Animated television shows for an adult audience have really grown up since the days of The Flintstones premiered on prime time in 1960. Family Guy and other similar adult-oriented cartoons constantly tackle non-family-friendly humor, but Bojack Horseman is an animated show that tackles drama in a way that is superior to most live-action drama shows. Not only has Bojack Horseman Season 4 proven that it is one of the finest animated shows ever made, but it might be one of the finest shows ever made. It is so good, that is going to be hard to the producers to top Bojack Horseman Season 4 with Bojack Horseman Season 5.

Who and What is Bojack Horseman?

In case you don’t have a Netflix subscription and are unfamiliar with Bojack Horseman, it is an animated program that premiered in 2014. Seasons of the show have shown up all at once for streaming every summer, even though Season 4 arrived slightly later than usual. Bojack Horseman takes place in an anthropomophoric world, but unlike worlds like Zootopia, ordinary humans live beside half-human/half-animal people. Not only that, but the humans and animal hybrids mate with other and the science of this is justly never addressed.

The title character, played by comedy alum Will Arnett, was once the star of a nineties comedy shown known as Horsin’ Around, a kitschy premise about a half horse/half man raising three kids, in the spirit of Full House or Family Matters. After the show ended, Bojack has spent the last decade and a half doing nothing in his presumably paid for mansion, doing nothing but drowning in booze and one-night stands.

Season 1 was all about Bojack making a book deal on his autobiography, and attempting to start a relationship with his fully human ghostwriter Diane Nguyen (Alison Brie). It was one that was doomed to fail as Diane developed a relationship with Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins), a half-man, half-dog who was the star of Mr. Peanutbutter’s House, a rip-off of Horsin’ Around. Other characters introduced were Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), Bojack’s off-and-on agent/sex partner, and Todd Chavez (Aaron Paul), a freeloading free spirit who has lived on Bojack’s couch for quite some time.

As for Season 2, you can see my summary of it here with an old article that I wrote for The Gospel Herald, along with predictions. Yeah, I was slightly off on them, as well as my predictions for Season 4 after watching Season 3. By the way, there are some spoilers coming up ahead, so don’t hit the jump unless you want to see them.

Bojack Horseman Season 4 Recap

Bojack Horseman Season 4 was probably the best so far due to its dramatic turn. The Season 3 finale left with Bojack again leaving Hollywoo (it’s been called that since Bojack literally removed the “D” from the Hollywood sign in Season 1), and he stayed away for a long time at “The Old Sugarman Place” as shown in Episode 2 of Season 4. What is interesting about the episode was how it showed the past life of Beatrice Horseman (Wendie Malick), while showing Bojack’s present. It was done in such a unique way that one can’t help but feel much sympathy for Beatrice, in spite of her near abusive behavior to Bojack in past episodes.

Then there was “Time’s Arrow”, Season 4 Episode 11, which was one of the most tear-jerking episodes of television that I have ever watched. It showed the world from Beatrice’s point-of-view, complete with dementia and a very sad past life. It is rare that television produces something this good, and it really showed how dynamic this show was.

It almost didn’t happen. This season introduced a character who I felt almost killed the show. This would be Hollyhock, who was thought to be Bojack’s daughter. She was introduced in the Season 3 finale, so her appearance was planned out. However, I found her character to be a little too precocious, and I was glad that she took her leave by the end of the show.

Still, having her revealed to Bojack’s brother, and seeing Bojack do everything he could to help her was worth seeing. It isn’t often that Bojack ends on a legitimately feel-good moment, but Season 4 did.

Bojack Horseman Season 5 Release Date and 5 Questions to be Answered

Which leads to Season 5. According to Bustle, Season 5 of the animate show has not yet been green-lit. This is quite interesting, as most Netflix hit shows like Orange is the New Black or House of Cards get the go-ahead right after they have a hit season, and Season 4 has a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

There were several questions left open in Season 4 that could be addressed in another season.

1) Will Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter stay together?

It was interesting to see that Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter get married, as it seemed from the beginning of the show that she and Bojack were destined to hook-up like Ross and Rachel. Season 4 showed the two of them fighting when they really shouldn’t have, right after Mr. Peanutbutter gave Diane a library of her own like on Beauty and the Beast. It showed that their relationship was getting on the rocks again, particularly after Mr. Peanutbutter ran for governor.

2) Is Mr. Peanutbutter ready for office?

Season 4 had a subplot of Mr. Peanutbutter running for governor, and then helping out the current governor. It was supposed to be the hijinks portion of the show, and it is a definite statement on the past of Los Angeles politics, emphasizing that any idiot can run for office (which could easily be a commentary on the current Trump presidential administration).

3) Will Princess Carolyn find happiness?

It seems like every time that Princess Carolyn finds herself a good man to settle down with, the relationship always goes sour. This year’s breakup was the product of a bad day if anything, and seeing her go from highs to lows on her job is often tiring. I suppose that is the point of seeing this view of an agent/manager.

4) What About Todd?

It was revealed in Season 3 that Todd is asexual, and the issue was dealt with on this episode. What is interesting is that Todd had the opportunity to move back in with Bojack, but rejected it. As usual, he was up to his disastrous plans, with this year being clown dentists. It would appear that he has started a relationship with another asexual person who appears to be some kind of jellyfish hybrid.

5) What about Bojack’s New Project?

It seems like Bojack is going to do a new project that Princess Carolyn signed his name too. All that is known about it is that he looked at the script and hated it, but is he going to “Bojack” this and flee production once again?

Perhaps it is time to start thinking about ending Bojack Horseman. The show has been about how people are self-centered and narcisstic, but with Bojack making a very unselfish decision, it seems that perhaps Bojack’s character journey has come to an end. However, if you want my prediction, Netflix will just renew the show and not even care if people even like it anymore, which might bring a satisfying end to the other characters.

If there is a Season 5, look for it next summer, and I predict it will be a late arrival in 2018.