A major timeline dispute amongBob’s Burgersfans was just resolved with a meaningful reveal about Tina at the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con.ScreenRantwas present and accounted for at theBob’s BurgersSDCC panel, during which a clip was screened for attendees that depicts a flashback from what could wind up becoming one ofBob’s Burgers’ best Tina episodes.
The clip shows Linda Belcher when she was pregnant for the first time, ultimately revealing thatTina Belcher was born on the same day Bob’s restaurant held its grand opening. And, whileBob’s Burgers’ reviewsmay not make much fuss about the animated sitcom’s timeline, this actually resolves a conundrum that some fans have been questioning for a while.
Fan confusion springs from a possible discrepancy between the series andThe Bob’s Burgers Movieregarding when the Belcher kids were born in relation to the restaurant breaking ground. Specifically,the series establishes that Bob and Linda worked on their wedding night while the movie shows Linda pregnant before the diner’s opening. This clip answers the question decisively.
What This SDCC Reveal Means For Bob’s Burgers
They’re Actually Paying Attention To The Canon
Not only is the timeline discrepancy now clearer, butBob’s Burgersseason 16may provide even further exploration into this period of the Belcher clan’s past.The season premiere title “Grand Pre-Pre-Opening” very much suggests the events in the clip, giving fans something to look forward to next season before season 15’s finale has even had a chance to air.
This shows that the writers are taking great care in exploring the Belcher family’s past. While season 15 already proved that, with the reveal ofTina Belcher’s secret family,the story of Tina’s birth during the restaurant’s opening is a much more intimately grounded episode premise. It’s an important Tina story, but a pivotal Bob and Linda story as well.
Giving this story its own episode additionally reveals a lot about the writers’ approach to the series’ timeline in general.Animated timelines are generally taken with a grain of salt if the characters never age, so nobody questions how the kids can spend 15 years trick-or-treating across severalBob’s Burgers’ Halloween episodeswithout having graduated high school yet.
But whileBob’s Burgersdoes make use of cartoon time logic, firmly establishing when Tina was born (and presumably her birth’s temporal relation to wedlock) shows thatBob’s Burgersis at least establishing enough of a timeline to maintain a consistent character bible. And that shows great respect for fans who value that sort of consistency.
Our Take On The Bob’s Burgers Timeline Reveal
It’s Good To Have Touchstone Canon Events, Within Reason
Because animated sitcoms follow flexible timelines by nature, it’s ultimately a choice on the creators’ part whether to take them seriously.Choosing to establish certain canon consistencies inBob’s Burgersmeans having to keep track of them later, whereasThe Simpsons’ timelineis malleable enough by contrast that there’s little reason to squabble every time it changes again.
What makes this reveal so great is that it shows Loren Bouchard and his team are willing to giveBob’s Burgersfans answers about the timeline if that’s what enough of them want. It’s not a thing that shows in this medium have to do, but that’s what makes choosing to do it all the more respectable.
Bob’s Burgers
Cast
Bob’s Burgers: Premiering in 2011, Bob’s Burgers follows Bob Belcher, a third-generation restaurateur, as he manages his burger restaurant alongside his wife and three children. Despite operational challenges including poor location, they remain committed to their business’s success.
