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{{Infobox television episode
| series         = [[BoJack Horseman]]
| image          = 
| alt            = 
| caption        = 
| season         = 1
| episode        = 7
| director       = Martin Cendreda
| writer         = [[Joe Lawson (writer)|Joe Lawson]]
| producer       = {{Ubl|Alex Bulkley|Corey Campodonico}}
| music          = "Impossible" by Lyla [[Foy]]
| editor         = 
| production     = 
| release_date   = {{Start date|2014|8|22}}
| length         = 25 minutes
| guests         = * [[Kevin Bigley]] as Quentin Tarantulino
* [[Rachel Bloom]] as Laura
* [[Raphael Bob-Waksberg]] as Charley Witherspoon
* [[Kristin Chenoweth]] as [[Vanessa Gekko]]
* [[Stephen Colbert]] as Mr. Witherspoon
* [[Adam Conover]] as Paparazzi Blue-Jay
* Dave Segal as Paparazzi Robin
* [[J. K. Simmons]] as Lenny Turteltaub
* [[Stanley Tucci]] as [[Herb Kazzaz]]
| prev           = [[Our A-Story is a 'D' Story]]
| next           = [[The Telescope (BoJack Horseman)|The Telescope]]
| season_article = BoJack Horseman (season 1)
| episode_list   = List of BoJack Horseman episodes
}}

"'''Say Anything'''" is the seventh episode of the [[BoJack Horseman (season 1)|first season]] of the American animated television series ''[[BoJack Horseman]]''. It was written by [[Joe Lawson (writer)|Joe Lawson]] and directed by Martin Cendreda. The episode was released, along with the rest of season one, on [[Netflix]] on August 22, 2014. The episode follows [[BoJack Horseman (character)|BoJack Horseman]]'s agent [[Princess Carolyn]] as she struggles with compeition from her rival [[Vanessa Gekko]] as well as having difficulties in managing Bojack. "Say Anything" received positive reviews from critics with praise for its jokes and storytelling. The episode was called a turning point in the series and the title character with a noticeably darker ending, a first for the series.

==Synopsis==
[[Princess Carolyn]] pulls [[BoJack Horseman (character)|BoJack Horseman]] out of a week-long bender after [[Diane Nguyen]]'s engagement to [[Mr. Peanutbutter]], getting Bojack a commercial shoot for a bourbon manufacturer. As her agency merges with her rival [[Vanessa Gekko]]'s, she loses her client Cate Blanchett and a project about [[Eva Braun]] to her. When BoJack ditches the bourbon shoot to go on a date with her, (leaving [[Todd Chavez]] to do it) she finds herself enjoying it until he gets another call from Herb Kazzaz, prompting him to leave to go visit Herb. Distraught, Princess Carolyn barely manages to win back the Eva Braun project and manages to secure BoJack a role in the upcoming movie based on the Hollywood (now called "Hollywoo") D. She calls BoJack while he drives back from Herb's, but he dismisses her, miserable. As she sends her assistant home for the night, Princess Carolyn stares out her office window at the city below as her phone alarm wishes her a happy fortieth birthday.
===Cast===
Voice roles throughout the episode:
{{Columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* [[Will Arnett]] as [[BoJack Horseman (character)|BoJack Horseman]] (main)
* [[Amy Sedaris]] [[Princess Carolyn]] (main)
* [[Aaron Paul]] as [[Todd Chavez]] (main)
* [[Kevin Bigley]] as Quentin Tarantulino (guest appearance, parody of [[Quentin Tarantino]])
* [[Rachel Bloom]] as Laura (guest)
* [[Raphael Bob-Waksberg]] as Charley Witherspoon (guest)
* [[Kristin Chenoweth]] as [[Vanessa Gekko]] (guest)
* [[Stephen Colbert]] as Mr. Witherspoon (guest)
* [[Adam Conover]] as Paparazzi Blue-Jay (guest)
* Dave Segal as Paparazzi Robin (guest)
* [[J. K. Simmons]] as Lenny Turteltaub (guest)
* [[Stanley Tucci]] as [[Herb Kazzaz]] (guest)
}}

==Production==
The episode was written by [[Joe Lawson (writer)|Joe Lawson]] in his first writing credit in the series.<ref name="Chappell 2017" /> Lawson has written other ''Bojack Horseman'' episodes like: "[[Start Spreading the News]]", "[[After the Party (BoJack Horseman)|After The Party]]", and "[[Stop the Presses (BoJack Horseman)|Stop The Presses]]".<ref name="Chappell 2017" />  It was directed by Martin Cendreda and produced by Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico.<!-- SOURCE FOR DIRECTOR AND PRODUCERS IS THE OPENING CREDITS WHICH IS FINE PER [[WP:PRIMARY]]--> The episode was released on [[Netflix]] on August 22, 2014, alongside the rest of [[BoJack Horseman (season 1)|season one]].<ref name="Slate review" /> This is the first episode in the series to not feature the usual closing theme, instead it is replaced with "Impossible" by [[Lyla Foy]].<ref name="Chappell 2017" />

Creator and showrunner of the series [[Raphael Bob-Waksberg]] called the ending one of his favourite moments on the show, saying the ending "is a joke, but it's a very dark, sad joke".<ref name="Lambe 2016" /> He said the episode is the first not told from Bojack's perspective which Netflix was orignally skeptical about. In response to Netflix wanting Bojack to in the episode more, they came up with having BoJack put a [[cardboard cutout]] version of himself into Princess Carolyn's office which says a ''[[Jerry Maguire]]'' quote whenever anyone walks by. Bob-Waksberg called it a "tongue-in-cheekway to attack a note" but said it helped the episode.<ref name="Lambe 2016" />

In December 2021, Bob-Waksberg [[tweeted]] he had been asked to remove a scene featuring a joke about [[David Fincher]] by Netflix originally planned to be in "Say Anything".<ref name="Fincher Joke 1" /> According to Bob-Waksberg, it was because "they were worried it might upset David Fincher" or that they did not think it was that funny.<ref name="Fincher Joke 1" /><ref name="Fincher Joke 2" /><ref name="RBW Tweet" /> Fincher has previously worked with Netflix on shows like ''[[Mindhunter (TV series)|Mindhunter]]'' and ''[[House of Cards (American TV series)|House of Cards]]''.<ref name="Fincher Joke 2" /> Bob-Waksberg said he was content with recieving feedback from Netflix and in retrospect considers the scene "dumb".<ref name="Fincher Joke 2" /> He went on to say "My point was it's silly for a network to pretend their hands are tied when it comes to the content they put on their network. Good pushback and feedback (if it's good!) makes art better..."<ref name="Fincher Joke 2" /> After 100 donations from his followers totalling more than $2000 to [[Trans Lifeline]], he released the screenplay of the scene which features David Fincher and Princess Carolyn talking to each other after Fincher is kicked off his film (can be seen here [https://twitter.com/RaphaelBW/status/1468403023676280837]).<ref name="Fincher Joke 1" /><ref name="Fincher Joke 2" />

==Reception==
"Say Anything" received positive reviews from critics with praise for its jokes and storytelling. The episode was called a turning point in the series and the title character with a darker ending. Rob Humanick from ''Slant'' ranked "Say Anything" as the sixth best episode of the entire series.<ref name="Humanick 2020" />

Les Chappell of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' in a review in 2017, opined that one significant reason the show is improving with each episode is that it devotes numerous episodes to its interesting side characters.<ref name="Chappell 2017" /> Chappell said "Say Anything" is the best early exploration of this, writing that Princess Carolyn is perhaps its best character.<ref name="Chappell 2017" /> She went on to say that ''BoJack Horseman'' exhibits "two strengths in its early episodes, its unique twist on show business and the emotional scars on its cast members, and "Say Anything" gets top mileage out of both".<ref name="Chappell 2017" /> ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''{{'s}} Marissa Martinelli called the episode a turning point in the series and the title character saying it shows us Bojack is not just a "selfish jerk" but is instead a "barely scabbed-over wound of a person" who has reiceved hurt and is now inflicting on those around him.<ref name="Martinelli 2019" /> Martinelli went on to say it is the first time inflicted hurt in a real way, as opposed to "cartoonish".<ref name="Martinelli 2019" /> Chappell applauded "Say Anything" saying it gave the show an increased level of storytelling.<ref name="Chappell 2017" />

According to Alec Bojalad of ''[[Den of Geek]]'' the episode has 191 jokes, meaning an average of 7.53 jokes per minute.<ref name="Bojalad 2017" /> Bojalad commended the debut of the character Charley Witherspoon (voiced by Raphael Bob-Waksberg) saying he had the best dialogue joke and visual joke in the episode.<ref name="Bojalad 2017" /> Chappell praised Joe Lawson's writing of jokes applauding both their high frequency and quality.<ref name="Chappell 2017" /> 

Chappell noted Amy Sedaris's increased depth of voice acting this episode.<ref name="Chappell 2017" /> She and Humanick gave moderate praise to [[Stephen Colbert]]'s voice acting as Mr. Witherspoon.<ref name="Chappell 2017" /><ref name="Humanick 2020" />

Chappell critized the episode's immediate dismissal of the blackmail plot.<ref name="Chappell 2017" /> She said it was built in three previous episodes but is shutdown by Vanessa with legal statutes.<ref name="Chappell 2017" /> She went on to say "The writers were going for something when they introduced it, but as an ongoing arc it never achieved its true potential."<ref name="Chappell 2017" />

Bojalad praised the ending as both "equally tragic and somehow darkly hilarious".<ref name="Bojalad 2017" /> Chappell called the ending a "deeply melancholy moment" with no sign of [[Black comedy|dark comedy]].<ref name="Chappell 2017" />

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<!-- Production -->

<ref name="Fincher Joke 1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/bojack-horseman-david-fincher-joke-netflix-cut/|title=BoJack Horseman Creator Reveals a David Fincher Joke Netflix Vetoed|last=Baron|first=Reuben|date=December 7, 2021|website=CBR|access-date=April 5, 2022|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Fincher Joke 2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/bojack-horseman-david-fincher-joke-netflix-cut/|title='BoJack Horseman' Creator Raises Money For Trans Charity By Releasing David Fincher Scene That Netflix Pulled|last=Grater|first=Tom|date=December 8, 2021|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=April 10, 2022|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="RBW Tweet">{{Cite tweet|author=Raphael Bob-Waksberg|author-link=Raphael Bob-Waksberg|user=RaphaelBW|number=1468405391180505088|title=Honestly, who knows? That was my read at the time, but I went back and read their note and I think probably they just didn't think it was that funny. In any case, the show didn't suffer without it. Good night, everybody!}}</ref>

<ref name="Lambe 2016">{{Cite web|url=https://www.etonline.com/tv/193554_my_favorite_scene_bojack_horseman_creator_raphael_bob_waksberg|title=My Favorite Scene: 'BoJack Horseman' Creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg on the Episode That Made Netflix Nervous|last=Lambe|first=Stacy|date=July 19, 2016|website=[[Entertainment Tonight]]|access-date=April 5, 2022|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Slate review">{{cite news|last=Paskin|first=Willa|title=The Longest Face|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/television/2014/08/bojack_horseman_on_netflix_will_arnett_comedy_cartoon_is_bleak_and_brilliant.html|newspaper=[[Slate (website)|Slate]]|date=August 22, 2014|accessdate=August 23, 2014}}</ref>

<!-- Reception -->

<ref name="Chappell 2017">{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/princess-carolyn-takes-the-reins-in-a-clever-and-melanc-1798464008|title=Princess Carolyn takes the reins in a clever and melancholy BoJack Horseman|last=Chappell|first=Les|date=February 9, 2017|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|access-date=April 5, 2022|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Martinelli 2019">{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/culture/2019/12/bojack-horseman-best-tv-shows-2010s-decade-say-anything.html|title=The BoJack Horseman Episode That Explains Why It's One of the Decade's Best TV Shows|last=Martinelli|first=Marissa|date=December 10, 2019|website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|access-date=April 5, 2022|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Humanick 2020">{{Cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/every-bojack-horseman-episode-ranked/|title=Every BoJack Horseman Episode, Ranked|last=Humanick|first=Rob|date=February 4, 2020|website=Slant|access-date=April 5, 2022|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Bojalad 2017">{{Cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/bojack-horseman-season-1-jokes-per-minute/|title=BoJack Horseman Season 1 Jokes Per Minute|last=Bojalad|first=Alec|date=September 6, 2017|website=[[Den of Geek]]|access-date=April 5, 2022|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status=live}}</ref>

}}

== External links ==
* <!-- [https://www.netflix.com/watch/70298930 "BoJack Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Story, Chapter One"] on [[Netflix]] -->
* {{IMDb episode|3981398}}

<!-- {{BoJack Horseman}}-->

[[:Category:BoJack Horseman episodes]]
[[:Category:2014 American television episodes]]