BoJack Horseman Exists Thanks To This Lighthearted '60s Family Sitcom

During its six-season run, animated series "BoJack Horseman" developed a reputation known for its wacky yet charismatic comedy paired with the fact that it was a sad show guaranteed to leave you in tears — which is why it might come as a surprise that one of the greatest Netflix series only exists because of a particularly lighthearted 1960s family sitcom.

In 2010, "BoJack" creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg was taking meetings with Steven Cohen, a producer at The Tornante Company and future executive producer on the series. After some back and forth, Bob-Waksberg came in for another conversation with five project pitches ready to go, including one for "BoJack." Tornante was an entertainment and media investment firm owned by former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, who jumped into the end of that meeting.

"In a one-minute hallway conversation, I was told three ideas. One of which being: 'This one is about an animated show about a living 'person' who has a body of a man and a head of a horse,'" Eisner explained to Vulture in 2018. "Thinking that sounded interesting, original, and theatrical in this century — yet harking back to my youth of 'Mister Ed,' the talking horse from the early '60s — I simply said, 'Yes, let's do that one.'"

Getting in the room with former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, was far from an easy feat — and certainly one that couldn't happen without cause. "That was the meeting to say, 'This is a project we want to do,'" Executive producer Noel Bright told Vulture in 2018. "'We believe in the idea, we think it's great, and you should hear it — and you should hear it directly from Raphael.'"

Raphael Bob-Waksberg seemed to really understand the line of thinking that connected "BoJack" to "Mister Ed" for Eisner, which led him to imagine the series in terms of what Mister Ed might do behind the scenes and away from the camera. The idea of delving into who a Mister Ed-style character is at his core allowed "BoJack" to go deeper on serious adult issues like regret, addiction, and ambition. Aside from having talking horses in their leading roles, the two series couldn't have been more different. But one thing "BoJack Horseman" and "Mister Ed" — a 1960s show that could never be made today — share is their innate, undeniable sincerity, something that's connected them in spirit all the way to Michael Eisner's green light.