Raphael Bob-Waksberg has a new, dysfunctional family to introduce with the first teaser for his upcoming animated series Long Story Short. Set to premiere on August 22, the show is the latest passion project from the BoJack Horseman creator, following the lives of the three Schwooper siblings as they grow up, navigate their troubles together, and unpack their generational trauma. Viewers will watch them from childhood to adulthood, but as the footage shows, age doesn’t necessarily make them any more mature. From family car trips to dinners and other little moments with each other, the ten-episode run promises to pack their lives with the signature blend of comedy and grounded drama that Bob-Waksberg is known for.
The teaser flashes between the Schwoopers as kids and adults, albeit all within the same confined space of the back of the family car. They get into the typical sibling bickering about taking up too much space and purposefully annoying each other during the ride, culminating in a full-on shouting and shoving match between their adult selves. It shows that their dynamic hasn’t really changed over that time and gives a preview of who these characters are. Ben Feldman stars as Avi Schwooper, the more reserved of the trio and the mediator in the argument between Max Greenfield‘s youngest sibling, Yoshi, and Abbi Jacobson‘s Shira. Just out of view as well are their annoyed parents, Naomi (Lisa Edelstein) and Elliott (Paul Reiser), who just wish for one car ride without all the drama.
In addition to the five main members of the Schwooper family, Long Story Short will also feature the talents of Dave Franco, Angelique Cabral, Nicole Byer, and Michaela Dietz, all of whom figure to play large roles in the siblings’ lives. While speaking to Collider’s Steve Weintraub for a wider interview about the show, Bob-Waksberg called the cast “an embarrassment of riches” both for the name recognition and the impressive comedy resumes each of them has. However, he said the goal, first and foremost, was to put together a cast with “chemistry with each other” to make the sibling dynamic believable from the get-go. All the work of finding the right actors paid off when everyone came together for the first time. “That first table read we did was incredible because it was the first time a lot of these actors were meeting each other, but it felt like a family right away.”
‘Long Story Short’ Will Explore Far Different Dynamics Than ‘Bojack Horseman’
Long Story Short reunites the creator with plenty of his BoJack Horseman colleagues, including Tuca & Bertie creator Lisa Hanawalt. Although it’s a familiar team, the new show will be far different from the Hollywood tragedy of Will Arnett‘s titular character, down to the original art by Hanwalt. The biggest change is the focus on family above all else. While BoJack did hit on the trauma left behind by the character’s awful upbringing, the story was more focused on the former 90s television star as a self-destructive loner. Beyond that, Bob-Waksberg told Weintraub that he wanted to reflect his real experiences growing up with a loving family and give a more realistic depiction of a unit that’s not dysfunctional, but still imperfect:
“I wanted to do a story about siblings, a story about children and parents. On BoJack, a lot of the parents we see on that show are cartoonishly bad to explain the deep trauma of our characters, but I thought, ‘Most of our parents are not cartoonishly bad, but a lot of us also still have trauma somehow.’ So, I kind of wanted to explore that middle area of not a dysfunctional family, but not a fully functional family, either. You can’t just write off your family because it’s not that bad, but it does affect you or damage you in certain ways.”
Long Story Short premieres on August 22 on Netflix. Check out the first teaser in the player above.
via Collider