Alright!
The cast of Bob’s Burgers took the stage at New York Comic Con (NYCC) last weekend to share clips and insight into the new season, which premiered last month. The beloved animated comedy, which airs on Fox, has been renewed for four more seasons and recently aired its 300th episode.
The cast and crew celebrated with a party to honor the landmark episode. Creator Loren Bouchard told the audience that a caterer asked him what sort of burger restaurant had been open for 300 years.
Moderated by Bouchard, the cast also took questions from the crowd, sharing anecdotes and, occasionally, quotes in character. “We’re in a long-term relationship with you,” he told the crowd.
Fans were treated to clips from the show’s Halloween episode, “The Twinnening.” The holiday episode airs this Sunday, Oct. 19. Teddy, a regular at the restaurant and beloved friend of the family, finds himself trapped in an antique store on Halloween. Jamie Demetriou voices twins, one of whom is Teddy’s spooky client.
Bouchard also presented an unfinished clip from this year’s Christmas episode, which is set in a Christmas Village; Bob is abandoned by Linda and the kids, left to decorate sugar cookies. Bourchard promises the return of Kurt Braunohler’s Logan, a delinquent high schooler and Louise’s nemesis.
Among the queries from the crowd were the cast’s favorite lines, how the show manages to remain accessible to a wide audience after 15 seasons, and how the cast imagined the show ending. “We know when the world ends,” Eugene Mirman, the voice of Eugene Belcher, joked, implying that the show will continue to air new episodes as long as the world turns.
More than one voice actor suggested the series is Sterling Archer’s fever dream, a nod to H. Jon Benjamin, who voices Bob and portrayed Archer on FX. The animated comedy parodied Bob’s Burgers in its Season 4 opening in 2013.
The crowd also shared affection for Gravity Falls, peppering actor Kristen Schaal, who voices both Louise Belcher and Mabel, with questions and compliments about the two distinct characters. “Mabel was written very specifically, and Louise was very specifically,” she shared. “I feel like I won the lottery. Thank you for enjoying it.”
Bouchard shared that flash-forwards of the characters are no guarantee. “We started out with an Archie Bunker guy,” he revealed. “It felt like it had been done. It wasn’t funny to us. [The Belchers] are nothing other than a normal family.”
Schaal suggested that the family dynamic of the show is what keeps fans coming back. “I wonder if the show is accessible because families do like each other,” she said.
Elaborating on this theme after being asked about the show’s openness to LGBTQ+, Bouchard said, “You all as fans told us right away that you were on board with anything you wanted to depict. The network was lovely. If we didn’t get it exactly me, it seems like the message was, ‘Your heart’s in the right place,’” he said. “It’s not hard to make a show that’s inclusive and tolerant if you live it every day,” he concluded.
New episodes of Bob’s Burgers air Sundays at 9:30 p.m. EST.
