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We Talked To The Cast And Crew Of Bob’s Burgers About Gender-Bending, A Potential Movie, And “If Looks Could Kale”

"It's a better pun than a culinary experience, maybe."

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During NYCC I was lucky enough to sit down with the hilarious cast and crew of Bob’s Burgers, including Jon Benjamin (Bob), Kristen Schaal (Louise), John Roberts (Linda), Eugene Mirman (Gene), Larry Murphy (Teddy), Bobby Tisdale (Zeke), and Executive Producer Loren Bouchard. The team was gracious enough to answer questions on everything from the recent Bob’s Burgers porn parody to their musical abilities (or lack thereof), and dropped lots of juicy hints about what to expect from this season. Read on, girl.

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Reporter: Great premiere last night! You guys started strong this year! Is it going to […] go more crazy?

Kristen Schaal: It’s gonna go to shit. We shot our whole wad.

Eugene Mirman: We only made one episode…

Schaal: The next episode is just like “errrr,” an emergency alarm for 24 minutes.

Mirman: It’s going to get wild. We have an episode called  “Tina and the Real Ghost” where the basement I believe is haunted and Louise tricks Tina into thinking she’s captured a ghost. […] There’s an episode where I believe we’re all trapped in an amusement park and its Thanksgiving one called “Dawn of the Peck,” where turkeys take over either the town or the amusement park. It will get wild and be exciting and fulfill all your dreams.

Schaal: I think this season is one of our strongest, which is saying a lot because it’s a pretty good show. I don’t mean to brag.

Mirman: I think as we get to know the writers better and as they get to know us better, we kind of act to the writers and they write to us and it keeps getting better and better. At least, that’s how I feel. And I think that’s how you feel!

Reporter: Will you guys have more musicals this season?

Mirman: I don’t know if there are more musicals, I know that there are more singing and songs. I don’t know what those songs are…

Reporter: Do you guys enjoy that? Enjoy the signing?

Schaal: [singing] Doo weee enjoooooy the singing…

Mirman: Loren will sing like four words and then I’ll repeat it. I cant sing as a normal person, so he’ll go “Blah, Blah Blah,” I’ll go “Blah Blah Blah,” we’ll go through an entire song that way. That’s also I believe how Aerosmith does it.

Reporter: Would you guys ever want to play another gender the way Dan [Tina] does?

Mirman: I don’t care. As long as it’s fun, I’d be happy to do it.

Reporter: I think everyone probably identifies with one of the children.

Mirman: Me, too.

Schaal: That’s great.

Mirman: The more popular we are, the more secure we become in our futures.

The Mary Sue: What do you think it is that makes people identify with the characters so much?

Mirman: Most people are broken and so are we [laughs]. No, I don’t mean that at all, I think it’s being sort of lovable and earnest and goofy, actually.

Schaal: Yeah. Also they’re pretty relatable in that they all have a vulnerability to them and they all are passionate in different ways. Gina’s passionate about music, Tina’s passionate about butts, and Louise is passionate about money and mischief and I feel like everyone has a passion and also a vulnerability to them and I think the show does a really good job showcasing that in each character. And Bob and Linda as well.

Mirman: And I also think the fact that the family is very loving. There’s a lot of goofing around but you also get a sense that however much they tease each other they do genuinely care. I think that a lot of it is also that we get to record together so we get to make it very of the moment. But I think, yeah, sweetness. and also goofiness.

Reporter: Do you guys have a favorite burger of the day?

John Benjamin: “If looks could kale,” is that one? I feel like I wouldnt like a kale burger in real life. It might be good, I just feel like that’s the wrong green. Its a better pun than a culinary experience, maybe.

Loren: No, I mean I just look at them. My filter is I try to imagine if it was real would you believe it, is it possible to make that burger. Like for example, is it just a joke, and in order to make the joke, you say “bunny burger comes with three buns” it’s like…we reject those. That’s the filter. It should sound awesome, it doesn’t have to necessarily taste good. But there is a guy who’s making them all. Making all the Bob’s Burger’s of the day […] he’s making them for himself and his blog. He publishes the recipe and they sound delicious.

Reporter: Is the raccoon making a comeback?

Loren: Yeah, we wrote the raccoon into the comic book. It’s Trashmouth you’re referring to? Yeah, Linda writes a letter to the dumpster company pitching an idea to make dumpsters more raccoon friendly. She has this idea that there could be a little disco where they could hang out, and a little chill out room, but no, the raccoon hasnt come up in any episodes. We have a chinchilla coming up.

Reporter: Well, the porn, the Bob’s Boners

Roberts: She [Linda of Bob’s Boners] is my new friend now, I feel like we’re going to become really good friends and start to do red carpet stuff together.

Reporter: Have you guys actually seen it?

Roberts: I only saw the trailer because I’m mixed about actually watching it. I don’t really watch straight porn, I don’t really watch porn. I’m not a porn person. It’s all sense memory.

Reporter: Are you going to have your band going again?

Loren: Oh, The TaTas should come back, definitely. I had an idea for an episode where Gayle (Megan Mullally) and Linda revisit their musical past in a competitive spirit.

Roberts: Megan’s voice is so beautiful and it’s so crystal clear, it’s great to sing with her. And I’m like “mwaaaaaaaah…”

Loren: Even doing that silly voice she can somehow make it sound gorgeous.

Reporter: Were you nervous for your two-second crossover with Family Guy?

Benjamin: I didn’t see it but I heard about it, and someone said they insulted Bob’s Burgers. No, I’m trying to stretch my memory to remember what I did, but I think I said “yay!” […] I had to go in for that. I wish I didnt, I feel like they just could have pulled it.

Reporter: So you [Benjamin] do the voice of two pretty popular characters: Sterling Archer and Bob Belcher. When you’re doing Bob, do you ever slip in a little Archer?

Benjamin: I do sometimes, I feel like whenever Bob has to yell I try and go really falsetto with Bob’s yell because if ever I yell really loud Archer comes out and I feel like I’m screwing up, like I’m losing Bob. So now [falsetto] “Bob always yells like this!” so that’s the one distinction I have to make.

Reporter: As someone whose voice is your living, is your voice insured?

Benjamin: I haven’t thought about it […] but I’ve been worried about dying.

Reporter: Do you think Loren would do a Bob’s Burgers movie anytime soon?

Larry Murphy: That would certainly be something to aspire to, right?

Benjamin: It would be really hard to do right now, but I think it would be great.

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