Not every family is dysfunctional, but each one has its momentswhen they don’t see eye-to-eyeor get into sometimes silly arguments. That’s certainly the case for the Schwooper family, the tight-knit unit at the center ofBoJack HorsemancreatorRaphael Bob-Waksberg’s new adult animated series,Long Story Short. Set to premiere on August 22 on Netflix, the show steps away from the dark, comedic tale of a washed-up and problematic actor in Hollywood to explore a more personal story of three siblings and their parents set over many years as they grow and change. As part ofCollider’s Exclusive Previewevent for upcoming television shows, we’re delighted to share a new sneak peek at a scene that should be familiar to many viewers from their childhood — family game night.
In our sneak peek from Episode 5, all the Schwoopers are seated around the table for board games, but the elder brother, Avi (Ben Feldman), has picked a rather complicated one. His mom, Naomi (Lisa Edelstein), is baffled by thisCatan-like tabletop experience and would rather be watchingMichael Jordanand the Bulls, and his younger brother Yoshi (Max Greenfield) is too busy sticking the pieces up his nose to understand what’s going on. Then there’s his dad, Elliott (Paul Reiser), who’s pretending to understand, sparking an argument over his propensity to feign interest instead of being honest. The only one aside from Avi who actually gets the game is his sister, Shira (Abbi Jacobson), who thinks it’s dumb and that they’re only playing it because Avi has no friends. In short, everything descends into petty bickering among the family that hits explosive levels when Naomi learns the “sick game” they’re playing was made in Germany.
Long Story Shortwill be filled with little family moments like this that show the Scwhoopers' semi-dysfunctional nature. From game night tocar rides, they never grow pastthe typical sibling squabbles. As the series jumps through time and back again, viewers will see the trio of Avi, Shira, and Yoshi endure the triumphs, disappointments, compromises, and more of life from childhood through adulthood together, unpacking their generational trauma as they go along. For Bob-Waksberg, the goal wasto create a family unit that leaves a few scars from growing up, but is still loving at the end of the day.
‘Long Story Short’ Is Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s Passion Project
In addition to landinga starry and comedic castto bring the Schwoopers to life, Bob-Waksberg also has a strong slate of actors in supporting and guest capacities.Angelique Cabralwill play Jen, andNicole Byerwill voice Kendra Hooper, whileTogetherstarDave FrancoandSteven UniversealumMichaela Dietzvoice Danny Wegbreit and Hannah Schwooper as guest stars for Season 1. Most of theBoJack Horsemanteam is back together creatively, includingTuca & BertiemastermindLisa Hanawaltas supervising producer and Tornante Television as the production studio.Jack Shih, meanwhile, served as supervising director while ShadowMachine provided the animation.
Long Story Shortmay be far different from the Emmy-nominatedBoJackthematically, but Bob-Waksberg has a lot to say with the new premise. The family comedy-drama takes inspiration from his own experiences growing up in a caring Jewish household. Ina previous interviewwith Collider’sSteve Weintraub, he shared how the passion project gave him a chance to explore dynamics that he’s largely left untouched and reflect a part of himself and his life on-screen.
“Well, part of it was I wanted to do a show about family, which I did a little bit withUndone, but not a lot of onBoJack. We did a little bit onBoJackjust because we had 77 episodes, so we got into some family stuff, but BoJack really, by design, was kind of a loner. He was an only child. He had these two terrible parents that he was estranged from, andIhave a very loving family. We talk to each other all the time. We are a part of each other’s lives, andthere are some really interesting dynamics that I wanted to explore that I haven’t gotten to in my other work.”
Long Story Shorthas already been renewed for Season 2, meaning there is a lot more to see from the Schwooper family after the premiere. All ten episodes of Season 1 drop on Netflix on August 22. Check out our exclusive clip in the player above and stay tuned here at Collider for more from ourtelevision preview weekas it unfolds.
Long Story Short
