There’s not a talking, anthropomorphised animal in sight in Long Story Short, the new Netflix animated series from BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg. Instead, this ambitious dramedy, which is similarly unafraid of confronting big subjects, focuses on a Jewish-American family who live in the Bay Area. At the centre are three siblings: Avi (Ben Feldman), Shira (Abbi Jacobson) and Yoshi (Max Greenfield). They’re the Schwoopers – the children of Naomi Schwartz (Lisa Edelstein) and Elliott Cooper (Paul Reiser) – and the show follows the extended family over the decades, hopping back and forth through time in each episode to show how the past shapes the future.
It’s a neat conceit, giving the show a generational scope and occasionally reframing events in enriching ways. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that Long Story Short doesn’t exactly maximise the returns of this approach. There are some intriguing parallels and illuminating contrasts, and the juxtaposition of various states of marriage, life and death capture the ongoing sense of existence’s peaks and troughs. But it never lands a real emotional haymaker or does anything truly audacious with the format.
It does manage to create the impression that you really know the family, though. It’s truly an ensemble, but oldest sib Avi is the closest thing to a protagonist. We see him as a kid, follow a relationship of his from the first introduction to his family through marriage to divorce and see him navigating parenthood as a single dad. He’s a bundle of neuroses, often bearing the brunt of his overbearing mum’s intensity and absorbing others’ anxieties alongside his own. He’s a music snob who we first see sharing Paul Simon’s ‘The Obvious Child’ with his girlfriend (later wife, and even later ex) Jen (Angelique Cabral), complete with running commentary. The song’s lyrics, which feature a son being born and moving out in the space of two lines, encapsulate the show’s thesis about how quickly major life events occur in retrospect.
Different characters take prominence across the 10-episode run, which keeps things varied. The show tackles issues such as COVID, funerals, religion and identity. But it’s leavened by plenty of silliness along the way, much of which comes from younger bro Yoshi, playfully voiced by New Girl’s Greenfield. Two of the funniest episodes involve his stint as a mattress salesman and an evening he spends trying to preserve his precious cargo before being a sperm donor. There’s also plenty of witty, culturally literate dialogue, though it’s often more smirk-along smart than laugh-out-loud gutbusting. When a vanilla ice-cream cake is proffered, Avi scoffs, “My three least favourite musical artists.”
The stripped back animation style is even more basic than BoJack. Along with the humour and the family issues, it lends it the feeling of an indie comic come to life. The characters’ constant bickering can get a little wearing, but a touchingly observed moment is never too far away, and the vocal performances are strong: Aliens and Stranger Things actor Reiser is particularly likeable as the put-upon father. Netflix has already green-lit a second series; there’s plenty of potential here, but the time-hopping concept is going to need to be better utilised to make further divulging of this long story worthwhile.
‘Long Story Short’ is streaming on Netflix now