stage acting, something she had done since she was just a kid, to the big screen. The Texas native knows the story sounds a little funny, but she delivers it with such conviction that it’s hard to deny. And she certainly has a sense of humor about it.

“That’s really what happened,” Martindale laughed. “That’s how it happened.”

The Scene Stealer

Martindale wasn’t nervous about shifting professional and creative gears – “No, I knew from sitting under that tree that I could do it,” she half-joked – and she approached her decision with her trademark gusto. Although it was hardly a quick rise to the top (Martindale’s first film didn’t come along until 1990, nearly twenty years after her moment under the tree), she built up a steady string of Off-Broadway theater work that kept her busy and growing.

By the time she landed that first film role as a “pit girl” in Tony Scott’s “Days of Thunder,” she was a scene-stealing character actress that everyone couldn’t help but admire. A popular story holds that her “Thunder” co-star Robert Duvall actually mistook her for a real pit girl when he first met her, proof of her early ability to embody any kind of role she put her mind to.

“Justified”

In the years that followed, Martindale continued to steal scenes left and right, thanks to turns in films as diverse as “Million Dollar Baby” and “Orphan” and lauded roles in television series like “The Americans” and “Justified.” Throughout her three decades on the big screen, Martindale has worked consistently (she has an even 100 credits on her IMDb profile at the present moment), and she’s rarely had to place quantity over quality.

“Well, let me just say, as I’ve gotten older, the parts have gotten better,” Martindale said when asked about how her career has changed over time. “As I’ve gotten older, it got bigger and bigger. The parts got bigger and bigger and more interested and more complicated.”

It’s not the kind of story people often hear about women in Hollywood – especially women like Martindale, who are in their mid-sixties and damn proud of it – but Martindale’s focused work ethic and ability to work in a myriad of genres have taken her far. One might even say she’s our best character actress.

“Character Actress Margo Martindale”

That’s certainly the thinking at Netflix animated series “BoJack Horseman,” which cast Martindale as herself – kind of – back in 2014, literally in the role of “Character Actress Margo Martindale.” She loves it. “I’m bonkers about it,” Martindale said of the show.

It’s also introduced her to a new subset of fans, many of whom manage to recognize her out in public, despite the fact that her “BoJack” avatar is, of course, an animated version of her.

“BoJack Horseman”

“Some girl stopped me yesterday,” Martindale said. “I said, ‘What, do you recognize me from my cartoon?’ She said, ‘Well, I knew who you were.’ I was like, ‘Wow.’ It’s kind of a culty, wonderful thing.”

Martindale is also out promoting her latest feature film, John Krasinski’s “The Hollars,” which casts Martindale as a big-talking, big-hearted matriarch who must prepare her family – including Richard Jenkins, Sharlto Copley and Krasinski himself – for the worst when she falls ill with a massive brain tumor. The film premiered at Sundance in January and is now heading into its theatrical release, and Martindale’s sustained enthusiasm for the project is invigorating.

Perhaps it’s because of the serendipitous nature of the film, or at least of working with Krasinski.

“Get Margo Martindale, And I’ll Do It”

“John and I had done a commercial together in 2000, a Marshalls commercial, and we connected big time then,” Martindale remembered. “When I was doing [the television series] ‘The Millers,’ John was good friends with [co-star] Will Arnett, and he said, ‘Do you know how to get in touch with her?’ and I said, ‘Please tell John to call me. I haven’t talked to him in 16 years.'”

Martindale had also previously done a film with screenwriter James C. Strouse – 2009’s “The Winning Season” – and loved his writing. By the time Krasinski sent her the script for “The Hollars,” she was pretty much sold. Jenkins, who plays her husband in the film, helped matters, too, as Martindale explained that he told Krasinski, “Get Margo Martindale, and I’ll do it.”

The filming experience was very special for Martindale, who reveled in being directed by a fellow actor, something she says she finds “comforting” for her actorly spirit. Martindale still prepares for each part with a serious eye for the craft and the process.

“The Hollars”

“I approach each thing coming from the text of the film, the play, the television show, and try to figure out what the facts are and then try to come up with somebody that I haven’t done before,” she said.

Despite the success Martindale has found in her long-running career – including two Emmys for her work on “Justified” and “The Americans” – the actress can’t help but get starry-eyed when it comes to awards talk. When asked if she still gets excited about accolades after all these years, she laughed, “Absolutely. Are you kidding?”

READ MORE: ‘The Americans’ Season 5: Margo Martindale, Frank Langella to Return for ‘Final Acts’

She added, “I’m a baby at all that. That started at 50, though I did win best actress in college at 18. Maybe in high school, too, but I was the only one acting in high school.”

Plenty of performers talk at length about how lucky they are for their particular careers or special breaks, but Martindale truly seems to believe she’s been especially, notably fortunate.

“It takes an opportunity to show that you have more goods than others thought,” she reflected. “So many actors who are really gifted and talented just don’t get the opportunity. I happened to get that opportunity. I’ve been very, very, very, very fortunate, and I’m very grateful for my career and that at 60, I won an Emmy.”

She smiled and added, “It’s really good.”

“The Hollars” is in theaters today, August 26.

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As part of last year’s XOXO Festival, Lisa Hanawalt of “BoJack Horseman” gave a moving presentation on her creative process and the years of work leading up her to breakthrough on the animated Netflix comedy. “I’m a bad artist. I’m lazy and untalented and bad” the production designer says as a self-deprecating introduction, though it’s quickly made clear that the emotions behind the statement are genuine: Hanawalt details the negative feelings that sometimes inspire her work, saying that “feeling like shit” is part of her process.

READ MORE: Tegan and Sara Team Up With ‘BoJack Horseman’ Illustrator For Mystical ‘Hang on to the Night’ Video

She then goes on to show the slogans for Subway (“food option”), Chevrolet (“I’m a big boy”) and McDonald’s (“I love something, is it this?”) that she would tweet at said corporations, partially as an exercise and partially to be a troll. Here and elsewhere, she’s consistently humorous and engaging.

READ MORE: How ‘BoJack Horseman’ Achieved Perfection Without a Word

Hanawalt also discusses agoraphobia, the “Baby Geniuses” podcast she co-hosts with Emily Heller and her lifelong obsession with horses (“they’re really dangerous and unpredictable, but I can’t help it”), which has, of course, played into “BoJack.” Watch the full presentation below.

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“BoJack Horseman” is among the funniest comedies on TV, though its comic sensibilities have always leaned toward the darker end of the spectrum. A new video from Wisecrack delves into the show’s philosophy, described here as focusing on the “disillusionment that inevitably comes when you look beneath the surface.”

READ MORE: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Production Designer Lisa Hanawalt Reveals Her Unique and Beautiful Creative Process

At the center of this all is Hollywoo, the show’s stand-in for Hollywood, where BoJack (voiced by Will Arnett) and his talking-animal cohort live and work. As one character describes it, this is “a real pretty town smack on top of all that black tar. By the time you realize you’re sinking, it’s too deep.” This video takes it a step further, arguing that “BoJack Horseman” uses Hollywoo as a stand-in for existence itself — a sobering thought, given its bleak view of things.

READ MORE: How ‘BoJack Horseman’ Achieved Perfection Without a Word

Plenty of lines support this theory, a few of them sampled here: “The universe is a cruel, uncaring void. The key to being happy isn’t to search for meaning; it’s to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually you’ll be dead.” “Do I have a purpose?” For more on the links between BoJack and Kierkegaard, watch below.

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With the end of the year right around the corner, chances are you’ll be seeing numerous lists of the best television episodes of 2016, and chances are high that included on said lists will be “Fish Out Of Water” from “BoJack Horseman” Season 3.

Told almost entirely without dialogue, the episode finds BoJack attending a film festival underwater and trying to get a baby sea horse back to his family (he’s unclear on how his oxygen helmet actually works, which is why he can’t communicate with anyone).

READ MORE: How ‘BoJack Horseman’ Achieved Perfection Without a Word

The episode is as much a reflection of BoJack’s self-sabatoging ego as it is a celebration of silent film storytelling (the thrills of Buster Keaton and the pathos of Charlie Chaplin are all flooded into the episode’s DNA), and while the episode is now considered one of the year’s best, it took some effort for creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg to convince Netflix to let him do it.

“Sometimes when you want to do something new and challenging some people in charge might need some convincing,” he wrote on Twitter last night. “In my experience, it is always worth taking the time to convince those people.”

He attached the letter he wrote Netflix executives in which he passionately argues for doing a near-silent episode of “BoJack Horseman.” Bob-Waksberg wisely turned to history to make his case, noting the critical acclaim that met “Shaun the Sheep,” the “Hush” episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and Disney’s “Fantasia,” all of which are mostly silent works without ant dialogue. Read the letter in its entirety below.

In my experience, it is always worth taking the time to convince those people. pic.twitter.com/Iq3j0XKb9a

— Raphael Bob-Waksberg (@RaphaelBW) December 1, 2016

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10. “Mr. Robot”

In its second season, Sam Esmail’s hacker drama took some big swings and succeeded in bringing some of the most challenging and daring filmmaking of 2016 to the small screen. From staggering shocks to a descent into multi-camera madness co-starring Alf, there were moments of “Mr. Robot” we confess we saw coming. But there was so much going on underneath the surface that we couldn’t look away.

READ MORE: Review: ‘Mr. Robot’ Season 2 Stays True to Its Weird Self

9. “Catastrophe”

Amazon’s enchanting Brit-com made a leap by unexpectedly fast-forwarding the story of Rob and Sharon, the couple who decided to make a commitment after a week of passion led to unplanned parenthood. In the show’s second season, their turbulent relationship has settled into a pattern for the comfortably married, which has fueled a creative resurgence in storytelling. They are more mature, the issues they face are different and there’s more at stake, including the viewers’ investment in Rob and Sharon’s happiness. “Catastrophe” made everything just that much stronger the second time around, and remains the epitome of how a short six-episode season can still pack an emotional punch.

READ MORE: Review: ‘Catastrophe’ Season 2 Magically Balances the Brutal and Hilarious Truths

8. “Rectify”

There is simply no other series on television as successful in its engagement with existential quandaries as Ray McKinnon’s melancholic masterpiece. Directly applied to life and family, Daniel Holden’s mental escapades take enticingly literal shape in his day-to-day, minute-by-minute activities, even when he’s spending hours alone in the middle of a gorgeous Georgian field. More specifically to 2016, McKinnon’s final season seems right on track to conclude in a way befitting its distinct nature. While always impeccably paced and filled with performances perfectly in tune with the show’s individual tone, Season 4 is moving steadily toward the fleeting finality found in life; in other words, it’s intent on providing answers to the unanswerable questions that matter to our characters in a way in which both they and we can find closure.

READ MORE: ‘Rectify’ Review: Season 4 Gives the Unknowable a Voice in Profoundly Moving Final Year

7. “Atlanta”

“Atlanta” is a beautiful and dreamy series, and yet it’s also the most direct in that it taps straight into Donald Glover’s psyche. His intent to capture what it feels like to be black in Atlanta is a meandering and sometimes metaphorical look at this experience, which can be dangerous and frightening but also occasionally sweet and bizarre. While race plays a big part in the series’ themes, Glover’s debut as a TV creator also shines a light on thwarted ambition, co-parenting, success, and self-expression. What happens isn’t as important as how it happens and how we feel when watching it. It’s a stunning first foray into Glover’s own show, and he and his team — including brother Stephen Glover and director Hiro Murai — deserve all the praise.

READ MORE: ‘Atlanta’ Review: Donald Glover’s First Series Is Already Essential Viewing

6. “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson”

If you don’t learn from history than you’re doomed to repeat it. While we haven’t seen a case quite like the O.J. Simpson trial since the mid-’90s, writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski recognized the fateful court case held lessons wholly applicable to modern society. Moreover, the duo — along with a team of talented directors including John Singleton and Ryan Murphy — were able to craft fresh perspectives out of characters we all would’ve felt overfamiliar with prior to “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” all while building drama leading up to an ending we all definitely knew was coming.

It was a huge risk, especially when you consider Murphy’s track record for hugely ambitious projects that fall apart before the final episode. Yet thanks largely to the steady hands of its writers, “American Crime Story” brought us an engaging, engrossing take on an event we might have thought we understood — only to find that there was so much more to learn. These 10 episodes marked 2016’s most pleasant surprise; when Season 2 hits, we’ll be better prepared.

READ MORE: Review: ‘The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story’ Lends Its Perceptive Voice to the ‘Endless Conversation’

5. “You’re the Worst”

Nonchalantly stabbing your husband. Finding sexual release adjacent to a rotisserie-d varmint. Keeping the death of your partner’s dad from him in hopes he’ll first buy you tickets to the Famous Pets of Instagram Cruise. Through the actions of its thoroughly reprehensible but ultimately lovable characters, “You’re the Worst” continues to be one of the most outrageous and hilarious comedies on TV.

But what really sets it apart in its third season is its ability to consistently take risks and never settle. Take, for example, the show’s decision to bid adieu to its popular Sunday Funday tradition, or devoting an entire episode to Edgar in a moving but unflinching look at his PTSD. The four main characters also experienced significant, life-changing character arcs, accomplishing things we never thought we’d see (even when we always knew they could). The reversals of fortune in the finale — and the expectations that went along with them — were heartbreaking, realistic and still note-perfect. We can’t wait to see what “You’re the Worst” comes up with next.

READ MORE: ‘You’re the Worst’: Why Sunday Funday Had to End, According to Aya Cash, Kether Donohue and Stephen Falk

4. “Better Call Saul”

The beauty of what Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have built with their “Breaking Bad” prequel can be found entirely in its details, which bring a richness to the world and characters we’ve gotten to know so intimately over the first two seasons. In Season 2, “Saul” found a new depth to the drama, making the seemingly mundane as exciting and terrifying as the most high-stakes action-adventure. We know where, eventually, Jimmy McGill ends up, but the journey has us hooked.

READ MORE: Review: ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 2 Might Just Break Our Hearts (In A Good Way)

Read on for IndieWire’s Top 3 shows and the runners-up that just missed the cut.

The IndieWire TV team has already narrowed down their favorite episodes of 2016, but now they’re sharing their favorite TV quotes of the year. Using the hashtag #BestTVLines2016, television critics like New York Times’ James Poniewozick, Variety’s Maureen Ryan and Uproxx’s Alan Sepinwall, among others, tweeted their favorite phrases from some of the best series out there. It’s an annual tradition started by Ryan and Co., but the entire Twitter community is encouraged to participate and share, creating a joyous celebration of the best small moments from the year of television.

Some of the notable shows that they chose bites from include “Billions,” “Veep,” “The Americans,” “BoJack Horseman,” and more. Among our favorites is IndieWire’s Michael Schneider’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” quote (we’re not biased, we promise): “F*ck you, 2016. F*ck. You,” which pretty much sums up the year.

READ MORE: The 25 Best TV Episodes of 2016

Check out IndieWire’s Ben Travers, Hanh Nguyen and Schneider’s choices :

READ MORE: The Best TV Posters of 2016

For additional #BestTVLines2016 tweets from other critics, see below, or click here.

Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletter here.

“BoJack Horseman” creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg is about midway through the making of a new season of his critically acclaimed comedy, but he also isn’t exactly sure how he feels about it.

“Let me ask you this about art,” he said to IndieWire. “This is something I really go back and forth on a lot, and in the show we kind of go back and forth with this a lot: Do you think art is good? You know what I mean? Are we in ‘Cabaret’ right now and we’re like, distracting ourselves?”

The question came during an open and honest conversation about Season 3 of the show, Bob-Waksberg’s personal reaction to America’s changing political climate and even a little bit about the in-progress Season 4.

READ MORE: The Top 10 TV Shows of 2016

However, we first began by discussing the second anniversary of the “BoJack Horseman” Christmas special, released in December 2014, which takes a little work to track down due to the way Netflix organizes its library.

“I feel like there’s a lot of people who have discovered ‘BoJack Horseman’ in the last year who do not realize there’s a ‘BoJack Horseman’ Christmas Special,” he explained. “You have to go on Netflix and search for the Christmas Special. It’s a gift for you, if you’ve never seen it before. A brand new half hour of ‘BoJack’ that you didn’t even know existed.”

Just in time for the holiday season, Bob-Waksberg spoke with IndieWire in mid-December, just after he and the “BoJack” staff had finished writing Season 4, and a few weeks before they were set to finish recording all the actors. “Then, we just have to make it,” he said, before the show’s eventual debut in 2017.

The timing of the production schedule brought with it a certain sort of outside influence: “We were starting Season 4 right around the time when Season 3 came out, and we were seeing all these wonderful beautifully written analyses of Season 3 every day. Well, now, the pressure’s really on for Season 4.”

“Then,” he added, “as we were writing the season, I was able to kind of get away from that a little bit. People stopped talking about ‘BoJack’ Season 3 and they started talking about other concerns, of which there are a great deal many in the country.”

That once again changed (to some degree) at the end of 2016, thanks to year-end coverage like IndieWire’s (which named “BoJack Horseman” Season 3 as the best show of 2016). “It’s very nice to be included on these lists and included in these awards situations, but, again, as I was trying to write the finale I’m all of a sudden reminded of like, ‘Oh, people really loved Season 3. Oh, don’t let them down now,'” he said. “The writing of the season was bookended by this tremendous self-imposed pressure and doubt.”

READ MORE: ‘The Black Keys’ Drummer Patrick Carney Reveals The Origins Of The ‘BoJack Horseman’ Theme

His relationship with Top 10 lists and other sorts of accolades in general is pretty complex. “It’s exciting to be on them,” he said. “It’s also terrifying and awful and fills me with impostor syndrome. Also, at the same time as well, it doesn’t matter at all. It’s simultaneously all three of those things, wonderful and terrible and absolutely meaningless.

“It has been a nice distraction at the end of this year from some other horrible things that are happening in the world,” he added. “But maybe it’s bad to be distracted. I don’t know. That’s what I’m still trying to figure out. Maybe I shouldn’t be allowing myself any joy at all in this moments, any sense of like, ‘Oh, well, things are going to be okay because we got a Critics’ Choice Award.’ I think that’s dangerous. It worries me. I feel tremendous guilt over that, but also I think my guilt is worthless unless it is funneled into action.”

Even when Bob-Waksberg opens up in an interview, he’s always very conscious of the fact that he’s being interviewed, as well as past conversations. For example, IndieWire interviewed him for the first time in the summer of 2015, regarding the nascent Season 3 (which wouldn’t premiere for another year). During that first interview, he promised that the new season would be “darker and weirder,” a pullquote that, six months later, he told us he regretted.

So, while a year later he did admit that “Now that you’ve seen Season 3, wouldn’t you agree that we’re darker and weirder?” he was reluctant to set up exactly what we might expect from Season 4. We did learn a lot about some themes that underlie the writing, as well as the difficulty of handling an ensemble of characters who, at the end of Season 3, are in very different places. Spoilers for Season 3 follow.

How are you feeling about having this opportunity, to make this show?

I definitely feel like I have a different responsibility now than I had two months ago. I mean, obviously this is going to change a lot of the pop culture we see in the next four years.

I was talking about to my friend recently about “American Beauty.” Remember that movie? I think a common complaint about that movie that I see now, and I feel like some smart journalist coined this idea and I feel bad for ripping him or her off, so apologies to that person who I’m too lazy to Google right now — but the idea that “American Beauty” is a pre-September 11th movie.

[Editor’s note: The earliest reference to this idea we found was Gabe Delahaye in 2010 for Videogum.] 

You watch that movie now and it’s all about, oh, everything is great, and I’m miserable. You know? The country is at peace and the economy is good and there are no real concerns other than my annoyance that my wife doesn’t want me to spill beer on the nice couch. That’s kind of what that movie is about.

Then two years later it’s like none of that matters anymore. Two years later, like, oh my god. Who gives a shit about that poor, sad, rich guy in the suburbs? We are at war. We are under attack. We have this crazy man as our president. Everything is terrible.

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?

That also might just be me kind of in the haze of this election saying this, and that even now things feel less panicky than they did a month ago. Maybe in two months everything will snap back to normal and it’ll be this depressing thing where we all said, “Oh, no. We’re going to use our art for good. We’re going to change the way people think about things. We’re going to tell the right kind of stories.” Then, “Oh, actually. You know what? Never mind. We don’t have to.”

If Season 4 isn’t very affected by the way things have changed in the last six months, what were the themes that really ended up affecting the show?

Since I literally just finished the script for the finale less than a week ago, this is the first time I am publicly talking about Season 4 in any way. I’ve not yet sharpened what I want to say about it or how I want to sell it. I don’t know if I have enough distance to really look at the season and say, like, “Oh, this is what this is about. This is the story we were telling.” I don’t want to do a disservice to myself to pin something on it now.

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?

Obviously that’s been a big part of the show forever. It was a big part of the Season 3 finale when Diane tells BoJack how important “Horsin’ Around” was to her. To have her tell him that is a very powerful thing and a great argument for even what seems like the superficial of stories, the most superficial art.

But it is something that we were thinking a lot this season, too. How we’ve been affected by narrative, and when does that get us in trouble? We assume things are going to come together in a certain way because our culture has been so saturated by the good guy always wins and true love is forever and things work out. How has that affected us or inspired us for good or for ill? You know what I mean?

When you had that scene in the finale, with Diane telling BoJack what the show really meant to her, did you always have that idea in her backstory?

I think somewhere in Season 2 we decided that it was a part of her backstory that we were going to reveal at some point. It was just about finding the right place for it. I think it helped us, a little bit, answer the question — which I think is a good question for all of our characters — why is this character continuing to hang out with BoJack?

READ MORE: ‘Bojack Horseman’ Creator Reveals The Email He Wrote to Convince Netflix To Do Near-Silent Episode

For Diane, I think specifically it was why would someone like Diane continue to spend time with someone like BoJack, considering who she is and who he is? And to refer back to that very formative experience, I think, informed that a little bit, or kind of helps us nudge to explain that in some way. As well as all the other bonds they share and the other things that have happened since they’ve met and their other connections. We thought that was a nice little piece of backstory, to help that friendship a little bit.

It seems like the trickiest part with any sort of ensemble like this is what you just said, the idea of “Why are all these people still able to spend time together?”

We do try to reflect on the show. I think especially Season 3 does end with a lot of relationships being blown up — we didn’t want to just jump back in like everything is normal in Season 4 and everyone’s like, going to the Roast of Gloria Steinem together again. Let’s not rush to get all of our characters in the same room together again. Let’s be a little more meticulous about it and mark, okay, where is BoJack at with this character right now? Where is BoJack at with this character right now? How do we want to play that when they come into contact again? I think we were very careful about that.

Obviously this is a show with five main characters. Unless we write off one of the characters, which I guess could happen, that they presumably they will have to interact with each other at some point. We wanted to again be careful with that.

For all of the readers who are craving more “BoJack” and can’t wait until the summer what I would suggest to them is go check out the “BoJack Horseman” Christmas Special. That’s available now on Netflix. It’s always good. It’s always a good time. I think the more you watch it the more you like it. I think, as Todd says, “Things don’t become traditions because they’re good, BoJack. They become good because they’re traditions.” I implore you to make a tradition of the “BoJack Horseman” Christmas Special. I think you’d be glad that you did.

What’s the legacy of the “BoJack Horseman” Christmas Special been for you?

I think it’s a fun little half hour of television. I found it interesting to revisit in the wake of what has occurred in Season 3. I think to watch now little Sabrina, played by Sarah Lynn, has a different feel to it than it did watching it when it first came out, or to watch BoJack spend the day in bed with his best friend Todd, has a different feel to it than it did in the context that it was created.

That, I think, is interesting, that art lives and breathes and changes based on context certainly within the show. There are a couple of jokes about anti-semitism that are maybe less funny to me now than they were a couple years ago, when I thought that anti-semitism was a retro concern that we needn’t worry about in today’s civilized, mature society. But here we are, and life is an adventure.

Regarding Sarah Lynn: When you were writing the Christmas special, did her arc as it ended up playing out over the last two seasons already feel like it was happening?

Yes, that was intentional. I think we knew what was going to happen to Sarah Lynn to some extent — not all the detours and cul-de-sacs on the way there, but we knew the story we were going to tell with Sarah Lynn.

It was definitely intentional that the “Horsin’ Around” episode is about the horse’s relationship with Sabrina. It’s not an episode primarily about Ethan and Olivia, although they are also present and have their times to shine as well. I did want to really underline the sweetness at the heart of this Horse and Sabrina relationship, which I hoped would translate somewhat to the BoJack and Sarah Lynn relationship. That when you see BoJack and Sarah Lynn you’re keeping some of that real warmth and tenderness in mind.

To wrap up, what has surprised you the most about the reaction to Season 3?

I have an answer but I don’t know if I want to say it. One of the things I really enjoy about reading the reviews and reading the comments and the feedback is seeing how people interact with the show and draw their own conclusions and kind of decide what it means for themselves.

It was written and produced in a way to be intentionally open to interpretation. I know what it means for me and what was meant for it to mean, but I also did want other people to interpret it however it meant to them. I’ve been delighted by all the interpretations, some of which I have considered and some of which really caught me off guard.

I think it’s wonderful, especially if they like it. If you have an interpretation that makes you not like it, I would suggest that you have a different interpretation. Maybe the thing you thought was dumb you misunderstood and it was actually smart. Try that and see what that does for you. Just to help you out. Just to help you get more pleasure out of the show. If you thought a thing was bad, maybe it was good.

Maybe you just need to rewatch the “BoJack Horseman” Christmas Special, now available on Netflix.

It’ll explain everything.

The “BoJack Horseman” Christmas Special, as well as Seasons 1-3 of the show, is now available on Netflix.

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