It’s not tho…

Everyone recommended it to me as funny, but it makes an Autism joke in the first episode.

Sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done, Arthur.

No no no listen to me listen

The first episode of Bob’s Burgers is bad okay?

They use a few insensitive jokes. Bob acts like the neglectful husband. Linda acts like the nagging wife. Etc.

But there’s a reason for that.

They needed to get on TV. They needed to get on FOX. And when the only thing that FOX was showing at the time were horrible Family Guy episodes and new Simpsons episodes, they knew that they would never stand a chance with a progressive heartfelt show. And so, unfortunately, the first episode is very…FOX-esque. 

And so FOX signed them on for a season and they changed. It’s actually pretty astounding to see how different Episodes 2,3, 4, etc. are from the first episode. Bob turned into a loving, if not exasperated, husband who would do anything for his wife/kids. Linda turned into a hilarious character who subverts every wife trope. The kids’ personalities all developed. They had very little if any offensive jokes. They tried to be progressive (keyword: tried; they didn’t always succeed but they tried).

And now it genuinely is one of the funniest, progressive, shows on FOX.

Certainly the most heartfelt.

So basically Bob’s Burgers did to FOX what Rebecca Sugar did to Cartoon Network. They made a show that initially seemed like it was going to be just like any other bad show on the network so that the network would sign on. And then they changed it into something amazing.