Season 5 Today & From 'BoJack Horseman' to 'Rick and Morty': Inside the Rise of Animated Comedy

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/bojack-horseman-rick-morty-inside-rise-animated-comedy-1143286

Nearly a century ago, visionaries like Walt Disney, Max Fleischer and Tex Avery created a world where cartoons helped bring joy — and information — to people of all ages. But it would be impossible for them to imagine how animation has grown and evolved in today's Peak TV landscape where entire seasons are streamed in a day, viewers interact with creators on the regular and the definition of comedy has stretched far beyond the days of Disney's talking animals.

"I don't know if animation is a style," BoJack Horseman creator and showrunner Raphael Bob-Waksberg tells The Hollywood Reporter. "It's a format. Saying someone's a fan of animation is as silly as saying someone's a fan of live action. That can mean anything."

Bob-Waksberg's critically hailed Netflix comedy (returning Sept. 14 with its fifth season) — is building on a trail blazed by shows like Fox's The Simpsons and FXX's Archer — and has helped the genre break free of a stigma that came with cartoons like The Flintstones and The Jetsons. The genre, which also includes Emmy-winning comedies Bob's Burgers and Rick and Morty, continues to explore darker subjects (like gun control and abortion) that reflect issues in the world today.