From the creatives behind the masterful Netflix series BoJack Horseman comes a fresh adult animation in a similarly textured style with just a bit less heart. The animation was handled by ShadowMachine in Los Angeles and Big Star in South Korea—the same studio that also worked on BoJack and Tuca & Bertie. Shifting away from the outrageously silly sentient animal world of BoJack, we instead get into a multigenerational family that hops into many different timelines throughout the course of the season. The show embraces a decidedly Jewish viewpoint on family, grief, and connection, told entirely through vignettes. Sometimes the non-linear narrative feels a bit jarring, but once the rhythm settles, one will discover a heartfelt exploration of family legacy. At its best, the series captures messy but deeply loving bonds with wit and specificity. Riveting and often laugh-out-loud funny, Long Story Short perfectly captures a Jewish family dynamic through decades of development and surprisingly relatable oddities.
The core of Long Story Short is, of course, the dysfunctional Schwooper family that remains its focal point through all ten episodes. At different points, the characters are wildly different, yet they always maintain the prime elements of their personalities. At times they are hopeful, at others cynical and stubborn, or even unhinged. Eldest sibling Avi (Ben Feldman) is nerdy and self-deprecating, growing into a somewhat weary adult; sharp-tongued Shira (Abbi Jacobson) has a journey defined by queerness, and an eventual relationship with her partner, Kendra (Nicole Byer); Yoshi (Max Greenfield), the youngest, has goofy tendencies but ultimately a surplus of heart; mother Naomi (Lisa Edelstein) cannot keep her biting sarcasm under control, so much so that she leaves undying emotional scars on all three children; supportive and resigned, father Elliott (Paul Reiser) always scrambles around trying to diffuse the chaos stirred up by Naomi but rarely succeeds. Each of these roles feels perfectly cast, with the vocal actors sliding into their respective personas with ease.
The season weaves through decades of the Schwoopers, moving back and forth to explore how each sibling—and their parents—grapple with identity, tradition, and connection. The 90s and 2000s flashbacks highlight formative moments: Yoshi’s floundering adventures, Shira’s lesbian heartbreaks, and Avi’s uneasy role as the eldest. These younger stories lay the groundwork for the adult dysfunctions seen in later parts of the timeline. In viewing their tales as a series of vignettes, we can begin to trace their personal trajectories, even in zig-zags. The heart of the arc is grappling with Naomi’s influence. She unknowingly shapes each child’s insecurities. When grief is injected into the equation, it complicates matters even further, forcing Avi, Shira, and Yoshi to handle it in their own specific ways. Each of the siblings are portrayed as flawed individuals with their own outlooks on life.
The episodes take turns highlighting portions of storylines that have enough breathing room to focus primarily on just one topic. A standout in terms of comedy was definitely episode three, aptly titled “There’s a Mattress in There.” After crashing his “HAMBULANCE,” Yoshi is lured into selling experimental tube mattresses that are quite a gamble. As he starts seeing success at this entrepreneurial venture, Yoshi gains a newfound confidence. Of course, there’s a caveat there by way of the tubes, which begin to spontaneously shoot mattresses out of them under pressure. A few of the other episodes are more realistic, such as one where Shira obsessively tries to recreate Naomi’s broccoli casserole recipe, or another where the family stages an intervention for Yoshi assuming he has a problem with addiction.
The season succeeds as a heartfelt comedy that never forgets the humor. The animation becomes a beautiful window by which we can experience the narrative, warts and all. That time-jumping structure can be disorienting early on, but as the threads start connecting, it builds a rich tapestry that weaves its themes together seamlessly. Long Story Short is quirky, deeply Jewish, and refreshingly strange. The nonlinear structure occasionally distracts, but the emotional payoffs still make for a potent familial saga that will have folks comparing against their own oddball family dynamics.
Long Story Short—you won’t want to miss out on all the crazy Schwooper hijinks when the first season of this unique dramedy drops for Netflix subscribers on Friday, August 22nd.
