A Snow Fort, a Mammogram, and a Bald Action Hero Teddy: "Bob's Burgers" Previews What's Next at NYCC 2026

During the Bob’s Burgers New York Comic Con panel, creator and executive producer Loren Bouchard announced that the Hulu-exclusive holiday short "On the Fort Day of Christmas" will premiere December 7th, and spent the hour sharing clips from upcoming episodes alongside H. Jon Benjamin (Bob), John Roberts (Linda), Kristen Schaal (Louise), Eugene Mirman (Gene), Dan Mintz (Tina), and Larry Murphy (Teddy).

Bouchard opened the panel by reminding everyone that Bob's Burgers is not on the air this fall. He assured fans the show is still being made and will air, just not during the traditional fall season, and promised the team will keep making it until someone rips it out of their hands. He admitted he hates the arrangement and said he is pushing FOX on the matter. Season 17 returns to FOX in 2027, and the series is renewed through Season 19.

Bouchard also promised more holiday content, since fans seem to like it and the team enjoys making it. That starts with "On the Fort Day of Christmas," in which a record-breaking Christmas snowstorm inspires the Belcher kids to build a record-breaking snow fort. The short premieres December 7th exclusively on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S., and on Disney+ internationally in most markets.

The show is enlisting artists to cover songs from the series, which are then animated. The idea, he explained, is that the show often writes songs that are meant to be bad, like those of the fictional boy band Boyz 4 Now, and it is fun to hear a great artist make one of them good. R&B artist Kiana Ledé, a Halloween lover, chose Boyz 4 Now's "I Love You So Much (It's Scary)," and Robert Valley, best known for his work on Gorillaz music videos, animated the video. The video drops this Friday.

The first clip came from an upcoming "it was all a dream" episode, a format Bouchard said he loves because it lets the show break its own rules. Teddy, asleep on the counter at the restaurant, imagines a life where he became a bald action star in the vein of Jason Statham, then adds time travel into the mix. In the clip, action-hero Teddy arrives in the present day and comes face to face with regular Teddy, much to the latter's horror.

Next came an animatic from an episode Bouchard described as a love letter to teachers, centered on Ms. Merkin and how Gene would feel if she announced her retirement. Kenan Thompson guest stars in the episode. In the clip, Bob and Linda sit in the audience of a puppet show and are stunned to discover the set is a replica of their restaurant, even though Linda helped the kids make it.

The next clip came from an episode titled "Booby Trap," whose A story finds Linda stuck in a mammogram machine. The clip came from the B story, in which Tina forgets her gym clothes and faces detention. With Linda away and the restaurant slammed, Bob refused to make the trip, so Teddy volunteered, leading to an awkward exchange over the school's video intercom when he tried to talk his way into the girls' locker room.

A clip from the holiday short showed Tina sick in bed on Christmas morning, while Gene and Louise try to coax Bob and Linda out of her room so they can finally open presents. Bouchard confirmed that the short is a musical.

The final clip, presented as an animatic, found Jimmy Jr. injured after falling off his dad's Vespa in the alley. Tina got to him first and secretly nursed him back to health in her room, sewing his torn pants while he rested in a pair of hers. Her dream scenario took a turn when he asked her to look at his injured backside, and the sight of the wound grossed her out.

Q&A

Asked about a second movie, Bouchard said no one has asked them to make one yet, but he would absolutely love to, calling The Bob's Burgers Movie the most fun the team has ever had at work.

Another fan asked about revisiting the fan-designed approach of the 2017 episode "Brunchsquatch." Bouchard said it was a huge undertaking legally and practically, but the submissions blew the team away and influenced how they see the show, and he would love to celebrate fan art again.

A Brooklyn fan asked whether Bob and Tina might be autistic, given traits he recognizes. Benjamin suggested Bob could simply be undiagnosed, since the Belchers can't afford the health care to find out, and Mintz said he has some of those traits himself. Bouchard explained that the pilot line addressing the question was improvised during a recording made before the show had a deal, and that it was part of what sold the series. He said they were not trying to settle the question then, and asked the fan whether leaving it open felt fair; the fan said it did.

Asked about the unseen mother of Andy, Ollie, and Jimmy Jr., Bouchard said the team is waiting for the universe to deliver the perfect actor, at which point the character will become easy to write. He added that the kids appear to split time between their parents.

A fan who flew in from Canada asked if the Belchers would ever visit. Bouchard noted that Belcher is a vaguely French-Canadian name, but said he loves that the family is poor and rarely travels, which keeps the stories rooted in their small town. He did tease a heavy Montreal reference coming up, in which Gayle is invited to an art event in Montreal and then uninvited.

On parody, Bouchard said the show only does them occasionally, and that they are really celebrations more than parodies. He has a soft spot for the 1970s, recalling that he was never happier than when the show paid homage to Dog Day Afternoon in Season 2.

The last question asked whether Louise's signature look was designed to echo Linda's hair flip. Bouchard said it may have been unconscious, and credited Jay Howell for the original character designs and the late Dave Creek, the show's longtime lead character designer, who refined them before the show aired and thought carefully about how the family members would visually connect. He told the fan that noticing the detail honored Creek's memory.

"On the Fort Day of Christmas" premieres December 7th on Hulu. Bob's Burgers Season 17 returns to FOX in 2027 and will stream on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers.