Netflix begins streaming the first half of the sixth and final season of "BoJack Horseman." It’s arguably the best show to come from Netflix and one they’ve just canceled.
The series seems to be trying to tie up loose ends while retaining its satirical edge. BoJack (Will Arnett) finally enters rehab and (spoiler alert) learns to love it. You could say he grows addicted to it.
At the heart of the series is the contrast between BoJack, an obnoxious half-man/half-horse has-been actor striving to improve himself, and Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins), his frenemy rival, a golden lab "nice guy" oblivious to the fact that he disappoints everybody he encounters. He’s now the star of an innocuous feel-good TV show called "Birthday Dad."
Meanwhile, Mr. Peanutbutter’s ex-wife, Diane (Alison Brie), goes to Chicago to research a big expose of an Amazonlike corporate behemoth called White Whale. Stephen Root voices the CEO of the company, who is literally a white whale. Not to be confused with the frequently seen blue whale newscaster voiced by Keith Olbermann. White Whale delivers as damning an assessment of late-stage capitalism as you’re likely to hear.
Half the fun of watching "BoJack" is keeping up with the bewildering array of interspecies relationships. While in Chicago, Diane hooks up with a new boyfriend who is some kind of buffalo loaded down with an ex-wife, kids and all kinds of "complications."
For all of its bizarre imagery, "BoJack" also manages to touch upon depression, overwork, underemployment, exploitation, addiction and motherhood in ways that few "serious" series have.
In this valedictory outing, it even seems to be standing up for itself. There have been published reports linking the series’ cancellation to unionization efforts among its makers. A storyline deep in season six involves a crippling strike by put-upon Hollywood assistants whose absence brings the industry to a halt. "BoJack" isn’t leaving with a whimper.
Also streaming on Netflix, "The Kominsky Method" enters its second season. Look for guest spots from Paul Reiser and Jane Seymour on this inside-Hollywood comedy starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin.
You know we’re approaching Halloween when the Christmas movies break out. Not to be outdone by Hallmark’s Corn-ucopia, Lifetime kicks off its holiday schedule, promising Christmas-themed programming seven days a week through Dec. 25. Things get underway with the original bauble "Sweet Mountain Christmas" (8 p.m., TV-G) about a country star stuck in Tennessee on his way to New York.
"American Masters" (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) profiles Mark Rothko, a key figure in the abstract expressionist painting movement that dominated the art world in the mid-20th century.
The documentary "Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous" emphasizes his immigrant roots, his eccentric role in a fairly middle-class family and his years of struggling with representational paintings before settling on the abstract "color fields" that made him famous.
TONIGHT’S HALLOWEEN-THEMED EPISODES
A home invasion has horror-movie overtones on "Hawaii Five-0" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
A cornfield maze proves too terrifying on "American Housewife" (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
Costume envy on "Fresh Off the Boat" (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
A killer hopes to crash a Halloween party on "Magnum P.I." (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
The Astros and Nationals meet in game three of the World Series (8 p.m., Fox).
Frank thinks an accused officer got a bum rap on "Blue Bloods" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
SERIES NOTES
Cooper’s old colleague, long presumed dead, returns as a POW on "The Blacklist" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14) … The Book of Elders is a page-turner on "Charmed" (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
"Dateline" (9 p.m., NBC) … "20/20" (9 p.m., ABC) … Remorse on "Dynasty" (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
Kevin McDonough can be reached at [email protected].
