17 shows that positively discuss mental health

Bojack Horseman

Step aside Squidward, Bojack is taking over the animated mental health activist platform. Bojack copes with his depression and addiction in his animated wealth. However, Bojack Horseman‘s depiction of depression not only creates a realistic representation of mental health, but the decision to incorporate BoJack’s diagnosis also stems from a genuinely productive goal.

As the creator of Bojack Horseman Raphael Bob-Waksberg tells Bustle, he wanted Bojack’s mental health to reflect real-life depression:

"The goal was never like, Let’s really create an expose, let’s really investigate this kind of thing, let’s diagnose BoJack in a certain way. I think it was more about just trying to write this character truthfully, and taking him seriously. The idea [was to take] a character trope that is maybe a little archetypal, or that we’ve seen before, but really believing in it, and trying to be honest and respectful to it."

Bojack’s mental health conditions were never designed to make commentary on society or larger issues, he’s just meant to show an accurate interpretation of depression. And, sometimes, we just need a character we can relate to.

Accurate and empathetic portrayals of mental health in media are critical to disproving misrepresentation about mental health, which is still rampant in exaggerated depictions (particularly in older series and films).

However, sometimes we just need a character we can relate to. Seeing our mental health conditions portrayed in an accurate manner without the negative misconceptions can be therapeutic for some people. For that, we’re glad that these television shows positively depicted mental health.