What Bob's Burgers Was Originally Going To Be About

Bob’s Burgers has been on the air for six seasons and more than 100 episodes, which means we’ve spent plenty of time with Bob, his quirky family and his burger business. In that time, we’ve learned way too much about the state of Tina’s leg hair, but otherwise the series hasn’t really gone too far in terms of its plot. However, recently Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard admitted his first draft of the Belcher family made them even weirder than they are today. In fact, they would have been cannibals. Here’s what Bob’s Burgers was originally going to be about:

I originally thought the show should be about a family that runs a restaurant who are cannibals. Very early on, [Fox] said, ‘Well, do you need the cannibalism?’ I had really put it in there because I thought they would want it. I'm coming off of working for Adult Swim, and the darker, more shocking aspect seemed like what you needed in order for an animated idea to cut through the noise.

Honestly, Fox is known for taking more chances than a lot of the other networks in terms of original programming. However, while the network’s animated lineup might feature aliens, talking dogs, a child who loves to make homicidal remarks and more, an entire series based around cannibalism might have made things a little too dark to fit into Fox’s lineup. Or maybe it wasn’t the dark nature of the plot that was the problem at all. In fact, Fox’s Suzanna Makkos actually told THR they may have cut the original premise so they wouldn’t have to be stuck making cannibalism jokes for seasons and seasons.

I said, 'Loren, do you want to do 100 episodes' worth of cannibal jokes?'

Obviously, it was a bid that paid off. Bob’s Burgers is ending its sixth season this weekend. In addition, Fox is so enthused about the animated comedy that the network signed a renewal order for Season 7 months and months ago. Even better? The renewal order wasn’t just for one season, it was for two, which means we will at least get to keep up with Bob, Linda and the rest of the gang through Season 8.

It’s becoming increasingly rare for TV shows to get multiple season renewal orders, but shows like NCIS and The Big Bang Theory have managed to nab them in recent years (although Bang is finishing up its 3-year contract next season). If you'd like to stay updated on what is renewed and what is cancelled, check out our network rundown of what's sticking around and what is not.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.