Television series

Bob's Burgers

Name: Bob's Burgers
Genre: Comedy, Family
Released: 2011
Cast: H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal

Well over a decade in, Bob's Burgers proves a cartoon can be gentle and still hilarious. It's a family sitcom disguised as animation: pun-drunk, occasionally surreal, built on a struggling burger joint and a family that loves each other loudly and constantly. Low stakes, big hearts, and a joke rate that rarely lets up. Comfort viewing for anyone who wants weird without cruelty.

TVMaze rating

7.9

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King of the Hill1997

Same species of animated family sitcom, but planted firmly in Texas suburbia — patient, character-driven, and quietly one of the funniest shows ever made about ordinary people trying to be decent. Hank Hill is Bob's stoic cousin.

But Slower and drier than Bob's Burgers — less music, less zaniness, more porch philosophy about propane and manhood.

Home Movies1999no page yet

Made by some of the same people, with the same loose, improvised, slightly melancholic warmth — a cheap-looking cartoon about a kid making movies with his friends that somehow becomes achingly sincere.

But Rougher animation and stranger pacing, with a much smaller cult following — can feel unfinished next to Bob's polish.

The Simpsons1989

The obvious ancestor: irreverent, cartoonish, built around a loving-if-chaotic family, with decades of cultural reach behind it. Start anywhere in the golden years and you'll see exactly where the DNA came from.

But A vast, wildly uneven back catalogue — the show you probably already know, and maybe already have opinions about.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Big Night1996

Bob's Burgers' entire engine — pride, debt, family friction, a restaurant that might fail this week — gets played completely straight here, as a wry, melancholic dramedy instead of a joke-a-minute cartoon.

Two Italian immigrant brothers stake everything on one perfect dinner service to save their failing restaurant, in a film that's funnier, sadder, and far more specific about the exact indignities of running a small food business than almost anything else made about it.

But A real film, not a sitcom — one story, one evening, and a much more bittersweet, adult ending than anything the Belchers would face.

Parks and Recreation2009

Trade the cartoon for live action and the burger grease for local government, but keep the same generous, big-hearted ensemble comedy where everyone's a little ridiculous and nobody's really the villain.

But A wobbly first season before it finds its footing — give it time or you'll miss why people love it.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine2013

Same joke density, same defiantly sweet worldview, same insistence that found family and ridiculous bits can coexist with real emotion. A precinct instead of a kitchen, but the same warm chaos.

But Broader and more sitcom-glossy — less deadpan weirdness, more conventional network comedy rhythms.

Superstore2015

A live-action riff on the same idea — underpaid, overqualified weirdos holding a struggling workplace together with love and bad decisions. Big-box store instead of a burger joint, same scrappy affection.

But Loses some momentum with cast changes late on, and the stakes feel a touch more corporate than family-business.

Schitt's Creek2015

A totally different setup — rich family gone broke instead of a struggling one — but the same slow accumulation of genuine tenderness underneath the jokes, and an equally specific sense of humour.

But Starts fairly mean-spirited as fish-out-of-water comedy before it warms up; the first season is a rockier entry point.

Big Mouth2017

Same animation-as-permission-to-get-weird energy, same crude-but-secretly-tender heart, pointed squarely at puberty instead of burgers. If Tina's earnestness about growing up appeals to you, this pushes that further, and filthier.

But Much cruder and more sexually explicit — not the family-friendly cousin Bob's Burgers can be.

Archer2009

From the same animation studio, but swap the diner for a spy agency and the sweetness for rapid-fire cynicism — a good chaser if you want the craft without the hug at the end.

But Colder and more sardonic throughout — nobody here loves anybody the way the Belchers love each other.