Although no BoJack Horseman characters appear in Tuca & Bertie or vice versa, fans consider the latter to be BoJack's spiritual successor. Both series have talking animals as main characters, focus on issues most live-action shows tend to stray away from and they are led by the same creative duo. Raphael Bob-Waksberg created BoJack while his longtime friend and collaborator Lisa Hanawalt was the series production designer and served as a producer. Hanawalt created Tuca & Bertie with Bob-Waksberg serving as a producer.
While it seems initially plausible that both shows take place in the same universe, Tuca & Bertie makes some drastic changes in their world that is nothing like BoJack Horseman. Here's a look at some of the key differences between the settings of both series.
Right off the bat, the most obvious difference in the world of Tuca & Bertie is that there are plant people. This idea came from a thought experiment by Hanawalt as to what would happen if houseplants came to life when the humans who took care of them went away similar to Toy Story or The Secret Life of Pets. The notable of these plant characters is Draca, who lives in Bertie's apartment complex and is the personification of a chilled character. Then there's a group of lazy plant teenagers who hang out together and contradict the stressed and energetic nature of the show's titular characters.
However not all plant characters are cool, as perhaps the most despicable villain in the series is none other than moss. Reflecting the cold-blooded elite of the real world, moss is responsible for gentrifying Bertie's apartment building and forcing everyone to move. Thankfully a devastating thunderstorm wipes moss away from their town.
Another easy difference to point out in the two shows is that no humans that we know of exist in Tuca & Bertie, whereas plenty of people are seen in BoJack Horseman. Two of BoJack's five main characters are human including Todd Chavez, the title character's twentysomething roommate who goes through plenty of shenanigans while finding his place in society as an asexual. And then there's Diane Nguyen, an author hired by BoJack to ghostwrite his memoir and eventually becomes one of his closest friends while also getting married to fellow former '90s sitcom star Mr. Peanutbutter.
Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter are one of many interspecies relationships in BoJack. Princess Carolyn dates Vincent Adultman in the show's early seasons before settling down with former assistant Judan Mannowdog. Diane dates a bison named Guy after breaking up with Mr. Peanutbutter, and Todd dates a few animal characters including a fellow asexual rabbit named Maude.
Viewers of BoJack may not realize at first that there are no feral animals in the series, meaning that every single animal in the series is anthropomorphic with the ability to speak, clothe themselves and walk on two legs. That isn't necessarily the case with Tuca & Bertie as feral animals who don't have the same abilities humans have in the real world and are treated like regular animals.
There aren't many feral animals in Tuca & Bertie but they tend to stand out when appearing. This includes the pet Jaguar Tuca bought in an impulse decision to show Bertie that she's responsible. Then there's Tuca's Aunt Tallulah having some non-anthropomorphic birds in her garden and a bunch of Maltese dogs as pets. Draca the plant has plenty of non-anthropomorphic pet turtles in her apartment, and there's a scene where Tuca is a traffic conductor and guides a mother duck and her ducklings across the street.
While BoJack Horseman is often haunted by his past and confronts all his dead friends in the series penultimate episode, that was done in a dream. Since BoJack has been about confronting the harsh realities of existence, it makes sense not to feature any supernatural elements which could serve as a dues ex machina for characters put in a tough situation.
Although Tuca & Bertie also tackles tough issues of adulthood and living with trauma, it still has some fun in occasionally bringing up the supernatural. In the Season 2 episode "The Moss," Tuca manages to conjure the spirit of famous pigeon horror novelist Patricia Ramsey in an attempt to prove that their apartment building is a historic site. There are also a couple of literal ghosts who appear in the episode "Corpse Week," which is Tuca & Bertie's version of Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos.
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