BoJack Horseman season 5

The fifth season of the American animated television series BoJack Horseman was released on Netflix on September 14, 2018, and consisted of 12 episodes.^[1][2] It premiered with the episode "The Light Bulb Scene", and concluded with "The Stopped Show". The series continues to focus on anthropomorphic horse BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett), a washed-up 1990s sitcom star who plans a return to relevance with an autobiography written by ghostwriter Diane Nguyen (Alison Brie).

BoJack Horseman
Season 5
Season five promotional poster
Starring	Will Arnett Amy Sedaris Alison Brie Paul F. Tompkins Aaron Paul
No. of episodes	12
Release
Original network	Netflix
Original release	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)
Season chronology
List of episodes

The season picks up where the previous left off, with BoJack finding out his supposed daughter is his sister, continued marriage troubles between Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter, and Philbert, the detective series that BoJack stars in.^[3] Season five was met with near universal acclaim upon release. The season includes one of the series' most acclaimed episodes, Free Churro, which received an Emmy Award nomination and an Annie Award nomination. Actress Issa Rae received a nomination at the 50th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her work on the show.

Critics noted the season's emotion and commentary, notably on the #MeToo movement. Season five contains many guest stars, including Wanda Sykes, Issa Rae, and Jessica Biel. The production crew was looking to diversify the series' cast, as to not "[give] all the juicy parts to the white people". The season's writers had the ultimate goal for BoJack to "get sober and get therapy", in order to "move his character forward".

Cast and characters

Main

• Will Arnett as BoJack Horseman
• Amy Sedaris as Princess Carolyn
• Alison Brie as Diane Nguyen
• Paul F. Tompkins as Mr. Peanutbutter
• Aaron Paul as Todd Chavez

Recurring

• Rami Malek as Flip McVicker
• Stephanie Beatriz as Gina Cazador
• Hong Chau as Pickles Aplenty

Guest

• Ed Helms as Kyle
• Natalie Morales as Yolanda Buenaventura
• Issa Rae as Dr. Indira, Diane's therapist
• Laura Linney as herself
• Wanda Sykes as Mary Beth, Dr. Indira's wife and a corporate mediator
• Eva Longoria as Yolanda's mother
• John Leguizamo as Yolanda's father
• Bobby Cannavale as Vance Waggoner
• Angela Bassett as Ana Spanakopita
• Jaime Pressly as Sadie
• David Sedaris as Cutie Cutie Cupcake, Princess Carolyn's mother
• Jessica Biel as herself
• Aparna Nancherla as Hollyhock Manheim-Mannheim-Guerrero-Robinson-Zilberschlag-Hsung-Fonzerelli-McQuack
• Ken Jeong as Dr. Allen Hu
• Raúl Esparza as Ralph Stilton
• Brian Tyree Henry as Cooper Thomas Rogers Wallace, Jr.
• Daveed Diggs as Cooper Thomas Rogers Wallace, Sr.
• Margo Martindale as Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale
• Whoopi Goldberg as Mikhaela
• James Adomian as Stuart, Princess Carolyn's assistant
• Abbi Jacobson as Emily
• Daniele Gaither as Biscuits Braxby

Episodes

Further information: List of BoJack Horseman episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
50	1	"The Light Bulb Scene"	Adam Parton	Kate Purdy	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	501
Well into the production of Philbert, BoJack is having casual sex with his costar Gina Cazador and finds himself confused and aggravated by Flip McVicker. When he criticizes a scene where Philbert goes to a strip club, Flip changes it to him drawing Gina's character naked. He again asks for it to be changed, and so Flip writes a new scene where Philbert screws in a light bulb while naked. BoJack tries to get Todd to infiltrate WhatTimeIsItRightNow.com after Yolanda Buenaventura asks him to get a job, but he ends up becoming president of ad sales and is unable to help BoJack. BoJack also admits to Princess Carolyn that he feels uncomfortable doing the show because Philbert is a character that reflects the worst parts of him, but both she and Flip promise that he and the character are separate people, and he does the scene. Mr. Peanutbutter picks Diane up from the airport and hands over his completed divorce papers.
51	2	"The Dog Days Are Over"	Amy Winfrey	Joanna Calo	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	502
After Diane's therapist suggests she break her routine, she decides to go to a party at Mr. Peanutbutter's house but learns he is dating pug waitress Pickles Aplenty. She abruptly leaves for Hanoi, Vietnam, her family's country of origin, but finds herself out of touch with the culture. She quickly adapts to it and meets an American film crew member who does not believe she speaks English, a ruse she perpetuates until she accidentally speaks when a light falls next to her. Diane returns home to be given her signed divorce papers; she tells Mr. Peanutbutter that she is happy for him in his new relationship, but breaks down crying in private.
52	3	"Planned Obsolescence"	Aaron Long	Elijah Aron	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	503
BoJack discovers that Gina has a love for musicals and was always interested in singing, so he convinces Flip and Princess Carolyn to listen to her perform without telling her beforehand. She gives a mediocre performance and leaves embarrassed, and while she acknowledges that BoJack making her do it cleared up any ambiguity about her chances, she asks him to not get involved in her personal life again. Mr. Peanutbutter convinces Pickles to watch the International Space Station being blown up with him despite her worries that they are moving too fast, and accidentally admits that he still has feelings for Diane. Yolanda takes Todd to meet her hypersexual family, where her twin sister tries to seduce him by dressing as Yolanda, and her mother deduces that he is asexual and asks him to help her discover her own asexuality. After a mishap with a barrel of ancient lube leads to a fight, Yolanda comes out to her family and is accepted, but Todd breaks up with her after realizing she lied to her family about his credentials to make him look more impressive.
53	4	"BoJack the Feminist"	Anne Walker Farrell	Nick Adams	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	504
Diane is disturbed when Flip casts bigoted, misogynistic Vance Waggoner as Philbert's troubled partner. Mr. Peanutbutter is hurt that Princess Carolyn thinks he is not gritty enough for a reboot of Dog Day Afternoon, so he sets out to cause as much conflict as possible, but only ends up helping everyone he meets. BoJack is hailed as a feminist icon after he expresses unrelated disgust at an award ceremony for Waggoner, which escalates when he says that choking women is wrong and becomes a sensation. Waggoner ducks any further controversy by proclaiming himself a feminist and drops out of Philbert, and Princess Carolyn brings in Mr. Peanutbutter to play his role. BoJack realizes that Philbert is perpetuating misogyny despite claiming to be a deconstruction of it, and asks Diane to come on as a consultant, which she agrees to despite Flip's sexist attitude. Ana Spanakopita, Waggoner's publicist, meets with Diane to inform him that he has again been fired from his new film for bigotry, but also plays for her the recording of BoJack[a] alluding to the incident in New Mexico.[b]
54	5	"The Amelia Earhart Story"	Adam Parton	Joe Lawson	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	505
As a young woman in Eden, North Carolina, Princess Carolyn falls for and is impregnated by the son of the wealthy family she cleans for. Her mother gives her her necklace and encourages her to marry into the family for the good of hers, but Princess Carolyn miscarries and instead leaves for Los Angeles to go to college. In the present, she returns to meet Sadie, a teen mother who is looking to give her unborn child up for adoption. Through a series of phone calls, she learns that BoJack injured his back in a stunt accident on the Philbert set. She tries her best to charm Sadie by reverting to her old Eden mannerisms, but Sadie sees through the ruse and decides she is not a suitable candidate to adopt.
55	6	"Free Churro"	Amy Winfrey	Raphael Bob-Waksberg	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	506
In a flashback, Butterscotch Horseman picks BoJack up from soccer practice after a depressed Beatrice Horseman fails to get him, and spends the entire car ride complaining about her. In the present, Beatrice dies and BoJack speaks at her funeral, his eulogy eventually becoming about himself as he tries to deconstruct his warped views on love, the relationship between him and his parents, and his mother's last words, which he realizes were actually her reading the sign on the wall of the intensive care unit. BoJack comes to a realization that while he will never have the good relationship with Beatrice that he always wanted and that he does not understand what she wanted herself, she deserves the open casket that she requested and opens it, only to realize he was in the wrong funeral parlor the entire time.
56	7	"INT. SUB"	Aaron Long	Alison Tafel	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	507
A married couple, Diane's therapist and a mediator for WhatTimeIsItRightNow.com, tell each other recent work stories where all the characters are changed to nonsensical versions of themselves. Diane's therapist tells her to give herself space from BoJack after she is unnerved by what she heard about him, and so BoJack tracks the therapist down and she convinces him to take her services. Diane is hurt when she finds out and stops seeing her therapist, only for BoJack to quit when he realizes that he was in therapy the whole time. Princess Carolyn requests a new office from Todd, but he is upset that she supposedly ate the last piece of string cheese in their apartment, leading to a fight that resolves when Todd finds his cheese and agrees to start paying rent. Diane confronts BoJack and becomes enraged when he says they are the same. She rewrites a scene so it reflects the circumstances of what Diane heard on the recording, something only she and BoJack will understand.
57	8	"Mr. Peanutbutter's Boos"	Anne Walker Farrell	Kelly Galuska	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	508
The episode is told over four separate Halloween parties at BoJack's house, where at each party Mr. Peanutbutter takes a different partner. In 1993, he brings Katrina, who gets in a fight with him after he continually abandons her against his wishes. In 2004, he brings Jessica Biel, who fights with him after she sees BoJack dressed as a mummy, which invokes her fear of them. He takes Diane in 2009, where Diane, a big fan of BoJack, tries to talk to him just as he learns that Butterscotch died. Taking his reaction as a dismissal, she berates Mr. Peanutbutter for taking her to a party when he knows they make her uncomfortable, and he promises to never do it again. Todd, meanwhile, moves in with BoJack. In the present, Mr. Peanutbutter takes Pickles, but upsets her when he cannot stop talking about his three ex-wives. Diane points out to Mr. Peanutbutter that his problem is his ability to grow up with his partners, and she promises Pickles that she will be alright if she manages to get through the party.
58	9	"Ancient History"	Peter Merryman	Rachel Kaplan	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	509
Season one of Philbert wraps production, leaving Mr. Peanutbutter to ponder his next career move. Princess Carolyn is forced to meet with Ralph when Mr. Peanutbutter pitches a show based on a copyrighted greeting card made by his company. She then learns there is a mother putting her almost born baby up for adoption. Ralph Stilton drives her to the hospital, but she is forced to tell him that she does not consider him a part of her life anymore, which inspires the mother to keep the baby. Emily creates a dating app for asexuals and Todd notices she is distracted by her continuous stream of unfulfilling boyfriends, so he creates a poorly designed sex robot named Henry Fondle, which she is put off by. Hollyhock comes to visit and dumps BoJack's painkillers in a panic when she finds them, forcing them to try and get more, which leads to BoJack unintentionally committing to a relationship with Gina while trying to steal some from her house. BoJack and Hollyhock get caught in a sting operation during a drug buy and flee, during which Hollyhock boosts herself over a fence on BoJack's back and realizes he does not need his pills for pain. When she confronts him about this, an incensed BoJack tells her she can't understand the emotional pain he's been facing his whole life, and the "one bad experience" she had with Beatrice[c] is tame compared to what he endured. Before she departs, BoJack apologizes to Hollyhock and promises not to take painkillers unless he's injured again. After she leaves, BoJack gives into his withdrawal and impulsively drives into oncoming traffic.
59	10	"Head in the Clouds"	Amy Winfrey	Peter A. Knight	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	510
Two months later, BoJack has almost recovered from his broken arm, has increased his painkiller consumption, and has still not publicized his relationship with Gina. The day of the Philbert premiere, Princess Carolyn learns that Flip lifted a line in the show from a joke on a popsicle stick, and the two estranged joke writers come demanding compensation. Princess Carolyn instead fixes the relationship between the two and they sign a release form. While trying to get rid of Henry Fondle, Todd ends up taking him to work, and the robot becomes the CEO of the company by accident. At the premiere, Diane is put off by BoJack saying that the show made him feel better about the wrongs he has done and privately confronts him, getting him to admit to what he did with Penny Carson after a long argument. Diane leaves in disgust and accidentally untethers a giant Philbert balloon, while a shaken BoJack impulsively kisses a now successful Gina in front of a crowd. Henry Fondle orders a second season of Philbert. Mr. Peanutbutter drives Diane home, upset by Pickles not staying to watch the premiere, and she invites him inside after a tender conversation where she decides to quit the show.
60	11	"The Showstopper"	Aaron Long	Elijah Aron	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	511
In the second season of Philbert, a series of strangulations start to occur. BoJack begins to hallucinate the runaway Philbert balloon and brief flashes of his everyday life being on a dark TV set, as well as a golden set of stairs leading up to a bright destination. When he receives a letter under his door that promises to expose his deeds (actually a Philbert advertisement), he begins to conflate his real life with Philbert's and investigates everyone close to him, including Diane, Princess Carolyn, and Charlotte Carson. He has a bizarre musical dream performed by Gina that questions the true motivation of his addiction to fame. Gina finds his stashes of painkillers and leaves him when he tries to take them back by force, while on the show, her character discovers Philbert is actually the one responsible for the stranglings. He starts to choke her, and BoJack does not stop when Flip ends the take, forcing Mr. Peanutbutter to pull him off as everyone watches in horror. BoJack flashes out of reality to the stairs and ascends them, finding himself in a crudely drawn empty space with the Philbert balloon floating above him.
61	12	"The Stopped Show"	Anne Walker Farrell	Joanna Calo	September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)	512
Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane argue over having sex after the Philbert premiere two months prior, but end up having sex again. After another argument, Diane seems to convince Mr. Peanutbutter to be honest with Pickles and rejects his offer to start another relationship, but he is unable to tell Pickles the truth and instead proposes to her. BoJack awakens unable to remember the previous night until Princess Carolyn shows him a video taken of it, having been leaked to the media. She sets up an interview with chinchilla Biscuits Braxby, who softballs BoJack and Gina during their interview. Gina tells BoJack that she will not take action against him for the sake of her burgeoning career, but never wants to interact with him again outside of their professional lives. Henry Fondle is ousted from WhatTimeIsItRightNow.com for his sexual misconduct, and Todd takes him out to a field to kill him with a taser. Philbert is cancelled as a result, giving Princess Carolyn the opening she needs to go to Eden just as Sadie gives birth to a female porcupine; Sadie gives it to Princess Carolyn for being the only prospective parent that was kind to her. BoJack asks Diane to write an article about all his misdeeds, but she instead takes him to a rehab clinic. He asks her why she is helping him after all he has put her through, and she tells him a story about a friend who abandoned her in high school, but who she still took care of when she went through a crisis. As BoJack walks inside, Diane waves to him before driving away.

Production

Development and influences

Series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg served as an executive producer for the season.

Thirteen days after the fourth season's release, Netflix renewed the series for a fifth season in September 2017.^[4] Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Steven A. Cohen, and Noel Bright continued to serve as executive producers for the season.^[5] Cast members Will Arnett and Aaron Paul also returned as executive producers alongside production company The Tornante Company.^[5] Shortly following the season's release, Netflix renewed the series for a sixth and final season.^[6]

According to an interview from Raphael, early planning on season five started in the Summer of 2017, when they "started talking about [the] season".^[7][8] To create the season's storylines, the writers thought about what was "happening in BoJack's life [and] in the life of Los Angeles".^[7] According to Raphael, partial inspiration for the season came from his agency, Creative Artists Agency, who had signed Mel Gibson on as a client around the season's production.^[7] Raphael found this "repugnant", and used it as inspiration for the season's themes, particularly forgiveness.^[7] While creating the season, the writers always "kept landing" on the thought that BoJack "needs to get sober and get therapy". The writers felt that they had to "move his character forward", and so incorporated BoJack's attempts at sobering up in response.^[7] Raphael also mentions in a separate interview that they "burn bridges" every season, and that for season five, the writers decided to "[burn the bridge] of" Beatrice, the estranged mother of BoJack.^[9] The Philbert storyline satirized the genre of "male anti-hero" television series'.^[10] It was also used as a way to offer commentary on the character of BoJack and the series itself.^[10]

A major plot point of season five is the #MeToo movement, which Raphael said "feds into the plot" of the season.^[11] The movement forced Raphael to reconsider the show's own culpability, and so they made the season hoping to "signal" to the audience that "this kind of behavior isn't cool, don't emulate this".^[11] According to Raphael, the season's parallels to the Harvey Weinstein scandals were not planned originally, but were somewhat incorporated into the season once they became public.^[8] The scandals "did not [change] much" about the overarching narrative of the season.^[8] The majority of season five was written before the scandals against Weinstein came out, and series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg claimed it worked in the season's favor, allowing it to "echo and dovetail" real world issues, without being explicitly about a certain issue.^[8]

The writer's room made sure to not portray BoJack in a strictly positive light in the season, as they didn't want to "glamorize him" and mislead the audience into believing he was an "aspirational figure".^[8] Gina was written to be "as fleshed out [as she could be] in one season", as to have her actions and characteristics towards BoJack be understandable for the audience.^[8] The final table reads for the season took place around early 2018, according to Raphael.^[8]

Casting

Wanda Sykes guest starred in the season as several characters.

Will Arnett and Aaron Paul continued to appear as the series' titular protagonist BoJack Horseman and Todd, respectively.^[12] Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, and Paul F. Tompkins were also confirmed to return for the season.^[12] Season five also includes multiple guest stars, notably including Wanda Sykes, Issa Rae, and Jessica Biel.^[13] Rami Malek stars as Flip McVickers, a character that was introduced in the previous season and became recurring in season five.^[14] According to Raphael, the casting crew wanted to hire more people of color to guest star on the show, as they didn't want to "[give] all the juicy parts to the white people".^[15] The crew started to "[keep] numbers" on the amount of minority groups they had given roles to, in order to "[get] better every year as a function of both actors hired and lines of dialogue".^[15]

Marketing and release

To promote the series' renewal, Netflix posted a video announcement on social media, showcasing a text exchange between a "Netflix exec" and BoJack, who informs him of the renewal.^[16] Prior to its release, it was reported the season would premiere on the subscription-based streaming video on demand platform Netflix, like all previous seasons of the show.^[17] The official trailer for the season was released by Netflix on September 4, 2018, ten days before its release.^[17] The season was released on September 14, 2018, consisting of 12 episodes^[12][2]

Letter to critics

Prior to the season's release, screeners were given to critics.^[18] In most cases, Netflix gives a bullet-pointed list of spoilers to not mention in their reviews, but they decided to instead send them a letter posing as Flip McVicker.^[18] The letter had a "demanding, condescending, and contemptuous" tone, whilst also satirizing the idea of a "spoiler letter", including the statement: "all you have to do is stand there and reflect...TV is a mirror. But that’s not all TV is. TV is also a bitch. TV is a lover. TV is a child. TV is a mother".^[18]

Reception

Critical response

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	92/100[19]
Rotten Tomatoes	98%[20]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Vox	[21]
The A.V. Club	B+[22]
IGN	9.6/10[13]
Entertainment Weekly	A-[23]

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 98% based on 48 reviews, with an average score of 9.3. The site's consensus reads "BoJack Horseman continues confidently down the thematic rabbit hole with a fresh and poignant season that's as devastating as it is hilarious".^[20] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the season holds a score of 92 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim ^[19] For Vox, Emily VanDerWerff gave the season a score of 4.5 out of 5, praising the show's "truly sustained artistic response to the #MeToo movement".^[21] Ben Travers of IndieWire, who writes that the "series seems infallible", notes the season's effort to look inward and address controversy, even its own.^[24]

Les Chappell writing for The A.V. Club called the season "painfully funny and also one of the most incisive looks at the [human condition] there is". The review notes "The Light Bulb Scene" as a highlight of the season.^[22] In a review from IGN, Alicia Lutes praised the season, saying it "continues [the series'] streak" of "storytelling and emotional risks".^[13] Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly gave the season a positive review, calling it "brash showbiz satire that's also a religious act of small-screen devotion".^[23] Franich also called the season "a precision-missile focus on contemporary TV", giving it an A-.^[23] In an interview, series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg called the season their "best job of any season of juggling the episodic with the serialized [and] making each episode feel special".^[25]

Accolades and nominations

At the 46th Annie Awards the season won two awards, Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production and Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production for "The Dog Days are Over" and "Free Churro", respectively.^[26] The season was also nominated at the 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program, also for "Free Churro", but ultimately lost to an episode of The Simpsons.^[27] The season won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Animated Series in 2019.^[28] Issa Rae received a nomination at the 50th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance, but lost to Samuel L. Jackson for Incredibles 2.^[29]

Notes

1. As depicted in "Start Spreading the News".
2. As depicted in "Escape from L.A.".
3. As depicted in "lovin that cali lifestyle!!".