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!"
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 .
BoJack tries to fight it, but the lure of a "hit" is too strong. He lets them add a wacky neighbor. He lets them add a laugh track. By the time they reach tape night, the show is a bloated, nonsensical mess of toilet humor and forced cynicism. [S3E2] The BoJack Horseman Show
The show was cancelled before the West Coast airing finished. BoJack spent the next seven years on his couch, rewatching Horsin' Around and wondering why the "serious art" felt so much lonelier than the sitcom.
As the credits roll to the sound of a synthesized fart, the room is deafeningly quiet. Enter the network executives
The year is 2007, and BoJack Horseman is standing in a room full of people who are paid to tell him he’s a genius. This is the birth of The BoJack Horseman Show .
"It’s about the emptiness of fame, Princess Carolyn!" BoJack shouts, nursing a scotch. "It’s high art!" They want "attitude
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.