The FOX network recently introduced another TV show to their Sunday night “Animation Domination” line-up, Bob’s Burgers. How will this stack up against the other animated sitcoms? Will it be quickly renewed or end up being cancelled?
Bob’s Burgers revolves around Bob Belcher (H. Jon Benjamin), a third generation restaurateur who operates Bob’s Burgers with the help of his wife and their three kids. He has big ideas about the food he serves but knows little about customer service and business management. The restaurant is constantly struggling and there are times when it doesn’t seem like his family is on his team. His wife, Linda (John Roberts), supports his dream through thick and thin but is tiring of it. Eldest daughter Tina (Dan Mintz) is a 13-year-old hopeless romantic with minimal social skills. Son Gene (Eugene Mirman) is an aspiring musician and prankster and youngest child Louise (Kristen Schaal) has an off-balance sense of humor but loves her dad’s business.
The new show debuted on January 9th and, thanks in part to the afternoon’s NFL Wildcard Playoff game, had a great premiere. The first episode of Bob’s Burgers scored a 4.5 in the 18-49 demographic and 9.38 million total viewers. Those numbers were good enough to make it the best performing network premiere of the season to date.
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Unfortunately that success was short-lived. Only about half as many of those viewers came back to watch in week two. The second episode dropped to a 2.5 rating in the demo and 5.07 million viewers. The most recent episode attracted a 2.2 rating, a further decline of 12% in the demo, and 4.81 million total viewers.
Thanks to the fantastic premiere numbers, Bob’s Burgers still averages a 3.1 rating and 6.42 million viewers. If the ratings keep declining or even if they just stay the same, that average will sink lower. Sandwiched between The Simpsons and Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers doesn’t come close to matching their ratings. That seems to indicate that some FOX viewers are making a conscious effort to skip the newbie series. FOX execs are likely wondering if other shows might make better use of the timeslot. They already have a couple new animated series in the works.
Back in October, FOX ordered six additional scripts for the series. Because it can take months to produce new episodes, the order would allow the series to remain in continuous production. The network has yet to order additional episodes be actually produced however. The network is likely waiting to see if the ratings even off or get better before committing to its future.
What do you think? Do you like Bob’s Burgers? Does the humor go too far? Cancel or keep it?
Image courtesy FOX.
Bobs burgers has ruined my sunday nights. The characters are horribly drawn and their voices are just irritating. This show does not belong on animation domination. I will continue to change the channel as long as fox keeps airing this garbage.
I am watching it now with my boyfriend. Not once have we laughed or even chuckled. Time to change the channel!
Maybe it’s time to change boyfriends.
what are you people talking about, I personally think this show is hilarious. its nothing like familyguy, american dad, cleveland show, which is a good thing, the jokes on those shows require no thought. theyre the type of jokes a 13 year old boy laughs at. but i guess thats what people that watch fox want. mindlessly sit infront of a tv and laugh at random stupidity.
I think this waste of a show can be closely compared to an abc show called ‘cop rock’ that aired back in the 90’s. Both producers should be silently put out of their misery and be prevented from producing any future network programming. What a major waste of an idea!!
I am having a tough time warming up to the characters and this will spell death for the show. First of all, the characters are drawn in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable. They appear hapless, slow-witted, and hopelessly out of fashion. For example, if you re-do the noses using the > type nose, the characters begin to take on life. You can also give the chracters something decent to wear. It will give them energy and this is what the Sun night crowd wants. Second, their burger joint needs a make-over. It should be a thriving place of… Read more »
There are big laughs in every episode. The cast is fantastic and I think it’s the best companion to The Simpsons since the salad days when it was followed by King of the Hill. I truly hope they hang onto this one because it’s got great potential.
Never laughed once at this show. It needs to be cancelled.
TERRIBLE! I have been waiting and hoping to hear them announce the cancellation of this show. I watched two episodes it has no humor and its unenjoyable to watch. The creator Loren Bouchard the same person who came up with Home Movies, which was a disapointing show that aired on Cartoon Networks Adult Swim. I am also dissapointed in fox sunday lineup after they got rid of Sons of Tuscon. I understand it had low ratings but they could release a DVD of the 13 episodes that aired, it was more enjoyable to watch than some show created by a… Read more »
I say keep it; I’ve always liked the stuff H. Jon Benjamin was in….if people don’t like that a man is doing a girl’s voice, they’ll never get past Dr. Girlfriend on “The Venture Brothers.” If this doesn’t survive, I hope Adult Swim will pick it up.
This show is great! As Simpsons and Family guy slowly grind on into animation-oblivion in a Dragon ball Z manor it is nice to see something new and different. That said I don’t think it has a place on FOX, It’s new its different and above all it is trying to be that way and I don’t think that sandwiching it in-between the husks of what used to be great animated shows will help anything. So until its caned I will watch it and I hope that somewhere out there in TV land there is a place for shows like… Read more »
Not Funny. What was H Jon Benjamin thinking? I can’t understand how he can do a show that is unbelievably funny, like Archer, while simultaneously voicing this crap.
Maybe some people find crappy animation, female characters voiced by men, and crummy recycled comedy funny, but not me.
I wasn’t a huge fan of American Dad, but that was a hundred times better than this poor excuse to sell advertising time. The only reason I would watch this show is to pay attention to the commercials so that I know what not to buy.
This show is the vomit that is the result of Shame eating to much stupidity. The sad thing is i actually wasted my time giving it a chance for 2 episodes. By 10 minutes in i wanted to pull my eardrums out. The horribly inactive characters spout off a never ending monotoned dialogue. THEY NEVER QUIT TALKING! I like the simpsons, enjoy the Cleveland Show, LOVE American Dad (though the storys have been dragging a bit of late), loved King of the Hill and make sure to watch them weekly (save for King of the Hill as its been canceled)… Read more »
Didn’t laugh once at the radio promos. Shook my head was more like it. Not worth watching.
Tasteless humor can sometimes be funny but not in the case of “Bob’s Burgers.”
I still get a kick out of Simpsons and South Park but this is just garbage, in the so called stories and what they are trying to pass off as an artistic style. FOX, save your money for some decent shows and do everyone a favor and cancel this trash.
This show is HILARIOUS! I have recommended it to friends who have subsequently watched the show on the Fox website. My fiance and I constantly check the website to see if a new episode has been released, but we are disappointed every time. The same three episodes are all that we find. I realize that the show may be for people with a certain sense of humor, but obviously those people exist; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many comments asking to keep the series. This comment is asking for the same thing: Please keep the series; it’s funny, quirky, and… Read more »
i agree!!! Great show!! very funny