Princess Carolyn checks her Blackberry. "The reviews are in, BoJack. One critic called it 'the end of television.' Another just posted a picture of a dumpster fire."
On the night of the premiere, BoJack sits in his mansion, surrounded by "friends" he barely knows. The title card flashes: The BoJack Horseman Show . [S3E2] The BoJack Horseman Show
Fresh off the legacy of Horsin' Around , BoJack is desperate to be seen as a "serious artist." He has teamed up with Cuddlywhiskers, a Harvard-educated neurotic, to create something edgy, avant-garde, and profoundly depressing. The original pilot is a black-and-white existential nightmare where BoJack stares into a mirror for twenty minutes. Princess Carolyn checks her Blackberry
"So..." BoJack says, his voice cracking. "We're thinking Season 2 is where it really finds its feet, right?" The title card flashes: The BoJack Horseman Show
The screen shows BoJack urinating on a copy of the Horsin' Around DVD. The audience in the living room goes silent. On screen, the horse version of BoJack screams at a mailman for no reason. It isn't edgy; it’s just mean. It isn't high art; it’s a car crash in slow motion.
Enter the network executives. They hate the mirror. They hate the silence. They want "attitude." They want "edge" that appeals to teenagers who buy sugar-frosted cereal. Under pressure, the show begins a slow, agonizing transformation. The black-and-white film is replaced with neon lights. The existential dread is swapped for a catchphrase: "Wassup, bitches!"