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Sunday, July 26, 2026

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Recap: Bob's Burgers Season 17 + Regular Show: The Lost Tapes Update News and Thoughts | Fandom Update



This has been a pretty long summer in what is already a pretty long year—especially going into the Fall season, where yours truly has nothing else to do for the next few months until we get to 2027, when the new season of Bob’s Burgers drops the week after the Super Bowl. God forbid if any more bullshit begins to pile on to serve as a barricade to prevent us from getting a new season. Yes, you can say that we’re getting GTA VI before Season 17 of Bob’s Burgers. At least we had the World Cup to keep everyone busy, which I have to tip my hat to Spain for winning it all and doing the entire world a favor by beating Argentina, even if we had to wait for 100+ minutes just for Spain to score that would serve as the dagger. How the hell the third-place match is more entertaining than the Final is something people deserve to ask.

But with all that out of the way, it’s time to unwrap everything that happened in the past few days of the annual Comic-Con event in San Diego. And for the nth consecutive year, absent from attending. And the ongoing shit in the Middle East that made gas prices become a living nightmare, with a war that everyone did not agree on unless you’re the leader of a blue and white country that is the size of Detroit. Might as well get to the nitty-gritty of things and unwrap everything about what we know from Comic-Con to give out my thoughts about the news we are getting from there. And oh boy, we got some loaded stuff that needed to be unloaded to make 2026 the peak year of the 2020s when it comes to entertainment.


We start with Regular Show to cover first in this recap. Oh, you didn’t know that Regular Show came back just this year? Well, it happened. It is back on our screens for the first time since the original series ended back in 2017. Sure, we had Close Enough to be the adult successor to the show coming from Quintel, but Zaslav is gonna Zaslav and fuck everything up by going on a chopping spree with every IP. And that chopping spree leads us to where we are now; well, it's paused at the moment as I am writing this, and a few states and a few countries even, most being from the European Union, plan on blocking the merger between Warner and Paramount that would have Warner, like Paramount, bend the knee to this regime. But getting back on track, Regular Show is back earlier this year because the entertainment industry is really rocking on nostalgia rather than going for something original. And The Lost Tapes, well, we ain’t done with it.

We had the first ten episodes that aired back in May, which is pretty much two weeks from May 11, aired a double episode set on that day before going into one per business day in Week 1 from Monday to Thursday and then Monday to Friday in Week 2 on the week of May 18. Well, whether or not we follow either of the ways each episode is premiered, we do have a date for when the next batch of episodes will air. September 19, to be exact... here in the United States on Cartoon Network. The international viewers will get the episodes first on September 7, or at least according to the Instagram post from the Regular Show Wiki. So, for anyone living in the US, might as well stay away from the internet until September 19 rolls around or October 11 if you want to watch it on either HBO Max or Hulu.


And quite the compilation of clips we got on what to expect with the incoming batch of episodes that is coming in the Fall. One of which, to kick off the compilation, is a clip with Rigby and Eileen in a cavern to complete a quest. And I believe I saw another clip, probably from the Wiki’s Instagram page, from the upcoming episode, so this has to be the episode to fill some plot holes in the show, which is how Rigby and Eileen started dating. You remember in “Dumped at the Altar”, before that moment and the wedding between Muscle Man and Starla were getting overshadowed by Mordecai pulling what everyone can agree is, without a doubt, the biggest, dumbest moment in the show... no, in animation... actually, no, in all of fiction, that Rigby revealed to Mordecai that he and Eileen started dating. This has to be the episode to tie loose ends. And hopefully, with The Lost Tapes, we can at least get some answers to some plot holes that needed to be covered.

Aside from that, we have many clips shown in the compilation. From Margaret getting caught red-handed for not laughing at any of her friends’ jokes to the return of Party Horse to everything else that was shown. We even have a small clip in that pile with Thomas, or Nikolai, hauling ass. And mind you, think this was before he was being outed and revealed as a Russian spy. So, I got to put that out there. Other than that, a new batch of episodes is coming soon for September. Whether it’s another 10 episodes before going to another break is beyond me. Just be glad that new episodes are coming later this year.

From "Smellbound" (S16e15) | Air Date: May 17, 2026

Now, to the main event of this article, that is Bob’s Burgers. We got some stuff, and while the rest of what to expect won’t be coming out until a few weeks from now with D23, at least we are getting some stuff from the panel on what to expect from Season 17. That, and the announcement of a streaming-exclusive episode made for the holidays. Let’s get to what we know about what Season 17 has to offer first.

From "Thelma and Louise (Except Thelma is Linda" (S07e19) | Air Date: April 30, 2027

First up, we had the first of four clips that were shown to the panel and panel only. Most of them are animatics and are currently in production. And the first was from what will be the first episode of the new season, which happens to be a Teddy episode. And the first clip, or at least we are told through Twitter, showed the panel a clip of Teddy going through an alternate life for himself as a result of the pain medication. So, like Bob when he had to take his medication, whether it’s for his carpal tunnel in “Burgerboss”, treating his allergies in “Turkey in a Can”, or treating a broken leg in “The Wolf of Wharf Street”, whatever medication Bob and now Teddy are taking needs to be investigated for whatever ingredient each medication contains to make them feel hallucinogenic. And to hallucinate an alternative life than the life you already have should be interesting to see once 2027 rolls around.

From "Touch of Eval(uations)" (S12e11) | Air Date: January 9, 2022

We also have a clip that was shown only to the people at the panel from the upcoming season where we have a future episode, as what the cast and crew dubbed it as a “love letter to teachers”, treating it as a teacher appreciation episode. And it happened to be the kids doing a little puppet show about the restaurant at school. Why? Well, it didn’t say why, at least at the moment until the episode drops, so it would be either a class assignment for any of the three siblings’ classes or doing it as part of a career day or week type of assignment where the students from any grade have to present what their parents do for work. And I’m going to put it out there, but if we’re going to have the Belcher kids, I don’t know if their friends are going to be involved in helping them out with their work, you know, special effects and stuff. Just putting it out there since it has been three years now since we last saw the kid in the wheelchair.

From "Amelia" (S13e22) | Air Date: May 22, 2023

This has to be the perfect opportunity for them to bring Benj back. Because if there is one person who knows everything about puppets, let alone, making puppets, even if there is a bit of a quid pro quo in the form of him having a busy schedule, unless you bring in an eighth grade girl as a bargaining chip, he likes older girls in the school and Louise did use Tina as a bargaining tool for Benj to help her in her Amelia Earhart project, then this episode has to be it. This has to be the episode to bring him back. And it would be a massive wasted opportunity for the episode where the kids have to create a puppet show without bringing in Benj. Massive waste if they did not bring him back. A total what if. You could make the case for not bringing in Nat in “Les Lizardables” or, most recently, in “Smellbound” for not bringing in Kaylee, who was a member of the Thinkgineers. It has been three years since we last saw Benj, and if the kids have to create a puppet show to showcase the restaurant, this has to be the episode that Benj makes his return.

From "Lice Things are Lice" (S06e10) | Air Date: March 13, 2016

We have the third clip that was shown to the panel, Teddy once again, where this time around, it’s him planning to volunteer to deliver Tina her gym clothes. Because Tina forgot to bring her gym clothes for her gym class and feared not wanting to be left out and possibly fail at gym class, even though you can just show up to get a grade, she would have to call up her parents to make a quick run to get her gym clothes to Tina. As for why Teddy plans on being the one to bring Tina her gym clothes in the first place? Other than Bob and Linda having their hands tied in having to work at the restaurant, it’s the best that Teddy can do to help out. Besides, this screams subplot. This feels like a subplot. No way this is going to be the main plot unless it’s some sort of side story mixed into it. Watch as my statement is going to be totally wrong once that episode airs next year.

From "Don't Worry, Be Hoopy" (S15e18) | Air Date: July 17, 2025

And then the fourth clip, speaking of Tina, we have her taking care of Jimmy Jr. No, it’s not because he had some sort of argument he had with Jimmy Pesto, or if you want to believe that if you read some fanfics across the web, but because he got injured. And this isn’t like a situation where the weather plays a role to prevent Jimmy Jr from getting home… even though Jimmy Pesto’s is right across the street unless he is staying with his mom for the weekend. No, Tina sneaked Jimmy Jr into her room without anyone noticing. Okay, Louise and Gene would probably know right away because Tina is bad at keeping secrets. And they would have to be witnesses to the start of the fiasco. As for why Tina is doing this?

From "In Love and War" | Release Year: 1996

You know in certain movies, especially war movies, where you have an injured soldier in the midst of a war or got injured during combat training leading up to a battle and you have a female nurse taking care of said injured soldier and next thing you know, they click and can feel the spark between them… if the soldier does not die in battle to get a happy ending. Yeah, so Tina wants that when having to play the prediction game. She wants to be the nurse in those movies when having to take care of Jimmy Jr behind everyone’s backs. Just as long as Tina does not develop a case of Florence Nightingale Syndrome. As for which part of the body that Jimmy Jr feels hurt… you can already guess where. You might as well create a Kalshi prediction on where the injury is placed on Jimmy Jr’s body.


Though, no bullshitting, before the clip played with Tina playing nurse and tending to Jimmy Jr’s injury in secret, you have the cast and crew having a small debate about whether or not Jimmy Jr is worthy of Tina’s attention. This close to having ourselves a shipping war inside the panel room. Even if the show, as of late, with how Tina’s relationship with Jimmy Jr almost feels like they’re setting things up for the two teenagers to potentially start dating or at least test the waters before giving the go-ahead to have them date. Even though I don’t usually ship Tina with Jimmy Jr and prefer someone like Zeke or Sam or anyone- hell, I don’t care if it’s a girl- it almost feels like, as of late in the show, following the events of the movie, that this is what we are heading toward when it comes to Tina and Jimmy Jr.


But enough of that; we have reached the biggest news that came out of Comic-Con regarding Bob’s Burgers. We’re getting a short. A Christmas short. Because why not, since Season 17 is slated for next year and with it, no Halloween or Christmas episodes because the scheduling is pretty much pick your poison with the 15-episode per season renewal the show received last year. So, a short would be their way of saying that there will be a Christmas… type event. Just not being an actual episode with a 21-22 minute runtime, and instead, it would be like “My Butt Has a Fever”. Just with the usual animation style from the show, rather than borrowing whatever the show had left in the budget from the movie a few years back.


This is the synopsis for the Christmas short that reads that the Belchers are snowed in for the holiday break. A huge snowstorm struck the area; hopefully they have a working heater this time around to survive the winter storm, which might as well follow The Weather Channel’s playbook of how they name winter storms to call it Winter Storm Grinch, but the Belchers are snowed in for the holidays. No way out of it. And for the Belcher kids, they plan on building a fort. And to their view, it would be the biggest one ever built for the three to pass the time. Almost similar to what we saw in “Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang”. At least the Belchers will have power to last them through the storm because otherwise, they would be like the Tobins and develop cabin fever, or yours truly having to survive 36 hours in a frozen hellhole with no heat and electricity after the entire state went dark because the power grid there, at the time, wasn’t weatherized and would rival a power grid from a third world country.

From "Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang" (S13e11) | Air Date: January 8, 2023

But yeah, that is the synopsis for the upcoming Christmas short for the show, with the family being snowed in and the kids having to build a fort indoors to pass the time, the likes of which they have never built before. So, I guess you could say that the Belchers may finally have a normal Christmas holiday for once in their lives despite being trapped indoors during a snowstorm. Is what I would say if you’re Tina. Because the synopsis also reads that she fell sick. Bedridden for the holiday season and could potentially miss out on the fun. Either it would be during the building process, or after; it would suck for Tina to miss things out just for her falling sick right as Christmas is approaching for her and her family. So, talk about bad fucking timing.

But this short, of course, is a short and not being treated like a normal episode, is not going to be on FOX or anywhere really, let alone on FXX in the United States, unless they pull what they did on the day of the movie’s premiere by showing “My Butt Has a Fever”, wouldn’t rule that out, but guess where it would drop? If you guess Hulu (United States) or Disney Plus (across the world), winner, winner, Taco Bell dinner without that tainted lettuce that would give you extreme diarrhea. We’re now at a point where a special from any of the shows you watch will be released only on a streaming platform, and you would have to pay a hefty price just to watch the moment it drops.


You've seen it with Family Guy or The Simpsons as of late, with their slate of streaming-exclusive episodes, regardless of the type of episodes, that we are past the point where everything has to be dropped on a streaming platform. They’re just a slate of specials, but this should tell you that these kinds of episodes are not going to be on a channel anymore because we’re in an era where people decide to cut the cord and jump over to whatever streaming service you’re watching and paying for. Unless you’re that one person who decides to sail the seven seas and doesn't want to pay, but would have to get an ad blocker and a VPN, in GTA, of course.

Take a look at other franchises that are going to streaming. The new Avatar series, Seven Havens, is set to premiere on a streaming platform (Paramount Plus). The new season of King of the Hill and Futurama are going to streaming (Hulu). I mean, hell, if The Great North were to be revived for a Season 6, of course, it would go to Hulu (and Disney Plus outside the United States). And now, even if it’s only a short that would last for about 5-6 minutes or probably 10-11 minutes like some shows that had that particular runtime, Bob’s Burgers is finally getting theirs going into the streaming business.


Even though I would be on the fence about it because it would feel like either FOX or Disney would be milking the show or is about to milk it dry, it was expected that if the show were to have a special, let alone a short, to make up for the new season phasing out the holiday episodes. So, it would be an interesting experience once we get a premiere date for when the short will be dropped around the holiday season. And you can already guess that if the short is successful, more could be announced and produced to the point where they would follow the footsteps of what The Simpsons and Family Guy are doing, where they would have to make up for the next three seasons phasing out the holiday episodes. So, this might as well be an interesting little experiment they’re doing just in time for the holidays. Just have to pay $19.99 with ads just to watch. And, of course, if successful, they will have to do more to the point where they feel like they are beating a dead horse. God forbid if that becomes the norm.

But yeah, that should at least do it for the Comic-Con breakdown for this year. And we have more stuff coming up in a few weeks for Bob’s Burgers with Season 17 at the D23 Event. Hopefully, that is where we get more stuff. Especially, hopefully this time around, a full guest cast list for the new season. At least I have something to do to pass the time. And I promise y’all, the character discussion on the Tobins is coming. It’s coming. Calm down.

Follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, BlueSky, and Threads for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. The 2026 Battle of the Week Voting Tournament is on hiatus this week with the group stages already wrapped up. August 2 is when the playoffs begin with the Wild Card Round between Anya Forger (Spy x Family) and Yuji Itadori (Jujutsu Kaisen). And y’all should know the drill by now...


Donate over at PayPal, Patreon, and Ko-fi pages to help your boy out in both improving the bills and keeping the lights on to pump some content for y’all to embrace my BS. And until next time, which is God knows when for the remaining months of this year: stay safe, get vaccinated, register to vote, and a reminder that you’re loved, you’re beautiful, ignore the haters, and I’ll see y’all later.
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