Bob’s Burgers: Living Up to Its Predecessors

When Bob’s Burgers first premiered way back in January 2011, it had two massive shows to live up to. And no, we’re not talking about Fox’s preexisting juggernauts, The Simpsons and Family Guy; it was never expected to compete with them. Rather, it was the previous projects helmed by Bob’s Burgers’ co-executive producers—Loren Bouchard and Jim Dauterive—who gave this comedic gem its unique voice.

King of the Hill

In 1997 Fox began airing this subtle, yet droll animated comedy from the mind of Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead, Office Space). The story revolved around Hank Hill, a semi-religious, semi-conservative propane salesman who viewed the world with a simple, sometimes naïve optimism. Week after week, his family and a tight-knit group of friends challenged his preconceived notions about life in his fictional town of Arlen, Texas which amounted to thirteen seasons of entertaining television.

Jim Dauterive was one of the series’ original writers and held various producer titles throughout its long, prosperous run. However, arguably the biggest honor Dauterive received occurred before the show even aired when they named one of Hank’s neighbors after him. While Bill Dauterive (masterfully voiced by Stephen Root) was a down-on-his-luck, chubby, balding underdog, he was still a character on a popular, primetime, network series. So the tribute, while partially in jest, was still a strong symbol of how valuable he was to the production.

The influence of King of the Hill has been noticeable throughout Bob’s Burgers’ past nine seasons. The parents, Bob and Linda Belcher, share several similarities to Hank Hill and his wife, Peggy. Bob loves and is even obsessed with his burger restaurant the same way Hank shared a very special relationship with “sweet lady propane.” Linda, like Peggy, experiences delusions of grandeur with her constant a cappella singing and hunger for a caper or something to spice up the day. In her mind, she sees herself as more than just a mother and burger joint employee, just as Peggy fancied herself as more than a substitute Spanish teacher and columnist for the local paper.

There are many other similarities that are interesting but by no means cliché. Bob has a contentious relationship with his eccentric landlord while Hank constantly had to deal with his unhinged boss. Bob loves his kids and Hank loves Bobby even though both dads aren‘t quite sure how to relate to their offspring. And both the worlds of King of the Hill and Bob’s Burgers are littered with a supporting cast of colorful and sometimes even insane guest characters. These lesser-seen town inhabitants—often voiced by celebrities—are great catalysts in bringing our main characters out of their comfort zones and giving depth and purpose to that week’s story.

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Home Movies

While the parents from Bob’s Burgers may resemble their counterparts from King of the Hill, Bob’s all-important children are much closer to the amazing kids from Home Movies. This series, created by Loren Bouchard and Brendon Small (Metalocalypse), originally aired on the now-defunct UPN television network in 1999. It was canceled after only five episodes but became an early example of a show that was saved by another network. In 2001, it became the first official program to premiere of Cartoon Network’s nighttime Adult Swim block—although other future [AS] classics like Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Sealab 2021, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force aired earlier in a different capacity.

The story followed an eight-year-old named Brendon Small (aptly voiced by co-creator Brendon Small) and his friends Melissa and Jason as they navigated school, activities, and their home lives. Although the most memorable part of each episode—and rationale behind the title—were the meticulously planned, yet often humorously executed, home movies they made together in Brendon’s basement with his trusty camcorder.

Their childish wonder and ability to find adventure in even under the most inane circumstances is a perfect parallel to Bob’s Burgers’ Tina, Gene, and Louise. The Belcher children, older than Brendon’s gang, have an open world for their playful antics and a larger, more diverse group of friends to share in their spoils. However, their whimsical use of imagination and pure, childish natures are clearly rooted in their predecessors.

Gene and Louise are a bit wilder and more extroverted than the semi-reserved Brendon and Melissa, but their goals are not dissimilar. Both duos have a desire to be seen, heard, and noticed, while Brendon and Louise view themselves as important people about town despite their thinly-masked insecurities. The similarities between Tina and Jason are easier to spot even though Tina, much older, has learned to embrace her eccentricities.

The greatest Home Movies influence lies behind the scenes. Many of the voice actors from the previous show have joined Bouchard for another exciting trip. Some of those actors, like H. Jon Benjamin, Sam Seder, and Laura Silverman have worked with Bouchard on numerous projects including Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, which he produced, as well as his tragically underappreciated creation, Lucy, Daughter of the Devil. In service of his loyal fans, Bouchard made a point of getting almost every actor from Home Movies to at least provide a guest voice in Bob’s Burgers.

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Bob’s Burgers has truly taken the best of both of its ancestral shows to create a formula that has now worked for nine seasons and counting. Since they often have to fulfill the network demand of twenty or more episodes a year, the crew keeps it simple with self-contained episodes and strong story structure. The predecessor shows also contained their stories, although King of the Hill depicted a number of milestones which often involved tweaking or readjusting the narrative.

Running for four seasons, Home Movies was a success on an Adult Swim and is often replayed when a hole in the schedule needs filling. And with thirteen seasons, despite an inconsistent time slot, King of the Hill was also a success by network standards, gaining syndication deals on various networks. Bob’s Burgers is on a similar road with no plans of ending and a movie slated for a 2020 release. It’s nowhere near, nor is it likely to ever reach The Simpsons thirty seasons, or even Family Guy’s seventeen, but as we stated earlier, that was never the goal. Bob’s Burgers set out to do its own thing, just like its titular restaurant; so far it’s doing relatively well.