Every moment there is not a Belcher family adventure airing somewhere on television is a moment the universe has wasted. So naturally, news from TVLine that Bob's Burgers is returning for Season 9 is a welcome development. As far as when Season 9 of Bob's Burgers will premiere, fans are likely looking at a late September to early October debut, judging by the pattern the show has previously followed.
UPDATE: Per a Fox press release, Bob's Burgers Season 9 premieres on Sept. 30.
EARLIER: The show has become more and more beloved since it first appeared in 2011, shaking up the scene as far as adult-targeted animated comedies go. Shows like Family Guy, South Park and American Dad certainly have their place — but Bob's Burgers has always been different. It's not getting laughs from harsh political commentary or cheap shots at people's looks. It's a show about a family just trying to get by and have fun together, and no matter how outrageous or hopeless their antics can be, viewers are always rooting for the Belchers in a genuinely loving way.
The people behind the show understand that — being in the leagues with those infamously cynical, biting shows never seemed to be in their game plan. "I respect the rights of any show, and particularly animated shows, to [be mean] if they want to do that, if they are particularly good at it. I’m thinking of South Park. They have razor-sharp claws, and they are good at their mean stuff," Loren Bouchard, the show's creator, told Uproxx in 2015. "I don’t think I would be good at it, and I don’t think we would be good at it as a show. Secondarily, it’s just not something we were interested in doing at all. Mean humor can be funny for sure, but it just was never going to be the right fit for us."
Given fan reactions to pretty much all Bob's Burgers content, the renewal is far from a surprise — plus, the 89 percent positive critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes doesn't hurt, either. After these eight seasons, the show is long past separating itself from its cruder animated counterparts and is now relishing in the stride it's found.
The love for the show goes beyond the jokes, though the jokes are good jokes. It's really the characters, each one just as lovable as the last, that make this show what it is. At first glance, Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) is a typically slovenly sitcom dad who can't ever quite keep control of his wife and kids. But upon deeper inspection, he's an unwavering support system who would follow those same kids to the ends of the earth for the silliest of causes. Tina's (Dan Mintz) moans and groans embody how all of us were when we were her age, though perhaps her obsession with butts is a bit more severe than that of the average teenager.
Louise (Kristen Schaal) might be the world's greatest evil mastermind, but somehow still has a heart of gold when it comes to the people she loves. Gene (Eugene Mirman) is a confident, round little ball of hilarious one-liners, full of unique and often questionable observations about the world around him. And finally, if I ever come even close to being the wife and mother that Linda (John Roberts) is, I will count it as my greatest achievement.
For all these reasons, the characters are now nestled in the hearts of nearly everyone who's seen even a second of the show, and even more so for those fans who have been around since the beginning. Bottom line: the Belchers must be protected at all costs, and for another season, they have been. And, if even a ninth season of the half-hour show isn't enough for you, don't despair — there's also the Bob's Burgers movie coming up in 2020, as reported by Deadline late last year. The Belchers aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
