Michael John Roberts obit

Michael John Roberts, Animator and ‘BoJack Horseman’ and ‘TripTank’ Director, Dies at 48

The Toronto native also created the buddy comedy ‘Dallas and Robo’ and helmed episodes of ‘F Is for Family,’ ‘Final Space’ and ‘Strange Planet.’ 

He was not on the list.

Michael John Roberts, the Canadian director, producer and animator with credits including TripTank, BoJack Horseman and Dallas & Robo, has died. He was 48.

Roberts died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday surrounded by his family after a brief battle with glioblastoma.

Roberts, who specialized in animated comedy for adults, helmed 2017 episodes of Netflix’s F Is for Family, starring Bill Burr, and served as the supervising director on the first season of the TBS animated comedy-drama Final Space in 2018.

And in 2023, he directed all 10 episodes of the 2023 Apple TV series Strange Planet, co-created by Dan Harmon.

Roberts co-created and directed all 28 installments of the Comedy Central sketch comedy TripTank, which ran for two seasons (2014-16) and featured voice work from the likes of Bob Odenkirk, Curtis Armstrong, Larry David, Niecy Nash, Zach Galifianakis, Kumail Nanjiani and Wayne Brady.

In 2015, he found time to direct title sequences and episodes of Netflix’s acclaimed BoJack Horseman, starring Will Arnett and Aaron Paul.

Roberts also created the eight-episode buddy comedy Dallas & Robo, which starred John Cena and Kat Dennings and premiered on YouTube Red in 2018. Always partial to science fiction, he called it “Smokey and the Bandit in space.”

TripTank, BoJack Horseman, Dallas & Robo and Final Space all emanated from the animation studio and production company ShadowMachine.

Roberts was born on Dec. 20, 1977, and raised in Toronto; his mother, Wendy, was a doctor and his father, Teddy, a mechanic.

“I always wanted to be a comic book artist growing up,” he said in a 2021 interview. “But somewhere in there I found out that they did the lightning bolts on the DeLorean in Back to the Future by hand and decided that was the job for me!”

He studied animation at Sheridan College in Ontario and worked in Toronto, New York and London before settling in the late 1990s in Los Angeles, where he worked on shows including Angela Anaconda, The Hoobs and Tales of Rat Fink.

In 2012, he won the Juno Award for video of the year for creating and directing a six-minute animated Western-style short film titled Rumbleseat that featured the Canadian band The Sadies.

Along the way, he also did commercials for Honda, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, ABC and Pulse Electric Scooters.

Roberts also worked for Mattel Television and most recently was the executive producer and creative producer on the company’s Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Attack of the T-Rex and executive producer on Masters of the Universe: Tales From Eternia for Mattel and Netflix. He also directed the pilot for the animated special Backyard Sports and directed season one of MrBeast Lab and was a writer and consulting producer on season two.

In addition to his parents, survivors include his wife, actress Bree Williamson; their teenage son, McGreggor; his sister, Jane; niece, Gwen and nephew, Vaughan. He was also close with his cousin Hrothgar, whom he saw as a brother, and his wife, Emily, and their children, Evie and Lili.

McGreggor “was a source of immense pride,” his wife wrote in a remembrance of her husband. “Michael wanted nothing but the best for him and saw in the young man he was becoming, possibilities greater than he could ever have imagined for himself. He was already deeply proud of the life his son was building and eager for all that lay ahead of him.”

Asked last year what advice he would give to newcomers, Roberts replied: “Make the thing you want to make. Because everyone in this business wants you to have already done it. So if you’re a writer, you have to have a script. If you’re a film director, you have to have a short film. If you’re an animator, you’ve got to have a cartoon … be a personality that can’t get ignored.

“It’s a small group of people who put all the pieces together. So that should be really encouraging. If you can muster the energy, you’ll get there. Because the line’s shorter than you think.”

 

Animation Department

Clone High (2023)

Clone High

6.2

TV Series

main title director

2023–2024

20 episodes

 

Will Arnett in BoJack Horseman (2014)

BoJack Horseman

8.8

TV Series

director: main title

2014–2020

76 episodes

 

Greatest Party Story Ever (2016)

Greatest Party Story Ever

7.9

TV Series

art and animation

2016

1 episode

 

TripTank (2014)

TripTank

6.5

TV Series

art and animationtitle designsanimation ...

2014–2016

21 episodes

 

Rumbleseat (2011)

Rumbleseat

7.5

Short

animator

2011

 

Jasmine Ellis, Edward Glen, Bryn McAuley, Al Mukadam, Sue Rose, Ruby Smith-Merovitz, Matthew Di Girolamo, Ruby Gillett, Cailin Munroe, and Chloe Weir in Angela Anaconda (1999)

Angela Anaconda

4.6

TV Series

animator (as Michael Roberts)

1999–2001

4 episodes

 

The Hoobs (2001)

The Hoobs

6.0

TV Series

animator (2001-2002)

2001–2003

 

Director

Olivia Sgambelluri, Aidan Reimer, David Rizzo, and Jonah Hundert in Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia (2026)

Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia

6.7

TV Series

Director

2026

 

Backyard Sports: The Animated Special (2026)

Backyard Sports: The Animated Special

8.6

TV Special

Director

2026

 

MrBeast Lab (2025)

MrBeast Lab

4.4

TV Series

Director

2025

1 episode

 

Mello's Funk (2024)

Mello's Funk

Short

Director

2024

 

Strange Planet (2023)

Strange Planet

6.4

TV Series

supervising directorDirector

2023

10 episodes

 

Conan O'Brien, Fred Armisen, Keith David, Tom Kenny, Tika Sumpter, Steven Yeun, Ron Funches, Ashly Burch, and Olan Rogers in Final Space (2018)

Final Space

8.2

TV Series

supervising directordirected byDirector

2018

10 episodes

 

Laura Dern, Sam Rockwell, Bill Burr, Mo Collins, Jamie Denbo, Debi Derryberry, Trevor Devall, Al Ducharme, Kevin P. Farley, David Koechner, Justin Long, Kevin Michael Richardson, Michael Kenneth Williams, Eileen Fogarty, Haley Reinhart, and Aly Ward Azevedo in F Is for Family (2015)

F Is for Family

8.0

TV Series

Director

2017

4 episodes

 

Greatest Party Story Ever (2016)

Greatest Party Story Ever

7.9

TV Series

Director (segment "Reverse Catfish")

2016

1 episode

 

TripTank (2014)

TripTank

6.5

TV Series

Director

2014–2016

23 episodes

 

Will Arnett in BoJack Horseman (2014)

BoJack Horseman

8.8

TV Series

Director

2015

2 episodes

 

Milana Vayntrub and Ben Schwartz in Airship Dracula (2012)

Airship Dracula

6.5

TV Movie

Director

2012

 

The Sadies: Rumbleseat (2011)

The Sadies: Rumbleseat

Music Video

Director

2011

 

Rumbleseat (2011)

Rumbleseat

7.5

Short

Director

2011

 

Producer

MrBeast Lab (2025)

MrBeast Lab

4.4

TV Series

consulting producer

2026

1 episode

 

Hot Wheels Let's Race: Attack of the T-Rex (2026)

Hot Wheels Let's Race: Attack of the T-Rex

6.4

TV Special

executive producer

2026

 

Hot Wheels Let's Race (2024)

Hot Wheels Let's Race

5.8

TV Series

creative producer

2024–2025

19 episodes

 

Dallas & Robo (2018)

Dallas & Robo

6.5

TV Series

executive producer

2018

8 episodes

 

TripTank (2014)

TripTank

6.5

TV Series

co-producer

2015–2016

20 episodes

 

Rumbleseat (2011)

Rumbleseat

7.5

Short

producer

2011

 

Writer

MrBeast Lab (2025)

MrBeast Lab

4.4

TV Series

Writerwriter

2025–2026

7 episodes

 

Dallas & Robo (2018)

Dallas & Robo

6.5

TV Series

developed bycreated bywritten by ...

2018

8 episodes

 

TripTank (2014)

TripTank

6.5

TV Series

creatorcreated by (segment "Animal Hitman: Rabbit / Tortoise / Mascot")

2014–2016

9 episodes

 

Rumbleseat (2011)

Rumbleseat

7.5

Short

writer

2011

 

Art Department

Mello's Funk (2024)

Mello's Funk

Short

storyboard artist

2024

 

Strange Planet (2023)

Strange Planet

6.4

TV Series

storyboard artist

2023

1 episode

 

TripTank (2014)

TripTank

6.5

TV Series

designer: interstitial segments

2014

1 episode

 

Visual Effects

Yvette Nicole Brown, J.B. Smoove, Gerald 'Slink' Johnson, Jay Pharoah, and Marsai Martin in Good Times (2024)

Good Times

4.3

TV Series

compositing supervisor

2024

10 episodes

 

Doc Zone (2006)

Doc Zone

7.5

TV Series

additional vfx & opening title

2015

1 episode

 

Tales of the Rat Fink (2006)

Tales of the Rat Fink

6.6

visual effects

2006

 

Additional Crew

Tales of the Rat Fink (2006)

Tales of the Rat Fink

6.6

additional dialogueon-line assemblertitles

2006

 

Actor

MrBeast Lab (2025)

MrBeast Lab

4.4

TV Series

Banana (voice)

2025

6 episodes

 

Editor

Milana Vayntrub and Ben Schwartz in Airship Dracula (2012)

Airship Dracula

6.5

TV Movie

Editor

2012

 

Art Director

Tales of the Rat Fink (2006)

Tales of the Rat Fink

6.6

Art Director

2006

 

Self

Shai Korman, Lily Korman, and Becky Korman in Friday Night Movie (2017)

Friday Night Movie

Podcast Series

Self

2018–2022

8 episodes