Where does Bob’s Burgers go for Season Five? We aren’t sure, but we can offer an idea.

It’s been almost a month since any new Bob”s Burgers has aired, but we do know a fifth season is on the way which is good because the show had as tumultuous of a Season Four that you could ask for when it came to scheduling. From FOX constantly premiering action/drama shows to NASCAR, NFL, and other sports all causing nightmares for Sunday Nights, poor Bob’s Burgers has had to put up with a lot this season. However, despite all this, Bob’s Burgers has turned into one of animated television’s darlings and while we’ve been touting the show since before season two, just about every Tom, Dick, and Harry who has a website now realizes that Bob’s Burgers is great…so great in fact, that comparisons to The Simpsons happen almost all of the time. But, are these comparisons fare? That is another conversation for another day, but we do know one thing. If Bob’s Burgers is to become the next great animated franchise it has to do one thing…EXPAND.

This is something the series has started to do at the end of Season Four, as we got to see Bob get more ingratiated with his community. But, the thing that makes TV shows like The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy great are that they all have pretty deep communities that writers can go to in an effort to spice up episodes For The Simpsons that can mean episodes featuring Millhouse, Moe, Comic Book Guy, and others. For South Park, that certainly means the goth kids or Butters, or number of other kids that the popular Comedy Central series can hone in on to spice things up.

Bob’s Burgers, has a GREAT opportunity to do this very same thing, and given the nature of its setting (a restaurant) ideas for characters and their situations really can be endless. But, the one area I really want Bob’s to explore, is the neighboring community. For example, I would LOVE to see an episode entirely from the viewpoint of the Pesto’s. Or maybe we can spend more time with a bunch of the really good recurring characters that Bob’s has like Dr. Yap, Chuck and Pam,  and Gayle. Or how about more time with Mickey or the returns of Cooper and Beverly, all of which could be spin-off TV shows in my opinion!

Bob’s Burgers has BUNCHES of opportunities for expansion, and I hope it’s something that happens sooner rather than later because episodes surrounding Tina are already starting to become a bit more frequent and sometimes even back-to-back-to-back. Fresh ideas and a concerted look at ancillary characters will certainly ensure that Bob’s Burgers is here to stay.