Hit Fox TV Show’s Lead Star Thought the Show Would Be Canceled After Season 1

One Fox star wasn’t positive his show would see beyond the first season.

As Bob’s Burgers celebrates its 15^th anniversary, H. Jon Benjamin looked back at the show’s legacy and recalled how he thought the show would be canceled after Season 1.

“Whenever you start doing a television show, you feel like it’s gonna get canceled after a season,” he told Variety‘s Artisans presented by HBO. “You do one, and you’re happy to get two, then three — then, oh my God, four — then holy s—, five. And then, no way, six. And then — f— — seven! You don’t know whether people are gonna respond to it. But people started loving the show.”

Benjamin voices the titular Bob Belcher, owner of Bob’s Burgers. He also provides the voice of Jimmy Pesto Jr. and various other characters. Benjamin is also no stranger to being on an animated series that winds up running for quite a long time, as he voiced the titular Sterling Archer on FX and FXX’s Archer, which wrapped up its 14-season run in 2023.

Bob’s Burgers, meanwhile, is still going strong after premiering on Fox in 2011. Created by Loren Bouchard and developed by Bouchard and Jim Dauterive, Bob’s Burgers was given a four-season renewal in April, alongside Family Guy and The Simpsons, as well as American Dad!, which is returning to Fox after airing on TBS. A feature film was released in theaters in 2022, while a comic book series by Dynamite Entertainment began in 2024.

Benjamin may not have been completely confident in Bob’s Burgers when it first premiered, but it’s not surprising. It’s hard to tell how a show will do at first, and it’s not like you want to set yourself up for failure, but it’s best to set your expectations low in the beginning. Now 15 seasons in and nearly 300 episodes, Bob’s Burgers remains a strong performer on Fox’s Animation Domination lineup.

Bob’s Burgers’ voice cast also consists of Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, John Roberts, and Kristen Schaal. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for the series, at least for another four years. New episodes of Bob’s Burgers air on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. There’s a reason the show wasn’t canceled after its first season and is still as popular as ever. And fans can watch the show from the very beginning, with all 15 seasons streaming on Hulu.