The virtual Bob’s Burgers panel for Comic Con @ Home excited fans for its upcoming twelfth season, album, and feature film. Attending the panel were creator Loren Bouchard (Home Movies), executive producer Nora Smith (Central Park), and cast H. Jon Benjamin (Archer) who voices Bob, John Roberts (Gravity Falls) who voices Linda, Dan Mintz who voices Tina, Eugene Mirman (Home Movies) who voices Gene, Larry Murphy (The Venture Bros.) who voices Teddy, and Kristen Schaal (Gravity Falls) who voices Louise.
Bouchard confirmed that although the twelfth season started remotely, the cast and crew will soon be returning to the studio for in-person work. “The biggest cost of Bob’s ultimately was the interaction of the actors,” he said when talking about what he is most excited about coming back. “[The cast] recorded as an ensemble from the beginning, and I still firmly believe it is a magic ingredient that gives a life and energy to the track. It brings out your A-game.” The cast on the panel all said that they look forward to being back together again and being able to do table reads and record as an ensemble.
While there has been no official date announced, Bob’s Burgers will return in the fall. Bouchard and Smith described the twelfth season as their most ambitious ever, producing most of it during the pandemic working at home. The team behind the show made sure that they kept their goal of “making small stories feel big.” Episode titles for the fall were also teased, including “Crystal Mess” and “The Pumpkining.” They also announced various returning and new guest stars to the show including Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Ashley Nicole Black (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Robin Thede (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth), and Zack Galifianakis (The Hangover).
The panel also showed some clips of what was to come from season 12, including a finished scene of a B-storyline where Bob and Linda receive a floral arrangement shaped like a dog, and two unfinished scenes of Bob and Teddy driving and Gene realizing that he is going through puberty.
It was also confirmed that season 12 will include a two-part finale which may include sequences with no dialogue. The two-parter will include a story element where Tina’s erotic fan fiction is explored with references to many films from Blade Runner to Grease. Bouchard teased the two-part story will be breaking rules, as he hopes to include many minutes of no dialogue — only visuals and music — of an argument between two characters. Bouchard and Smith warned fans that they would have no idea what’s happening if they were not looking at their screens. “By the end, you’ll know who won the argument,” he teased.
The upcoming film, Bob’s Burgers: The Movie, which has been delayed indefinitely since January, will still be a (hopefully) theatrical release, according to Bouchard. He and Smith described the film as a combination of a musical, comedy, mystery, adventure, and coming-of-age story. The cast and crew hope that artwork, teasers, and trailers for the film will be out soon. Bouchard described the movie to be the biggest story yet, as the team left it “all on the field” for the film.
The upcoming album will be comprised of original songs from the seventh, eighth, and ninth seasons, and it is scheduled to be released on August 20. The panel ended with fan questions from Twitter as well as three fans who joined the virtual call and asked the cast and crew questions.
Season 12 of Bob’s Burgers will premiere this fall on Fox.