Disney+ Animated Sitcom Is Better Than The Simpsons

11 years after The Simpsons premiered in December of 1989, Bob’s Burgers arrived on the scene to mixed reviews. The Simpsons, by this point, was a household name, with many families sitting down together on Sunday nights to watch the show. By its sixth season, The Simpsons had better ratings than the much beloved Cosby Show. Bob’s Burgers had a lot to live up to. 

Why the comparison? 

Well, both shows are situational comedies centered around the family. The Simpsons is mostly located in the family home, and Bob’s Burgers is generally positioned in the workplace, but both shows have the family dynamic of mother, father, son, and two daughters. Both shows are edgy, ironic, and satirical, and they both appeal to an older audience, typically ages 13 and up. Bob’s Burgers even got its own movie, like The Simpsons. 

However, the comparisons stop here. Bob’s Burgers is a show primarily about a loving family having adventures together. Bob Belcher, the dad, is a second generation restaurateur who is smart, ambitious, deeply in love with his wife, Tina, and invested in his family. 

That family consists of Linda, the wacky, enthusiastic, fun-loving wife, and mom who often finds reason to break into song but can also be hard on the kids when she needs to be. The children all have their own unique personalities as well. 

Tina is the oldest at 13, a classic teenage girl with fantasies about boys’ butts and obsessions over boy bands. Gene is the quintessential middle child, an 11-year-old boy who carries his keyboard around and dreams of becoming a famous musician one day. And Louise is the iconic youngest child, a 9-year-old girl forever scheming and manipulating to get her way. 

Unlike the Simpsons, which typically revolve around Homer or Bart, Bob’s Burgers’ main characters are all main characters. Because the family is tightly knit and no family member steals the spotlight, episodes can revolve around a single character or hijinks that involve two or more of the family members, and it works! 

The humor is sharp and witty, the adventures in and out of the burger joint are fresh and exciting, and while creator Loren Bouchard is obviously building on the groundwork laid by Matt Groening with The Simpsons, Bouchard and his writers do it in such a way that it doesn’t feel like mimicry. 

Fans of Bob’s Burgers are constantly rooting for the Belcher family to succeed, whether we are hoping Tina will finally find a boy to reciprocate her pubescent passion or we’re shaking our heads at Louise’s latest ploys. The married couple love each other and are on equal ground in terms of strength and smarts, and the kids, while certainly acting as typical siblings, also support and love each other on a regular basis. 

Of course, none of this is even to mention the star-studded cast of voice actors that arrive regularly as supporting characters in the form of classmates, teachers, or rival business owners. Bob’s Burgers has frequent visits from Sarah Silverman, Jenny Slate, Megan Mullally, Ken Jeong, Aziz Ansari, Zach Galifianakis, Bill Hader, and more. 

It is the people, the storylines, the love, and the humor that have made Bob’s Burgers a resounding success with audiences and critics alike. What began as mixed reviews has now led to an Emmy award and an A- rating from Entertainment Weekly, which called the show “perhaps the funniest half-hour currently airing on broadcast TV.” 

Yes, The Simpsons has had a great run, but Bob’s Burgers has far surpassed its success in more ways than one. But don’t take our word for it; go watch it yourself, now streaming all of its seasons on Disney+ via the Hulu section (service to both required.)