A Fox Executive Tried To Gut The Most Important Part Of Bob's Burgers
The long-running Fox animated comedy series "Bob's Burgers" is a little different than its channel mates "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons." Sure, all of these shows are animated comedies about a nuclear family consisting of a mom, dad, and their three children, but "Bob's Burgers" is as full of warm, fuzzy feelings as it is laughs. The writers on the series really know when to take a step back from the jokes and let the drama unfold, giving the characters quite a bit more depth than the average cartoon comedy. The misadventures of the Belcher family, who operate a burger joint in the fictional city of Seymour's Bay, are fiercely funny, but they're also full of a tremendous amount of heart. It's what sets "Bob's Burgers" apart, but according to series creator Loren Bouchard, at least one Fox executive just didn't seem to understand that.
In an interview with The New York Times, Bouchard shared a story about the early days of "Bob's Burgers" and revealed that he got one note from an exec that would have completely gutted what makes "Bob's Burgers" so incredible. There are plenty of stories in television history about executives really not understanding the shows they oversaw, but Bouchard's story is a surprising new low. Thankfully no one listened, and "Bob's Burgers" retained its special flavor.
Gutting the heart of Bob's Burgers
While there is some love on "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," there's a lot of nastiness that goes on between the members of the families on those shows, too. How many times has Homer strangled Bart, for example, or how many jokes have been made about how no one loves Meg? The Belchers, by contrast, occasionally disagree, but it's always rooted in a place of love (or genuine misunderstanding). Instead of making the conflict in the story between the family members, Bouchard introduced other kinds of conflict into the narrative. The Belchers support and love one another no matter what, and Bouchard said that one Fox exec told him that wasn't exactly realistic. The exec apparently told Bouchard that the Belchers "love each other a little too much" and "even a family that loves each other fights," trying to convince him to inject more conflict between the characters.
There have been some small spats between the various Belchers, but they've never been serious or long-lived. Instead, the family rely on one another to get through the hard times. Bouchard has said that the rule at the core of "Bob's Burgers" is that the humor is sort of like "foxhole humor," the comical commiseration that comes with people who are close while going through tough situations. It's sort of like the comedy at the core of shows like "M*A*S*H" and "Scrubs," just applied to a family instead of comrades and co-workers. Well, the Belchers are sort of co-workers, aren't they?
Bob's Burgers is like a really good burger
There's something really comforting about "Bob's Burgers." No matter what kind of trouble the Belchers find themselves in, they'll also manage to work their way out of it with each other's help. In the same interview with The New York Times, Disney unit head Marci Proietto, who oversees the series, said that people sometimes tell her that they fall asleep to the show, but it's a compliment — they use "Bob's Burgers" to fall asleep at night because it's so comforting. It's sort of like a perfect burger, whether you prefer vegan, turkey, or beef; there's just something truly soothing about a good burger. "Bob's Burgers" is similar because it's equally reliable, and audiences never need to worry that an episode might really upset or shock them.
It's a very good thing that Bouchard didn't listen to that Fox executive and kept "Bob's Burgers" a story about a truly loving family that doesn't rely on their fighting for drama. The show's wonderful mix of heart and humor has helped it to stick around for 14 seasons, and hopefully for many more.