'BoJack Horseman' Ending Came At Netflix's Request, Says Creator

When Netflix initially announced it had renewed BoJack Horseman for a sixth season, the streamer also declared it would be the show’s last. Obviously, the news was a bummer since Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s series about a clinically depressed, anthropomorphic horse voiced by Will Arnett was both critically acclaimed and loved by its dedicated fanbase. Yet all good things should come to an end, right? Besides, how long did we really think Arnett’s BoJack could stay down on his luck before that larger narrative became too tiring?

Not long after the sixth season announcement, though, rumblings of a more Netflix-driven decision (than a creative one) began making the rounds. Aaron Paul, who voices the character Todd Chavez, claimed it was Netflix — and not the creative team — who “thought it was time to close the curtains.” Bob-Waksberg himself began echoing this sentiment in later interviews, so when Vulture asked him about it on Thursday, the series creator ponied up:

I thought we’d go a couple more years. But you know, it’s a business. They’ve got to do what’s right for them, and six years is a very healthy run for a TV show. Frankly, I’m amazed we got this far. So I can’t complain. I think if we premiered on any other network, or even on Netflix on any other time than when we did, I don’t know if we would’ve gotten the second season.

So as not to give the wrong impression, though, Bob-Waksberg stressed that Netflix’s decision to end BoJack wasn’t a sudden thing. After executives read his original script for the first season finale, they asked him to “leave things a little more open-ended” to “set some things up for season two.” This process continued with subsequent seasons, so Bob-Waksberg finally asked Netflix to let him know (in advance) if they thought it was time to wrap things up. “They don’t have to do that, obviously,” he added. “So I’m very grateful that we got that notice.”

As for the possibility of, years from now, doing a film at Netflix’s request’s a la El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, the BoJack creator remained open to the possibility. “I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, I don’t want to rule anything out, but I will say, I am very happy with where we leave all the characters at the end of the show.”