Bojack Horseman Qartulad isn’t just a translation. It’s a reinterpretation. It proves that no matter what language you speak, a horse walks into a bar, orders a bourbon, and stares at the void.
In English, Bojack’s despair is clinical. In Georgian, it is folkloric.
One fan favorite from Season 3 shows a billboard for “Secretariat.” In the Georgian version, the subtitle jokes that the movie is “produced by the Rustavi 2 news team”—a dark nod to Georgia’s own tumultuous media landscape.
Good luck. The official Netflix Georgian dub is available if you set your profile language to Georgian (or use a VPN to Georgia). However, the true treasure is the fan-edit community on Reddit (r/Sakartvelo) who have subtitled the untranslatable puns. Bojack Horseman Qartulad
For English speakers, Bojack Horseman is a masterclass in wordplay, puns, and rapid-fire Hollywoo(d) satire. But for a growing cult audience in Georgia, the show exists in two forms: the original English, and the legendary, almost mythical (ქართულად).
For the uninitiated, “Qartulad” simply means “in Georgian.” But in the context of this Netflix animated masterpiece, it has become shorthand for a specific kind of beautiful, tragic localization.
Georgia has a history. It has survived revolutions, wars, and the collapse of empires. There is a cultural understanding of “sadness as a default state” that Americans simply don’t have. Bojack Horseman Qartulad isn’t just a translation
And in Georgian, the void stares back in cursive.
Beyond the Laughter Track: Why “Bojack Horseman Qartulad” Hits Different in Georgian
If you speak both languages, do yourself a favor. Watch The View From Halfway Down in Georgian. The poem is less rhythmic than the English version, but when Bojack’s mother says “I see you” in Qartulad— “გხედავ” (Gkhedav)—it sounds less like recognition and more like an accusation. In English, Bojack’s despair is clinical
Dubbed in Georgian? No way. A look at how the existential dread of Bojack Horseman translates into the Georgian language, the cult following in Tbilisi, and why “Qartulad” might be the most depressing—and best—way to watch the show. If you had told me five years ago that I would be sobbing over a cartoon horse speaking Georgian, I would have laughed. But here we are.
The show’s running gag about “Hollywoo” gets a hilarious treatment. They don’t translate it directly. Instead, Princess Carolyn says, “We are in Hollywood… uh, I mean, Tbilis-Doo.” It shouldn’t work. But it does.
