What If: A look at alternate versions of Bob’s Burgers #2

Last week, Daniel stayed the same. For this week’s Bob’s Burgers “What If?”, it’s time to take it back to where it almost all began.

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Last week’s “What if” for Bob’s Burgers was a pretty significant one. Somehow, this week’s question is even bigger. With the Olympics still going on, there’s a good bit of time left to think about what Bob’s Burgers could have been and what’s could still possibly happen.

While last week’s question is impossible, this week’s a little impossible, too. Looking back on the show, they’ve had their fair share of crude and off-color jokes. Since then, they’ve learned from them and made the appropriate changes.

Photo Credit: Bob’s Burgers/Fox, Acquired From Fox Flash /

Speaking of changes, let’s look back at one huge “what if” for the show. What if Bob’s Burgers had kept their original concept instead of changing it? This week’s question is a definitely a little bit darker, but here’s some backstory for those who don’t know what the original concept was.

Paste Magazine wrote about the original idea, giving a brief albeit somewhat fun description of what could’ve been: “The show, inspired largely by Hannibal Lecter and Sweeney Todd, would revolve around the lives of a family of cannibals who owned a restaurant where they cooked and served human flesh, unbeknownst to their customers.” You can check out the video that inspired it below.

There’s so much to unpack with this question, but let’s talk about the show’s concept now. The concept for Bob’s Burgers is just fun. It’s all about family, food and running a restaurant, obviously to mixed results. What makes the show so awesome is the Belchers and the shenanigans they get themselves into.

If the show was run by a cannibal version of the Belcher, things would be a lot different. More than likely, we would get less character-driven plotlines and more plotlines about them killing people, obtaining the meat and just human flesh. Talk about a gruesome way to spend your Sunday night.

Photo Credit: Bob’s Burgers/Fox, Acquired From Fox Flash /

As for the restaurant, it’d be funny to see if it was a success. Maybe in this alternate timeline, the restaurant is incredibly successful and no one can figure out why. They know it’s something to do with their “beef,” but they can quite put their fingers on it. Maybe, it could eventually lead to a plotline of them being found out and dealing with the aftermath.

The characters would certainly be a lot darker. Personally, I think Louise would be down for a cannibal restaurant. She probably would’ve been the one who had the idea. As for the rest of the family, Bob would be good as long as he was successful while Gene, Linda and Tina would just be along for the ride.

Another character we’d probably see less of is Teddy. Teddy has basically become a Belcher family member at this point. If they were getting bodies from Mort, then Mort would take the place of Teddy. Mort’s a fun character, but no one can live up to Teddy.

If Bob’s Burgers had kept their original concept, it’s hard to tell where the show would be. It might not have even been picked up by Fox or as popular as it is now. It’s fun to look at where the show came from, though.

I think it’d be fun to see the show flashback for a “what if?” type of episode or even a dream sequence of Bob’s. Regardless, Bob’s Burgers exists the way it does and we all love it!

Did you know of the original concept for Bob’s Burgers? How do you think it would have shaped the series?

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What if: A look at alternate versions of Bob’s Burgers #2

By Rebecca Mills | Feb 18, 2018

Last week, Daniel stayed the same. For this week’s Bob’s Burgers “What If?”, it’s time to take it back to where it almost all began.