The conventions of the animated family sitcom haven’t changed much in the 36 years since The Simpsons set the template for shows like King of the Hill , Family Guy , and Bob’s Burgers . True to the cartoon medium, the characters are outsize and their adventures over the top. And, in a custom that has been key to their longevity, time doesn’t really pass from season to season. Unencumbered by the growing or deteriorating bodies of human actors, these series are set in an eternal quasi present, within which cultural references are constantly updated yet (with the exception of a recent Hill revival that fast-forwards eight years) everyone stays around the same age.

In Netflix’s Long Story Short , BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg uses the elasticity of an

See Full Page