Raphael Bob-Waksberg Wants You to Know ‘Long Story Short’ Is ‘Not a Tough Watch’ — in Fact, It’s Highly Rewatchable

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Recommend “BoJack Horseman” to someone, and it’s not uncommon to hear this response: “Isn’t that show kind of… sad?”

Yes, Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s breakout animated series — about a washed-up Hollywoo(d) star whose attempt at a comeback sends him into an extended existential crisis — evoked headlines like, “Is ‘BoJack Horseman’ the Saddest Comedy Show Ever?” and “I Watched All of ‘BoJack Horseman’ in One Month and Now I Want to Die.”

But the early Netflix sensation also engendered responses like, “‘BoJack Horseman’ Is the Funniest Show About Depression Ever,” and “‘BoJack Horseman’ is deeply, ridiculously funny,” and, perhaps fairest of them all, “‘BoJack Horseman’ is famous for being emotionally wrenching. But it’s also ridiculously funny.”

“I think I have, earned or not, developed a reputation for creating shows that are difficult and bracing and challenging and depressing,” Bob-Waksberg said with a laugh, during a recent IndieWire interview. “And yes, I think that is a part of all of my work. But I think what is sometimes overlooked is my shows are delightful. … Most people don’t leave ‘BoJack’ feeling like, ‘Oh, I get it. Everything sucks and is bad and I should kill myself.’ And I don’t think you’ll feel that way watching this show either. How’s that for a pitch? You won’t want to drive into oncoming traffic after watching this show!”

The show he’s referring to is “Long Story Short,” Bob-Waksberg’s latest animated sitcom about the Schwoopers, a Jewish family in the San Francisco Bay area whose moving, hilarious history is highly rewatchable — even after one, 10-episode season. I know this because I’ve watched it many, many times. I watched it twice before writing my initial review. I watched it again before naming it the best series of 2025, and I’ve watched random episodes for no particular reason during the first half of this year.

Each time, the series reveals something new. Each time, it’s extremely entertaining. And each time, I wonder why, exactly, I keep coming back to these same 10 episodes, when I have so little time, and so much more TV to watch — for work and for fun.

So I asked the man himself.

“The truth is we put a lot of thought and care into every episode. I think that’s why it’s so rewatchable,” Bob-Waksberg, this season’s recipient of this year’s Spark Award, said. “There’s stuff you’re not going to notice on your first time through and that’s OK. We want every episode to work at all levels: If you’re kind of half paying attention, you’re going to get the story, you can understand what’s going on, you’re going to get the dynamics. If you’ve never seen an episode of the show before and you’re just walking in because your roommate or your spouse is watching it and you decide to watch it with them, you’re going to get a lot out of it. But the more you know about the characters — if you’ve seen the whole season and are going back through it a second time — there’s more you’re going to pick up on.”

“There are more visual jokes and ironies and you can appreciate the artwork a little more on a second viewing if you have been more focused on the story the first time,” he said. “Also, there’s a lot of dual dialogue; there’s a lot of characters talking over each other and you’re not going to hear everything everyone says. The more you watch it, the more you’re going to pick up, like, ‘Oh, that’s hilarious, and I didn’t even hear that because three other people are arguing at the same time.’ So we want the show to reward rewatches while at the same time not sacrificing the enjoyment on our first watch, and that is done by putting a lot of care and thought into it.”

“This was not a show that was designed by committee or structured by an algorithm to appeal to the right kinds of people in the right way,” he added. “This is a bleeding, pulsating, gob of flesh that we are presenting to you — with jokes!”

‘Long Story Short’Courtesy of Netflix

The structure alone conveys their personal, passionate approach. Ambitious to the core yet effortless to absorb, “Long Story Short” is told in non-linear fashion. Each episode starts with a flashback before launching forward in time to a revealing moment for the family, be it Shira (Abbi Jacobson) trying to enroll her kids in a sought-after elementary school, Yoshi (Max Greenfield) reconnecting with a childhood friend on the eve of a fateful doctor’s appointment, or Avi (Ben Feldman) attending his daughter’s Christmas pageant.

It’s a distinct shift from traditional animated sitcoms, which often freeze time so the characters never age (like “The Simpsons” or “Bob’s Burgers”), and helps explain why “Long Story Short” conveys an immediate intimacy.

“So in that way, I took some inspiration from other places,” Bob-Waksberg said. “‘Boyhood,’ if you watch that movie, it’s not really about much. It’s just about this guy growing up over the course of 12 years. But every time we come in on a new age, it takes your breath away — just the passage of time. Or there’s this comic, ‘Building Stories’ by Chris Ware — that my friend Kate Purdy gave me — that is just a collection of stories about various characters over many years and they’re kind of disconnected.”

But whether a similar storytelling process would work as a sitcom was never a sure thing.

“I remember at the end of ‘Mad Men,’ there was a commercial for ‘Mad Men’ that was kind of a retrospective — like, ‘Here’s the story thus far.’ You get to see all these characters grow and change over the span of two minutes, and it’s very moving, just in commercial form,” Bob-Waksberg said, noting other shows that aired similar recaps (including “BoJack Horseman”). “So yes, [‘Long Story Short’] is going against the norm as far as sitcoms and certainly animated sitcoms go, but I did feel like there’s enough of a precedent where I felt like this is going to work. I’ve seen versions of this work in really affecting, interesting, and funny ways.”

Although emotions run high enough to induce a few happy tears, it’s important to note that “Long Story Short” isn’t another “BoJack Horseman.” Bob-Waksberg’s first series was well-suited for the antihero era, lacing its comedy with crushing satire about Hollywoo egonmania and toxic men, but “Long Story Short” is a family sitcom. It’s built on relationships. It’s delightful, as Bob-Waksberg put it, by design.

“A nice thing about traditional sitcoms is over time you gain a real sense of familiarity with the characters,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of entrances and exits. There’s not a lot of change. You get to know them, and sometimes you get to know them deeply. It feels like you’re with old friends. Every comedy eventually becomes a hangout comedy to some extent. It’s about, ‘Oh, let’s see what Monica and Phoebe are up to this week.'”

“On ‘Long Story Short,’ part of the calculus was, ‘How can we fast-track that affection or sense of knowing these characters given that we’re probably not going to get to a hundred episodes? That we’re not going to get to that sitcom magic number?’ So part of the jumping around in time and telling the story of these characters at different ages from different perspectives in different combinations was to try to make the audience feel like they really knew these characters — really knew this family — by the end of the first season.”

Therein lies what may be the series’ real magic. “Long Story Short” achieves incredible intimacy in very little time. The permeable structure quickly absorbs a slew of relatable moments. The comedy helps to make each of the Schwooper’s memories as indelible to viewers as they are to the characters. The dialogue and performances work hand-in-hand to impart a pronounced familial rapport.

Bob-Waksberg is also quick to credit the animation, courtesy of Lisa Hanawalt and Alison Dubois, for imagery that’s “warm and inviting, in some ways like a children’s book, in some ways like a memory.”

‘Long Story Short’Courtesy of Netflix

“The artists are very careful to not use straight edges,” he said. “Even if they could draw a straight line freehand, [they would] muddy it up a little bit — make it feel a little more dashed off. We don’t always color within the lines. We don’t have to keep the characters on model all the time; they can squeeze and stretch in various ways that makes it look a little more accidental, while of course being very purposeful and intentional. I feel like that conveys a certain level of honesty. It feels more personal. It looks like we made this for you.”

For as moving and heartfelt as “Long Story Short” is, it’s also — say it with me now — very, very funny. One episode sees Yoshi trying to prove himself to his parents by selling mattresses in a tube. Another focuses on Shira’s prom, which coincides with a celebration honoring her mom at the Jewish Community Center. The finale takes place at a funeral, but it’s a funeral in Las Vegas.

So yes, “Long Story Short” may be rewatchable for the simple reason that people like to laugh. They’ll keep coming back to stories and characters that leave a smile on their face, which Bob-Waksberg’s latest always does.

“My first goal is to make something that is entertaining and enjoyable. My first goal is not to make a point about society. If that was my first goal, I think my shows would be very different,” Bob-Waksberg said. “Sure, I would like to make some points about society while we’re there — I’m going to take the opportunity if I can use it — but my goal is not to make you feel bad about yourself.”

“If you like Season 1, you’re going to like Season 2. It was a real joy for me to get to go deeper with these characters to explore some other corners of the universe. I’m being selfish when I say I want people to fall in love with these characters because I have, and I hope I get the opportunity to spend a million seasons with them.”

Here here. Although in some ways, it feels like I already did.

“Long Story Short” is available on Netflix.