Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene, and Louise are addicting. Any free time I have I subconsciously turn on Bob’s Burgers and binge episode after episode, which I can’t explain. If I ever sit down and focus on the show I can only find more faults than virtues with Bob’s Burgers. The first couple seasons have obvious animation errors, there is no hilarious comedy found in the show, each episode’s story is uneventful and completely random, and to make matters worse, everytime H Jon Benjamin talks I think of Archer rather than Bob which in turn makes me want to change the channel to Archer. Yet, time and time again, I go back to Bob’s Burgers. Why? I could not for the life of me understand why I was so infatuated with the show, until an episode in season 5 called “Hawk and Chick.”

 

In this episode, Bob and Louise find their favorite actor, Hawk, and want to reunite him with his daughter and co-star, Chick. Being fans of their Japanese B-movies, Bob and Louise come up with a dragged out plan all while bonding over the movies. In the end, Bob and Louise hold a movie showing and dub the movie in real-time, accidentally dropping the script in order to air their problems between themselves, and after a heart-to-heart, build their strong father daughter relationship. After the credits roll, I realized that is what Bob’s Burgers does right. They know how to make their characters strong, interesting, and real.

 

The entire time I’ve been watching Bob’s Burgers, it was staring me right in the face but I never noticed it. Plot and story take a backseat to the characters each and every episode. No revolutionary idea or gut-busting comedy are found anywhere in this series, and when they attempt to, Bob’s Burgers fails in the execution. Countless Thanksgiving episodes flop to the wayside, like when turkeys took over their town. But at the same time, heart driven Christmas episodes exploring Bob’s relationship with his father shine. 

 

The show’s success lies in character. It explains why I can watch 8 seasons of Bob’s Burgers without getting bored, but I hesitantly watch the later seasons of shows like Archer. Those shows rely on clichés and tropes to build up their characters. Bob’s Burgers instead looks at real family dynamics to drive their show. In the end, plot and story can only get so far. The characters need to shine, so even in the most mundane settings, audiences will keep coming back to watch those characters. 

 

If you’re a fan of animation, but think most shows today are missing something I guarantee it’s the characterization. Bob’s Burgers is a masterclass in this, and I highly recommend the show if you’re ready for a binge watch. See you later, I’m Parker Carlson.