Long Story Short Review
Director: Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Date Created: 2025-08-22 17:54
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Long Story Short Review: Netflix animated sitcom by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the showrunner behind BoJack Horseman. The series boasts a decent voice cast with Lisa Edelstein, Paul Reiser, Abbi Jacobson, Ben Feldman, Max Greenfield and others lending authenticity and depth to the characters. The series comprises 10 episodes, with each episode running for approximately 25 minutes. The series follows the Schwooper family as they traverse decades, from their early adversities to the messy complications of adulthood. What makes it unique is the manner in which the series jumps around in time, illustrating how the past and the present are always intertwined.
Netflix Long Story Short Review
Unlike most animated sitcoms, which are goofy and light-hearted, Netflix’s Long Story Short features non-linear storytelling. The show cuts back and forth between a number of years in the life of the Schwooper family. You’ll be watching them as kids one minute and watching them as adults grappling with their own marriages, careers, and lives the next minute. This type of storytelling prevents the show from becoming outdated and provides the show with an emotional depth, particularly when the show reveals how a particular character or couple has developed over time.
To me, the style is a strength and a weakness. It is rich and engaging on one level, but occasionally more patience-demanding than the overall sitcom viewer will be willing to give. If you enjoy raw one-liners and simple gags, the repeated time jumps may be too hard to follow. But if you enjoy intricate storytelling, then Long Story Short Series is worth it.
When you think “sitcom,” you most likely think wisecracking jokes or belly laughs. That’s not where the animated series Long Story Short stumbles. The show does have on the surface humour, but it is frequently subtle, situation-based, and based on family or cultural humour. Rather than a joke-a-minute show like Family Guy or Big Mouth, this is actually more of a dramedy — a combination of comedy and drama.
Personally, the show’s comedy was its weakest aspect. There are the occasional guffaws, but most of the laughter is inside humour from which only a few will be able to take advantage. If you enter Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s Long Story Short expecting straight-up entertainment, you will be disappointed. But if you scale back your expectations and view it as a well-conceived family drama with some humour, the show is a great deal better.
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Where the series Long Story Short truly excels is in emotional storytelling. The Schwooper family is no perfect family, they argue, they grow apart, they bicker over identity and relationship and faith and acceptance. And yet these issues sound and feel real.
The series tackles topics such as divorce, generation gaps, LGBTQ+ relationships, family traditions, and loss. These are heavy topics for an anime series, but they are handled sensitively. How the series tackles the way the choices of one generation affect the next is interesting. I adored the way the series never shies away from sensitive topics but never becomes preachy. It’s this emotional honesty that, in my opinion, makes Animated Sitcom Long Story Short worth watching.
One of the strengths of the Long Story Short Series is the focus on Jewish representation. While the other series uses stereotypes for a quick laugh, the Long Story Short Series does take its cultural identity seriously but is not reluctant to make space for humour. How progressive vs. traditional traditions, culture clashes, and the clash between modern life and religion were treated was a welcome relief in an animated show. Even if you yourself don’t relate to the cultural minutiae, the overall theme of family ties and differences touches a chord in everyone.
Visually, Netflix’s Long Story Short is indistinguishable from Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s earlier work. The animation style will feel bizarre at first — facial expressions for characters are exaggerated, and the art style is off-kilter instead of elegant. Once you get used to the world, however, it fits the tone of the narrative. The animation leaves space for emotional complexity without making it so dense that it can support the drama.
Each episode of Long Story Short is a good 25 minutes long, so it is easy and fast to read. While the humour isn’t particularly good, the emotional plot twists and non-linear storytelling kept me guessing what was next. Some of the episodes hit harder than others, especially when they introduce long-term family alterations.
Animated Series Long Story Short Review: Summing Up
So, is Long Story Short on Netflix worth watching? I believe so — but with the proper mindset. It’s not laugh-out-loud hilarious, but there’s realism to the piece that’s engaging and poignant. The good voice work, serious subject matter, and unorthodox approach to storytelling beat out the below-average humour and patchy pacing. It’s not perfect, but it’s intelligent, emotionally impactful, and a pleasant change of pace.
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