Bob’s Burgers Season 15, Episode 10 Highlights Its Advantage Over The Simpsons Season 36

While Bob’s Burgers season 15, episode 10 was a fun outing on its own merits, the episode also highlighted how much the animated comedy has taken over a tradition pioneered by The Simpsons. It is tough to overstate the Golden Age of The Simpsons’ cultural impact. As the longest-running scripted primetime American TV series in history with more than 780 episodes to its name, it is no surprise that the series has influenced a lot of shows that arrived in its wake. However, it is still striking to recall just how much the show reshaped the TV landscape.

Before The Simpsons, there were a handful of successful primetime animated sitcoms like The Flintstones. However, long before The Simpsons season 36’s latest special centered on Lisa's perspective, the cartoon became one of the first family shows to focus on both parents and children. Most earlier cartoons, from The Flintstones to the Peanuts animated specials, either centered on adult characters or children. The Simpsons switches perspectives depending on the episode, resulting in a smart satirical series that is aimed at viewers of all ages.

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As the years wore on, The Simpsons began to influence many shows that took this approach and ran with it. Although South Park and The Boondocks were both firmly R-rated and aimed at adult viewers, their main characters were primarily small children. Family Guy, King of the Hill, American Dad, and Bob’s Burgers all adopted The Simpsons' approach of splitting their screen time between the adult and child characters, as did short-lived animated family sitcoms like Father of the Pride and Game Over.

Lisa dressed as a 1920s nightclub singer in The Simpsons season 36 The Past and the Furious-1

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Although Family Guy’s season 23 premiere proves the show is still going strong, there is no denying that Bob’s Burgers has single-handedly recaptured one particular element of The Simpsons’ Golden Age appeal. From seasons 1-11, generally viewed as the show’s critical zenith, The Simpsons focused on Bart, Lisa, and Maggie as much as Homer and Marge. This has proven less true in recent outings like season 36, and Bob’s Burgers has understandably stepped in to fill this gap. Season 15, episode 10, "Advice Things Are Ad-Nice,” highlighted this shift.

The Simpsons Season 36 Doesn't Have Any Episodes That Focus On Its Young Characters

The Simpsons Has Eschewed This Tradition In Season 36 So Far

In “Advice Things Are Ad-Nice,” Tina accidentally becomes the school’s resident advice columnist when Mr. Frond forces her to take over the anonymous Ask An Eighth Grader column. Tina inevitably takes this incredibly seriously, so she is devastated when no one sends in any queries. A sympathetic Louise ends up using Tina’s diary to make up some letters from “Miss Am I Normal,” but this backfires when her questions and Tina’s responses both take the school by storm.

The alternately supportive and rivalrous relationships between the Belcher twins mirror the sibling relationships shared by Bart, Lisa, and Maggie in the Golden Age of The Simpsons. As such, Bob’s Burgers focusing on the kids highlights just how little The Simpsons does this in 2025. “Advice Things Are Ad-Nice” is the most recent example of the series centering on Louise, Tina, and Gene, but its story is indicative of season 15 as a whole. Of the season’s first ten outings, seven are unambiguously focused on the kids over their parents.

While The Simpsons season 36’s Disney+ special might have given Lisa the spotlight, the show’s focus as a whole has firmly slid toward its older characters.

Although every episode of Bob’s Burgers features at least a B-story for Bob and Linda, the show focuses its main storylines on the family’s children as, if not more, often than their parents. The Simpsons bounced between centering the family’s parents, whose storylines tend to have higher stakes, and their children, whose stories are more family-friendly. However, while The Simpsons season 36’s Disney+ special might have given Lisa the spotlight, the show’s focus as a whole has firmly slid toward its older characters.

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Weirdly, there are three standalone episodes from The Simpsons season 36 that center on Bart or Lisa alone. Episode 1, “Bart’s Birthday,” is centered entirely on Bart’s perspective, with Lisa barely even appearing. Meanwhile, episode 3, “Desperately Seeking Lisa,” focuses on Lisa to the extent that the rest of the family only have momentary cameo roles, while the Disney+ exclusive “The Past and the Furious” also centers on Lisa and features only a minor background role for Bart. However, none of The Simpsons season 36’s first 12 outings feature the kids as a unit as their main focus.

"'Round Springfield" and “Lisa on Ice,” are among the show’s finest hours thanks to Bart and Lisa’s bond.

The Simpsons season 36’s lack of kid-centric episodes is striking considering just how many of the show’s most acclaimed episodes center on the younger Simpsons and their relationships with each other. The Simpsons paired Lisa with Burns in “The Past and the Furious” even though some of the show’s most acclaimed episodes ever have focused on her relationship with her brother Bart. Season 7, episode 4, “Bart Sells His Soul,” season 6, episode 22, “'Round Springfield,” and season 6, episode 8, “Lisa on Ice,” are among the show’s finest hours thanks to Bart and Lisa’s shared bond.

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While the above episodes are particularly notable thanks to Lisa and Bart’s storylines, there are many more classic episodes that center on the Simpson children more broadly. “Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken,” “Lemon of Troy,” “Summer of 4Ft 2,” “I Love Lisa,” “Kamp Krusty,” “Das Bus,” “Bart the General,” and “Three Men and a Comic Book,” along with many others, proved that prime-time sitcom stories could focus on cartoon children without alienating older viewers.

It is fair to say that The Simpsons paved the way for Bob’s Burgers, and for all of season 36’s issues, the show still has plenty of stories to tell about its younger characters. Bart, Lisa, and Maggie can lead significant storylines going forward if the show shifts its focus away from Marge and Homer and toward the lower-stakes, but no less compelling, antics of their children.

The Simpsons was often at its most emotionally resonant when the show foregrounded its young heroes.

If episodes like “Lisa’s Substitute” and “Bart Gets an F” proved anything, it is that The Simpsons was often at its most emotionally resonant when the show foregrounded its young heroes. Marge and Homer have enjoyed plenty of focus in season 36 so far, so, to compete with Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons must bring back its former strong suit by checking in on Bart, Lisa, and Maggie.

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