Long Story Short (TV series)

Long Story Short
Release poster
Genre	Adult animation Animated sitcom Comedy drama
Created by	Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Showrunner	Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Starring	Ben Feldman Angelique Cabral Abbi Jacobson Nicole Byer Max Greenfield Lisa Edelstein Paul Reiser
Music by	Jesse Novak
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Raphael Bob-Waksberg Noel Bright Steven A. Cohen
Editors	Molly Yahr Brian Swanson
Running time	25 minutes
Production companies	The Tornante Company Vegan Blintzes ShadowMachine Netflix Animation Studios
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22) – present

Long Story Short is an American adult animated comedy drama television series created by BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg that premiered on August 22, 2025, on Netflix. Ahead of its premiere, it was renewed for a second season.

Premise

The series tells a story of a middle-class Jewish family in a non-linear timeline. Three siblings: Avi (Ben Feldman), Shira (Abbi Jacobson), and Yoshi (Max Greenfield) experience ordinary adult events while looking back on their childhood. ^{[1] [2]}

Voice cast

Main

• Ben Feldman as Avi Schwooper, the oldest child of the Schwooper children. Born in 1982, Avi has extensive knowledge of pop culture, and is quite knowledgeable about music, working as a review columnist and by 2021 he works for a music streaming service. He starts dating Jen in 2004 and they later marry and have a daughter named Hannah. By the 2010s, their relationship begins to break down and they divorce in 2020, sharing custody of a now tween Hannah. Despite being from a Jewish family, in his adult years Avi distances himself from his religious heritage out of frustration of how his mother forced it upon him and the internalized antisemitism. Avi suffers from pattern hair loss.
• Angelique Cabral as Jen Schwooper, Avi's girlfriend and later his wife. They divorce in 2020, with both Naomi's passive aggressiveness towards her and undermining her and Avi's parenting, which Avi was usually too cowardly to properly stand up to, and in general her and Avi growing apart seemingly being the causes. She majored in acting, but after the stress of putting on several failed plays in New York City with her friends makes her secretly wish for a more regular job, she agreed to move to California after Avi is offered a music journalism internship, though it’s hinted she is ashamed she technically gave up. She is later shown as a theatre manager for Hannah's school and later as a wine saleswoman.
• Abbi Jacobson as Shira Schwooper, the middle child of the Schwooper children and sole daughter of Naomi and Elliot. Born in August 1984, Shira is a lesbian and is married to Kendra, with whom she raises twin boys, Walter and Benjamin. Shira was once best friends with Rachel "Baby" Feldstein in childhood and teenage years, and had hooked up with Rachel in high school. However, after catching her making out with a guy at prom, Shira discovers Rachel saw her as nothing more than a fling and dismisses her feeling betrayed, which ends their friendship and Shira now hates her. Shira apparently can't have children due to primary ovarian insufficiency, hence why Kendra carries to term.
• Nicole Byer as Kendra Hooper, a lesbian and Shira's wife who converts to Judaism as an adult after initially lying about being part of the faith to cover up for a work absence that happened to fall on Rosh Hashanah. She is a high ranking manager for B.J Banana Fingers, a Chuck E. Cheese-esque children's entertainment chain. She got her position due to formerly being a workaholic who over-exerted herself (which she picked up from her father) after being accepted into a managerial training program when she was a floor manager. She has a younger brother named David.
• Max Greenfield as Yoshi Schwooper, the youngest child of the Schwooper children and second son of Naomi and Elliot. Born in 1991, he is diagnosed with ADD, Dyslexia and Executive dysfunction, which cause him struggles with holding down a career in adulthood. In his late twenties Yoshi starts practicing modern Orthodox Judaism. Yoshi, since infancy and childhood, has tried to connect and spend time with his siblings, but being 7 years younger he feels like an extra child. Yoshi is born with a noticeable beauty mark on his face.
• Lisa Edelstein as Naomi Schwartz, the matriarch of the Schwooper family and mother of Avi, Shira and Yoshi. Naomi is the youngest child of three daughters. She lives in a cramped apartment along with their parents, and has a tendency to manipulate her family to pay attention to her, having an arguably narcissistic personality. While she loves her kids, Naomi is overbearing and critical, in 2019 her children confront her controlling actions towards them, but she and the children still love each other. She was a social worker, and to Avi's surprise during a ceremony for her she has helped many people in the community, being more open minded and supportive to strangers than her own kids. In 2020, Naomi passes away after contracting COVID-19. Naomi understands and speaks Norwegian language.
• Paul Reiser as Elliot Cooper, the patriarch of the Schwooper family and father of Avi, Shira and Yoshi. Unlike Naomi, Elliot holds unconditional love for the three siblings. He is a math professor at Midbay University.

Recurring

• Dave Franco as Danny Wegbriet, Yoshi's shifty, stoner childhood friend.
• Michaela Dietz as Hannah Schwooper, Avi and Jen's daughter Born in 2009, Hannah has a good relationship with her father, but is isolated from kids her own age, though she does find a friend group at the end of "Wolves". She’s passionate about photography, and it’s shown she also has a strained relationship with Jen after her and her father's divorce.
• Gina Rodriguez as Rachel "Baby" Feldstein, Shira's former best friend from childhood. Rachel is bisexual and hooked up with Shira during high school, but perceived the relationship as more casual than Shira, and dismissed Shira's hurt feelings after she caught her at prom kissing a guy, leading to the end of their friendship. Years later in 2015, Rachel reunites with Yoshi and they wind up spending the night together after Yoshi loses his backpack on a food truck. When asked about her former relationship with Shira, Baby claims it was "teen stuff" and Shira got mad for "no reason".
• Danny Burstein as Uncle Barry, Naomi's uncle by marriage with her aunt Sylvia (the sister of Naomi's mother).
• Avia Fields as Walter and Benjamin Hooper-Schwooper, Kendra and Shira's hyperactive twin boys.
• Julie Klausner as Carol Schwartz, one of Naomi's sisters
• Zoe Lister-Jones as Susan Schwartz, one of Naomi's sisters

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
1	"Yoshi's Bar Mitzvah"	Katie Aldworth Jack Shih	Raphael Bob-Waksberg	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	101
In 1996, the Schwooper family are in the car while on the way to Naomi's mom’s funeral. During this, Yoshi can't stop poking at Shira, and Avi converses with both his parents over the fact Jews don’t believe in heaven. In 2004, Avi brings his girlfriend Jen to his childhood home to meet his seemingly dysfunctional family. The couple attend his brother Yoshi's bar mitzvah, where a series of chaotic events unfold at the Jewish Community Center where the celebration is taking place. After the bar mitzvah, Jen and Avi fly back and reaffirming their mutual affection. In 2022, an older Avi sits alone in a car as the episode ends, with the song "The Obvious Child" playing.
2	"Hannah's Dance Recital"	Aaron Brewer	Kelly Galuska	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	104
In 1991, the siblings and Naomi are at Jersey Shore with her sisters. Avi and Shira play "lifeguard" until Avi's older cousins pressure him into playing with them instead, leaving Shira alone in the water. In 2014, Shira and her wife Kendra want to have a biological child. While attending a Christmas pageant show starring Hannah, Avi and Jen's daughter, Shira asks Avi to donate his sperm, leading to an awkward fallout between the siblings.
3	"There's a Mattress in There"	Ben Bjelajac	Jordan Young	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	103
In 2006, Naomi and Elliot learn of Yoshi's diagnoses of ADHD and executive dysfunction, and the psychologist reveals that in rare cases they can be caused by rubbing the pacifier on the shirt to clean it before giving it back - something Elliot sheepishly admits to, infuriating Naomi. In 2013, after being dismissed from his latest job, Yoshi finds short-lived success in selling inflatable mattresses packaged in tubes. Mayhem ensues in the Schwooper household after an unexpected product design flaw comes to light.
4	"Shira Can't Cook"	Katie Rice	Mehar Sethi	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	102
In 2012, Shira meets Kendra Hooper at the supermarket after they get into an argument over the latter having too many things for the express lane, but end up finding common ground when they discover they're both Jewish. In 2021, Shira and Kendra are preparing to enroll their twin boys, Walter and Ben, into elementary school. Shira plans to impress the administration of a posh school by cooking her recently deceased mother's knishes for a prospective parents' potluck, despite being a bad cook. She tries to navigate the challenging recipe several times, much to Kendra's dismay.
5	"Yoshi & Baby"	Katie Rice	Laura Donney	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	106
In 1998, Shira and Baby play a basketball variant called, "Horse." Yoshi really wants to play, but Shira won't let him play with her because it's a "teenager game." Shira finally lets Yoshi do one shot because Baby is hoping that Yoshi will help her score. While trying to make a shot, he accidentally hurts Shira, giving her a nosebleed. In 2015, Yoshi is getting ready to donate his sperm to help Shira and Kendra conceive a child. The night before the donation, he runs into Shira's childhood friend, Rachel "Baby" Feldstein and they spend the next few hours together.
6	"Wolves"	Katie Aldworth	Keyonna Taylor	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	105
In 1997, the family tries to play Avi's fantasy board game to the point where he gets annoyed because they don't understand it. The game ends when Naomi finds out that the game is set in Germany when Avi explains that the game is European. In 2021, Avi tries to get Hannah's school to remove some wayward wild wolves, but he ends up accidentally sparking a movement with some busybody parents.
7	"Kendra's Job"	Ben Bjelajac	Rachelle Williams-BenAry	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	107
In 1993, Kendra is given a princess party room on her birthday at BJ Banana Fingers, a children's birthday funhouse, by her workaholic father, but she is not fond of it due to her tomboy style. That is until a princess sees she’s not having fun and takes her to the skateboarding room where she is fond of more. In 2007, before she meets Shira, Kendra is a cut-throat floor supervisor at "BJ Banana Fingers". Her work is all-consuming to the point where she ends up sidelining everything, from her former girlfriend to her younger brother David, and this gets more intense when she is accepted into a managerial training program.
8	"The Intervention"	Aaron Brewer	Elijah Aron	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	108
In 1959, a young Naomi tries to get her parents and big sisters' attention, but they’re all absorbed in their own arguments or tasks. She takes a butterfly brooch and stabbing herself in the leg in it to get attention, and when her family comforts her as she cries, she stops to reveal she rode her bike for an entire block. In 2019, the family comes together at Los Angeles for Naomi and Elliot's anniversary, which is actually a front for an intervention because Naomi believes that Yoshi is addicted to some substance, only for tensions to rise because of Naomi's fussiness.
9	"Honoring Naomi Schwartz"	Katie Aldworth	Taryn Englehart	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	109
In 2014, Avi and Naomi are at the playground with Hannah talking about how Hannah bit a kid in her class, and Naomi blamed Avi for not giving her siblings. Later on in the conversation, Naomi talks about the Haim girls, and how she wishes her own children were close enough to do something like be in a band. In 2002, the family attends a celebration for Naomi at the Jewish Community Center where in the process, Avi learns more about his mother, Shira ditches to be with Baby, whom she started hooking up with, at the high school prom but realizes that Baby never liked her in a romantic way and Yoshi tries to hide from his overbearing great uncle Barry and eventually get drunk with his friend, Danny.
10	"Uncle Barry"	Katie Rice	Raphael Bob-Waksberg	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)	110
In 2000, Naomi and Avi are visiting Uncle Barry in New York. Barry is going to leave New York to Vegas as he can't be in the big expensive house since he lost his wife Sylvia and offers Naomi to take things from the house. She finds the butterfly brooch that belonged to her mother but Barry wants to keep it. In 2022, when Uncle Barry dies, it leads to many shenanigans at his Vegas funeral that soon culminates in the family going to a motel to hold a memorial for both him and Naomi who died in 2020 from COVID-19.

Production and release

The series is created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the creator of BoJack Horseman , and executive producer on Tuca & Bertie and Undone . It received a series order in August 2024. ^[3] Bob-Waksberg serves as the showrunner. The series is executive produced by Bob-Waksberg, Noel Bright, and Steven A. Cohen. The Tornante Company and ShadowMachine are the production companies. The main voice cast includes Ben Feldman, Abbi Jacobson, Max Greenfield, Lisa Edelstein, Paul Reiser, Angelique Cabral, and Nicole Byer. ^[4] Each episode's credits contain the disclaimer "This Program Was Made By Humans", indicating that generative AI was not used in production. ^[5] Shortly before release it was renewed for a second season. ^[6]

Long Story Short premiered on Netflix on August 22, 2025. ^[4]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating based on 36 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Tackling emotionally mature themes with an ingeniously zany sense of humor, Raphael Bob-Waksberg's Long Story Short welcomes viewers into a highly specific—and extremely relatable—family unit." ^[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 89 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". ^[8]

Jenna Scherer of The A.V. Club , gave the first season an A− and wrote, "The series is all about how people change over the years—and the fact that, no matter how far you run, the past always returns to haunt the present." ^[9] Reviewing the series' first season for The Guardian , Stuart Heritage gave 4/5 rating saying that it: "reminds us that everything is an echo of what came before. This is a testament to Bob-Waksberg's writing. This level of granular, non-linear character development must have been a feat to construct, and yet it feels effortless." ^[10]

References

1. Zahed, Ramin (July–August 2025). "'Long Story Short' Supervising Producer Lisa Hanawalt Delves into the Bonds & Memories Behind the Show". Animation Magazine . Vol. 39, no. 6. pp. 29–31. ISSN   1041-617X . Retrieved August 20, 2025.
2. Murray, Noel (August 6, 2025). "The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix in August" . The New York Times . Retrieved August 12, 2025.
3. Otterson, Joe (August 22, 2024). "'BoJack Horseman' Team of Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Tornante Company, ShadowMachine Reunite for Netflix Animated Series 'Long Story Short'". Variety . Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
4. Milligan, Mercedes (May 5, 2025). "Netflix Reveals Cast of 'Long Story Short' from 'BoJack Horseman' Creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg". Animation Magazine . Retrieved August 19, 2025.
5. Kessel Odom, Dani (August 23, 2025). "Netflix's New BoJack Horseman Replacement Features A Sad Reality About AI". ScreenRant . Valnet. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
6. Gillis, Drew (July 31, 2025). "Have an early season 2 renewal with this Long Story Short trailer". The A.V. Club . Paste Media Group. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
7. "Long Story Short: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved September 18, 2025.
8. "Long Story Short: Season 1". Metacritic . Retrieved September 18, 2025.
9. Scherer, Jenna (August 22, 2025). "Just like BoJack, Long Story Short feels entirely new". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
10. Heritage, Stuart (August 22, 2025). "Long Story Short review – TV so funny and clever it could run for ever". The Guardian . Retrieved August 26, 2025.

External links

• Long Story Short on Netflix
• Long Story Short at IMDb