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‘BoJack Horseman’ creator shades Netflix, Amazon for dismissing end credits

"BoJack Horseman" and "Undone" creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg is taking his distributors, Netflix and Amazon, to task over end credits.
(David Livingston / Getty Images)
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“BoJack Horseman” is officially done with Netflix, and so is creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg.

Over the holiday break, Bob-Waksberg threw shade at his own distributors, Netflix and Amazon, for shrinking end-credits sequences into tiny boxes in order to tease the next program. The showrunner made his stance on the credits issue clear on Twitter, replying to others who were having the same problem.

“Would love to make a show for a network that doesn’t do this,” he wrote in response to actor-musician Steven Van Zandt, who was taking a stand against the practice with the hashtag #LetCreditsRoll. “If you work at one, let’s talk.”

Bob-Waksberg then alluded specifically to Netflix, namedropping a new fantasy series the streaming giant has been pushing over others since its release last week: “The Witcher.”

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“A show represents the cumulative tireless work of hundreds of creative artists who dream of one day having their names shrunk into a tiny box and then cut off abruptly by a trailer for The Witcher,” he continued.

Later in the thread, a different Twitter user called Amazon out for reducing the credits at the end of another Bob-Waksberg project, “Undone.” Like “BoJack Horseman,” “Undone” has received critical acclaim for its innovative animated storytelling — no doubt thanks to many whose names have been minimized to a near-illegible font size.

“When I watched Undone, they put up an ad for the next episode, over the picture, BEFORE it even hit the credits,” Bob-Waksberg responded in agreement. “The person I was watching with got so distracted, we had to go back and watch the ending again because she missed it.”

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Netflix announced recently that, after a successful five-year run, “BoJack Horseman” would end with its sixth season, which wraps next month. Throughout its stint on the platform, the quirky show about a cynical talking horse (voiced by Will Arnett), has been a hit with devoted fans and critics alike. “Undone,” co-created by Kate Purdy, was met with a similarly warm reception upon its September debut and has been renewed for a second season at Amazon.

Earlier this year, however, Bob-Waksberg criticized Netflix for its treatment of “Tuca & Bertie,” an animated series created by his “BoJack” colleague Lisa Hannawalt and executive produced by him, which was canceled after one season.

“When we started on ‘BoJack,’ it was understood that the Netflix model was to give shows time to find an audience, and to build that audience ... that was, at the time, the Netflix model: to give shows time to build,” Bob-Waksberg told The Times. “It’s a shame that they seem to have moved away from that model.”

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The final batch of “BoJack Horseman” episodes debuts Jan. 31.

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