Bob’s Burgers: How will they incorporate more female actors?
At SDCC, the Bob’s Burgers cast and crew addressed the lack of female voice actors in the cast but how will they change this for season 9 and beyond?
Despite the show’s name, Bob’s Burgers doesn’t solely focus on Bob or the restaurant for that matter. For the most part, the show is a comedy and family sitcom about the Belchers and their misadventures. Despite having 3 major female characters, only 1 is voiced by a woman.
At 2018’s San Diego Comic-Con, a question came up about it. It was answered by creator Loren Bouchard who started by saying: “We’re not proud of taking jobs from women,” before finishing with: “I don’t know what to do except to strive to do better… we have to have balance.” Right now, the question is kind of up-in-the-air but what can the show do to create a better balance?
Let’s get something out the way, first. I love Bob’s Burgers, the characters, the cast and basically everything about the show. However, that doesn’t excuse it from needing to do better. With such a large portion of the fan enjoying their female characters, it would be nice to see more representation.
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Personally, I don’t believe the cast should change. Both John Roberts and Dan Mintz play Linda and Tina perfectly. There’s no reason to try and replace them or make a female voice actress take their roles. However, there are a few ways Bob’s Burgers can work on bridging the gender gap.
First and most obvious is upping a female voice actor as a series regular. Right now, there are a handful of characters played by women who can be considered. There’s Gayle, voiced by Meghan Mullaly, along with Sarah & Laura Silverman who voice the Pesto Twins. There’s also Tammy, voiced by Jenny Slate, who could become a series regular.
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Another way to bridge the gap is by featuring more women in guest-starring roles. It might equal out to the same thing, but it’s a step forward. The show has featured some big names including Samantha Bee, Molly Shannon, Stephanie Beatriz, and Nicole Byer to name a few. Adding more female guest stars might not solve the problem but shows they’re making an effort.
As for the Bob’s Burgers writing team, it is predominantly male but there’s a good mix of ladies in there, too. Most notably, there are sisters: Lizzie and Wendy Molyneux along with Nora Smith and Holly Schlesinger. Generally, it seems like the writing room has a good mix of both male and female voices.
In terms of episodes, it’s kind of hard to find a gender balance there. A majority of the time, a female character gets the focus. At least, there’s some balance there but there’s always room for improvement. In a way, the issue flip-flops as there aren’t as many Bob or Gene-centric episodes.
Overall, it’s hard to pinpoint one correct answer. It’s all going to depend on what the show decides to do. Ultimately, it will depend on how successful the show is and how much of a risk they can take. For right now, it’s all just up in the air.
Next. When does Bob’s Burgers return for season 9 on Fox?. dark
How do you think Bob’s Burgers will find a balance? Any thoughts on what they should do to make a change? Be sure to let me know in the comments!
Bob’s Burgers season 9 premieres September 30th on Fox at 8:30/7:30c.