The beloved animated comedy series Bob’s Burgers has been a constant staple of Fox’s animation Sundays since 2011. This amazing showcase of the voice talents of H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, and Kristen Schaal, who voice the Belcher family of Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene, and Louise, is currently airing trailers for the first full-length Bob’s Burgers feature film. To celebrate this milestone, here is a smorgasbord of episodes to highlight the long-running show’s comfortable appeal through all 12 seasons.
The Best ‘Bob’s Burgers’ Episode In Every Season
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Season 1: “Art Crawl”
Though when it initially aired, the first season of Bob’s Burgers was considered a bit crude and uneven. Now, most people see the crass charm as the root that developed this great show. The hilarious addition of the “Art Crawl” artwork by Aunt Gayle (Megan Mullally) must be seen to be believed!
Season 2: “Food Truckin’”
The short second season, preceding the first long run of the show, showed Bob’s Burgers experimenting with its limitless possibilities, like a Goonies-inspired plot and having Bob involved in a bank robbery. “Food Truckin’” brings back Bob’s one-time friend/enemy Randy (Paul F. Tompkins) to change up the Belcher family dynamic outside of the restaurant.
Season 3: "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal"
The first in a now-long tradition of Thanksgiving episodes, this is one of the best. Thanksgiving is introduced as Bob’s favorite holiday, so of course, someone messing that up – in this case, it’s their landlord Mr. Fischoeder (Kevin Kline) hiring the Belchers to be his fake family for the day – brings hilarity and thrills to the table.
Season 4: “Wharf Horse / World Wharf 2: The Wharfening (How Bob Saves/Destroys the Town)”
The next seasons would follow with better-known exciting season finales, but this first-ever two-part episode was the most epic at the time. The stakes are high as Fischoeder’s brother Felix (Zach Galifianakis) has Bob convince his sibling to sell Wonder Wharf, what many consider to be the heart of the town.
Season 5: “Dawn of the Peck”
Another Thanksgiving episode (and perhaps the best) follows the Belchers and Bob’s best customer/friend Teddy (Larry Murphy) forsaking holiday traditions to join a “Running of the Turkeys” at Wonder Wharf – with disastrous results.
Season 6: “Gayle Makin’ Bob Sled”
Bob and Aunt Gayle trek through the snow in the best showcase of their peculiar dynamic yet, only previously explored in the creepy “Dr. Yap” episode. Here, we get a little bit of the best and worst of both of them, as well as a reminder of the reason why we love these characters so much.
Season 7: “Eggs for Days”
Bob’s Burgers has other holiday episodes, too! This one is for Easter, but it’s mostly an excuse for some egg-themed humor that takes on surprisingly high stakes. Plus, the whole family gets to stick together for the episode, which always yields the best results.
Season 8: "V for Valentine-detta"
The Valentine’s Day episodes have had a current of romantic sweetness in the past, but this one takes a brilliant, heartfelt turn in the main plot and subplot. As well, it introduces Nat (Jillian Bell), the quirky driver of a pink limo who is the absolute best latter-day side character.
Season 9: "Roller? I Hardly Know Her!"
Gene, starting in Season 8, has a cute relationship with his friend Alex (formerly voiced by Thomas Middleditch), but that is interrupted in this episode by Gene’s former girlfriend Courtney (David Wain) when she asks him to join her roller-dancing competition.
Season 10: “Just the Trip”
Unsurprisingly, another great later-season episode heavily features Nat! The whole family joins her on a trip to an exotic animal farm, which of course goes wrong in every way thanks to the Belcher children's antics.
Season 11: "Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid"
Toilet humor in Bob’s Burgers has somehow been shaped into character-focused charm on the show, and one example here is Gene’s flu sickness preventing him from eating Thanksgiving dinner. In this episode, we also see another trope of the three-part anthology format that has been used several times, here parodying action films Predator, Air Force One, and Armageddon into food-based villains to try to get Gene to hate food.
Season 12: "Clear and Present Ginger"
One of the most recent episodes features Nat, Gayle, and Linda’s friend and hairstylist Gretchen, who hasn’t been seen much in recent years. Also, as you might have guessed from the name, the episode centers around Ginger, Linda’s best friend from afar who has never before had a full presence on the show!
12 seasons in, and Bob’s Burgers is still coming up with some enticing storylines! Watch every episode on Hulu now; the 12th season finale airs on May 22, 2022.