This was the third year in a row that the Fox original, good-natured animated series Bob’s Burgers was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program, but with its the first-ever win, and it proved everyone wrong.
It has carved out a loyal following and solid ratings over four seasons on Fox. Created by Home Movies alumnus Lauren Bouchard, Bob’s Burgers follows the misadventures of a family operating a small independent hamburger restaurant in a boardwalk community. It is scheduled to begin its fifth season this fall on Fox, with reruns currently syndicated to the Adult Swim network.
Neither a ratings dynamo nor a pop culture phenomenon like The Simpsons or Family guy and without the pedigree of American Dad from Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane, Bob’s Burgers has nonetheless become an industry darling. At Saturday’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the underdog show came out on top – winning its first award for Outstanding Animated Program.
The award is given based on a single episode of a nominated series, in this case for “Mazel Tina,” in which Bob’s eldest daughter Tina (often called the show’s breakout character) volunteers her restaurateur family as caterers in a bid to attend a popular classmate’s party. It won out over impressive competition from the series finale of Futurama, South Park’s “Black Friday,” Nickelodeon’s TMNT and Archer: Vice, – with which it shares lead voice-actor H. Jon Benjamin and has done a crossover.