Bob’s Burgers

The king of Fox’s animated sitcoms is still funny in season 9

By Emily St. James@emilyvdw Jan 28, 2019, 6:04pm EST

Emily St. James was a senior correspondent for Vox, covering American identities. Before she joined Vox in 2014, she was the first TV editor of the A.V. Club.

Part of The 18 best TV shows airing right now

Sure, The Simpsons and Family Guy still pull in the bigger ratings. And, yes, Bob’s Burgers sometimes seems like an afterthought. But there are few shows as fresh in their ninth seasons as this one. The animated sitcom has taken the baton of sweet, funny, relatable animated antics laid down by the first few seasons of The Simpsons and, later, King of the Hill, and carried it to some weird places. You’ll come for flights of whimsy, expertly deployed toilet humor, great celebrity voices, and some of the best holiday episodes in TV history. You’ll stay for the way the show’s central family seems as realistic and well-written as any on TV.

“That the series has managed to stay funny while also keeping its storytelling at such an intimate, familial level through eight full seasons is incredibly impressive.” Kevin Yeoman, ScreenRant

Metacritic score: N/A (the show received a 78 out of 100 in season two, way back in 2012)

Where to watch: New episodes of Bob’s Burgers air Sundays on Fox at 7:30 pm Eastern (though watch out for sports overruns, which occasionally bump the show from the schedule). Previous episodes are streaming on Hulu.

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