BoJack Horseman Creator Crafts a Jewish Family in New Netflix Series

It’s no wonder Raphael Bob-Waksberg is excited to introduce viewers to his new Netflix animated comedy, “Long Story Short.” Charming and oft-poignant, the series follows the Schwooper siblings, jumping back and forth from childhood to adulthood, showing their excited highs and disappointing lows.

“I was thinking about how people change over time and how people stay the same over time,” Bob-Waksberg told Aish.com in an exclusive interview. The show has already been renewed for Season 2 — ahead of Season 1’s premiere.

“After I had kids, I started reflecting on my own upbringing in a new context - thinking about what from my parents I wanted to emulate and what I wanted to do differently,” acknowledged Bob-Waksberg.

“I started thinking about identity and my changing relationship with it. My Jewish identity, certainly, but also my identity as a son, a brother, a father, a husband, a Californian, you name it.”

The veteran creator/executive producer, known for shows like “BoJack Horseman” and “Undone,” thought it would be “fun” to tell a story about a family that bounced around in time to try to capture the full scope of these characters and relationships.

“I thought it might provide the opportunity for powerful storytelling and also really funny comedy,” he explained.

Many of the voice actors–Max Greenfield, David Krumholtz, Abbi Jacobson, Paul Reiser, Lisa Edelstein, Ben Feldman, and Dave Franco– are Jewish, which added a layer of authenticity and connection.

“I definitely think the actors were excited to tell specifically Jewish stories - whether or not they aligned with their own Jewish experience,” said Bob-Waksberg.

“I think, more than anything, they resonated with the rhythms of the Jewish dialogue. Not necessarily what the characters were saying all the time, but the way they say it, was really fun for them to play. And for me as a writer, it felt like I could draw on this whole other part of my life that I really haven’t before; it’s invigorating to realize you have this other gear that hasn’t been utilized.”

Bob-Waksberg said that Edelstein and Krumholtz are drawing on their own parents’ voices and accents as character inspirations.

“Often I would get a new actor in a booth to play a character and I’d say something like, “Perhaps you know somebody like this,” and they’d say, “I know a lot of people like this.”

Watching the episodes, it’s clear the essence of Bob-Waksberg’s very Jewish background is strongly connected to the series.

“Some people, when talking about their religion will say, ‘I’m Jewish, but I’m not Jewish Jewish.’ I think my family was Jewish Jewish. We belonged to a conservative synagogue and I went to a Jewish day school through elementary school. Both my parents were professional Jews - my father worked to help Jewish refuseniks get out of the USSR and later worked in Jewish education, and my mother co-owned a Jewish book and Judaica store with her mother in Palo Alto called Bob & Bob.”

He continued: “Growing up, our house was filled with items they couldn’t sell - chipped menorahs, misspelled banners, dreidels with the wrong number of gimmels...Our family belonged to a Havurah of other families that we would celebrate all the holidays with. I worked at Jewish summer camps. I created Tisha b’Av programming for eight-year-olds. My family regularly hosted Shabbat dinners, seders, and Yom Kippur break-fasts. As a kid, I could probably name more rabbis that my parents were friends with than I could professional baseball players.”

Nevertheless, “Long Story Short” is not autobiographical.

“Anyone looking for clues about my real life or family is going to find a lot of dead ends and red herrings; it is primarily a work of fiction. But of course, there are real dynamics, stories and personalities my writers and I are drawing on from our real lives.”

The biggest challenge was allowing the family’s Jewish distinctiveness to flow, Bob-Waksberg said.

“I really wanted to be true to the specifics of this Jewish family and not fall into the trap of trying to capture every facet of Jewish identity, or over-explaining Jewish terms and ideas for the sake of an audience who might not get everything.”

Aspiring to make the series a celebration of Jewish life, Bob-Waksberg wanted the Jewishness of the characters to feel “fundamental” to who they are and not just “an additional character detail, or like a hat they wear sometimes,” he noted.

“These are characters who grapple with their religion, culture, history, community and traditions and it informs who they are. The show explores the way this religion can sometimes be a wound but also how it can be an incredible balm.”

One of the highlights in the series is the Schwooper siblings’ hilarious protective mom, Naomi, (portrayed by Edelstein) who steals every scene she is in.

“I showed my mother the first episode and she was delighted and relieved at how much the character was NOT like her - and I was delighted and relieved she felt that way!” Bob-Waksberg quipped. “The main thing my mother has in common with Naomi is how much they both love their children, but they express it in very different ways.”

An emotional scene was when Naomi’s daughter Shira (Jacobson) laments how much she misses her mom since her passing, and valiantly tries to find/recreate her recipes.

“I think we are all haunted by the conversations we can no longer have with the

people we’ve lost - conversations both large and mundane. There’s a play my grandfather recommended I read in high school and I never did. It feels even harder now, knowing that if I read it, I wouldn’t be able to talk to him about it. But also, I miss calling my grandmother just to chat.”