Watch this now! ‘Bojack’ season 4 and ‘One Mississippi’
BoJack Horseman season 4 premiered on Netflix on September 8, 2017. Logline: Where’s BoJack? A washed up TV star searches for meaning in his Hollywoo life with more than a little help from his friends. Oh, and he’s a talking horse. Verdict: Just when you thought it was safe to open up your Netflix account, BoJack is back and he’s as depressing as ever – although thankfully season four never really reaches the depths of darkness in season three. The first episode of twelve poses the question “Where’s BoJack?”, and his absence sets the tone by opening up the narrative so we can get to know his friends that little bit better. It’s business as usual in Hollywoo, with Mr. Peanut Butter running for POTUS, Diane vying for clicks at the all-female content farm Girl Croosh, and Princess Carolyn still trying to “have it all”: a great job, great relationships, and a family. There are no standalone experimental episodes this year like S3’s largely silent and exceptionally skilled “Fish Out of Water”, but there’s plenty to like. The animators continue to pepper every frame with their signature blend of visual gags and puns, the writing is exceptional, and the cast is proficient as ever. As we finally start to understand the reasons why BoJack (and his family) are so messed up, BoJack begins a transformation himself. We leave him in a better place at the end of the 12-episode arc, and for a show as dark as BoJack Horseman, that’s real progress. The series continues to stand out as the most realistic Hollywoo satire since Sunset Boulevard, but it’s the skill, not the snark, that makes this animated show the most real thing on TV. Watch the trailer here.
One Mississippi season 2 premiered on Amazon on September 8, 2017. Logline: Tig Notaro’s dark comedy about love and loss tackles acceptance, rejection, sexuality, and abuse. Verdict: In 2012, Tig Notaro was a respected LA-based jobbing comedian who had just been diagnosed with cancer. In a gutsy move at legendary LA venue Largo, she revealed intimate details of her diagnosis & treatment – and her career skyrocketed. As her star was ascendant, her personal life spiralled: a breakup, further health issues, and the death of her mother. Notaro prevailed, meeting her now wife (Stephanie Allynne, who plays love interest Kate on the show) and creating the Amazon tragicomedy One Mississippi with Juno writer Diablo Cody. For all the greatness of Tig herself, One Mississippi isn’t perfect – but like the lead character, it’s gutsy and has a lot to say. This series suffers from the opposite of Netflix Drift, cramming in a lot of talking points into a mere six episodes. Some issues raised deserve much more attention, like casual Southern racism & bigotry and how a family comes to terms with childhood molestation. The big season arc, however – aside from an incredibly satisfying love story resolution – focuses on identifying sexual assault, and is played out perfectly with a season-long buildup towards a (now internet famous) scene between Kate and her producer. One Mississippi never plays the victim; in making jokes about abuse in all its incarnations, the show normalizes survivors (never the abuser), giving them permission to speak out about their suffering. We can all learn and grow from this type of cathartic programming. It’s not the funniest show, nor does it possess the best cast, nor beautiful photography, but it might be the most thoughtful presentation of what really matters most: “how well you walk through the fire”. Watch the trailer here.
Critical Reception and Awards Context
Season 4 earned strong critic consensus on Rotten Tomatoes for emotional range and character work. Reviewers at Vulture called it the finest single season of a comedy in ages. The praise aligned with the series’ established strengths in writing and visual detail while noting the careful calibration of tone after the heavier season three arc.
Series Legacies and Endings
BoJack Horseman ended with season 6 in 2020 featuring a prison sentence and friend separations in the finale. One Mississippi concluded after season 2 with no further seasons produced. Both shows closed on their own terms after exploring the same themes of accountability and recovery introduced in the seasons covered here.
Cultural Impact of Trauma Storytelling
The article already notes One Mississippi's approach to normalizing survivors via humor. BoJack's season 4 focus on family trauma roots influenced later discussions of mental health in animation. These threads helped shift industry conversations toward more precise portrayals of recovery without sensationalizing the harm itself.
Production and Creative Team Notes
Raphael Bob-Waksberg created BoJack Horseman; season 4 maintained the blend of visual gags and emotional depth. Tig Notaro and Diablo Cody collaborated on One Mississippi, drawing from Notaro's real experiences. Their combined approach kept both series grounded in lived detail even as the stories moved into broader satire and family reckoning.
The two series remain useful benchmarks for how prestige animation and half-hour comedy can handle difficult material without flattening it into simple resolution. Their combined influence shows up in later shows that treat trauma as something characters carry rather than a single dramatic event to be solved. Viewers still return to these seasons for the specificity of the performances and the way both productions let consequences land without tidy redemption arcs. The balance between sharp industry satire and personal fallout continues to set a standard for writers working in similar formats today.
