Bob’s Burgers is now working its way through its milestone 15th season, and the animated series is seemingly only getting better with each of its new episodes. It can be hard for long running television shows of any kind, but it’s especially tough for animated ones. Not only is it rare for an adult animated series to get a long enough run to really find its footing, but it’s even rarer to find a series that’s getting better with each new season. It’s often said that the longer a series runs the less effective it’ll be, but that’s not true at all with Bob’s Burgers.
Bob’s Burgers is on the cusp of a new golden era from the looks of its latest few seasons. The cast has grown to such a degree that there are now plenty of story opportunities to explore with new episodes. Each new character also shows a new side of the Belcher family as a result, and thus it seems like there are no limits to where this comedy can go. Although it’s now 15 seasons old, it really seems like it’s only just the beginning as Bob’s Burgers sharper than ever before.
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Bob’s Burgers Has Avoided a Curse
Bob’s Burgers is even rarer company than adult animation fans might expect. It’s one of the few franchises successful enough to release a standalone feature film directly to theaters, and even rarer that the series has seemingly only gotten better ever since. One of the main complaints that fans have been lobbing at The Simpsons for the past two decades is that it’s “not as good as it used to be.” Lapsed fans who haven’t watched the series for years talk about how it’s just not as good as some of the episodes released before Season 10.
Looking back on The Simpsons‘ history, there is a notable decline in viewership and fan response over the years but it’s never been enough to stop the show completely. One can even point to The Simpsons Movie as a place where the TV series steadily began to decline in quality afterwards (if you believe that, anyway), and it’s something that the long running sitcom has been fighting against even up to the now airing Season 36. It’s bounced back from all of that criticism thanks to the strength of its recent episodes, but it was a long road getting there.
Bob’s Burgers hasn’t had to deal with this, however. Unlike how long running shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, or Rick and Morty, Bob’s Burgers doesn’t have that same level of criticism for its later seasons. Fans have never really pointed to any of the episodes or seasons as an example of decline, and that’s due to the strength of the creative team behind it all. Even after pulling double duty with The Bob’s Burgers Movie, the TV series never once lost step. In fact, it’s only getting more impressive.
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So what’s different about the way Bob’s Burgers handles things? Nothing has particularly changed in the macro level as the new seasons feel like they fall in line with everything that has come out so far, but there are smaller differences that you’ll notice if you’re paying attention. What Bob’s Burgers does better than any other series is how tightly it writes the Belcher family. It’s missing that bit of sardonic edge that many of its adult animated counterparts have, and at the end of each episode the characters seem closer than ever before.
There’s a genuine heart in any given episode, and that means the wacky characters seen throughout are also being treated with that genuine love. It’s something that the series has actually improved with since it first began. The first season of Bob’s Burgers is arguably the worst one as those behind the scenes were testing out ideas and characters to eventually find the groove they are in now. This is where you’ll see harsher and more outdated humor, and it wasn’t until later that Bob’s Burgers really found its literal sweet spot in the banter between every character.
The sharpness of that banter has only improved greatly over the course of the seasons airing since, and that has since expanded to its wide cast. You might not realize it at first due to how relaxed some of its episodes can be, but Bob’s Burgers has a massive cast at the heart of the series. Each side character offers something different to the energy at the center of it all, and there’s no better example of how varied this cast has become than with the newest episode.
Season 15’s “Hope N Mic Night” is not only impressive because it’s the first real time that Marshmallow is given some kind of focus outside of cameo appearances, but it’s also a showcase for the wider cast as a whole. The open mic night format at the center of the plot allows the Bob’s Burgers creative team to really highlight the personalities it’s been cultivating this entire time in fun new ways. Teddy and Mort team up to sing a hilarious cover of .38 Special’s “Hold on Loosely,” Trev sings Bill Withers’ “Use Me” to criticize how Jimmy Pesto treats him, and then Marshmallow breaks hearts with an emotional cover of Alessi Brothers’ “Seabird.”
The episode takes fans through a wide variety of emotions through just its 20 plus minute run time, and then it explodes with relief in the Belcher kids’ own original, “Draw a Face on Your Butt.” It’s such an understanding of what each character does, who they are, and what they mean for the series that can only come after 15 long seasons. It’s such an impressive feat for Bob’s Burgers to see that these episodes are only getting stronger. Rather than fall into a decline, Bob’s Burgers is really setting itself to have a legendary run if can keep finding fun ways to use its extended cast and find the heart of why fans love them in the first place.
