July 25th, 2021 
Jackson Murphy 
It’s the final day of San Diego Comic-Con at Home 2021! Concluding the second virtual SDCC showcase are three series that are part of FOX’s growing Animation Domination lineup.
First, it’s the newest addition to the team, HouseBroken (which airs Mondays at 9pm). Co-creators Clea DuVall, Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan joined the star-studded ensemble of Lisa Kudrow, Tony Hale, Will Forte, Nat Faxon, Jason Mantzoukas, Sharon Horgan and Sam Richardson. They all described their characters and favorite storylines so far.
DuVall talked about the show’s origins: “We have two cats and one of them is named Twig. She is very complicated. She is always dissatisfied and… every single time I would watch TV she would just sit on the TV stand watching me while I watched TV… staring dead at me. I could tell there was something she was trying to communicate. All I wanted to be able to do is go to counseling with her to find out what that is because I so desperately wanted to meet her needs. And then I started thinking, ‘If animals did go to therapy, what would they talk about?’”
The Great North premiered in January to strong ratings and reviews. It returns this Fall on Sundays at 8:30pm. Headlining this panel were the voice talents of Nick Offerman, Jenny Slate, Paul Rust, Dulce Sloan, Alanis Morissette and, once again, Will Forte. On the creative side: EP Loren Bouchard and co-creators Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin and Wendy Molyneux.
Molyneux described the transition from in-studio to at-home production: “It was more than a year ago when we were in our wonderful offices and then suddenly, in the middle of [working on] Season 1, got shut down. I remember there was a box of donuts in the break room and I was clocking who still felt confident eating food out of a group box. I was not one of them. And then next thing you knew, we were home.” She later added, “The one thing we were able to keep doing though, strangely, was animation. Global pandemics have almost no effect, it turns out, on animation, except for where we wound up doing it.”
With The Great North on the Fall schedule for the first time, Molyneux expressed some joy in finally getting to share a Halloween episode that has been in the works for a while. “We’re really excited to finally get to be on the Halloween night on Animation Domination. That’s the biggest night, I feel like. That’s the one you remember from when you’re a kid, for Treehouse of Horror.” She then revealed a two-minute clip from the episode.
And finally, it’s Bob’s Burgers. Creator Loren Bouchard led this panel, first bringing up what went into making this upcoming 12th Season. “[It] has been made during COVID but with the same absolute commitment and ambition… ambitious as ever… even though it was quite a challenge just to get the thing made at all. I imagine our mission is to keep making small stories feel big.” He then revealed some episode titles and guest stars, which include Zach Galifianakis, Kevin Kline, Gary Cole, John Michael Higgins, Nick Kroll, Tim Meadows and Molly Shannon.
Onto the highly anticipated Bob’s Burgers: The Movie. Will it ever be released? Bouchard’s first comment on the matter: “We still don’t have a date! It’s coming. They have to put it out. We’re gonna be in theaters. That’s my pledge. We’re gonna I think really soon be able to start releasing trailers, teasers, art, clips…” He then brought-up that the production team made a short pre-COVID that was intended for theaters. (The actors still haven’t recorded their lines for it yet.) Bouchard ended this section of the panel by saying, “The movie is where we will leave it all on the field. It’s gonna be the best possible thing we could make.” We’ll see when this “musical comedy mystery adventure and kind of coming of age story” actually opens.
I once again enjoyed covering Comic-Con at home. However, while looking outside my window during this sunny, not overly warm weekend in Upstate New York, I was reminded of where I was exactly two summers ago: San Diego. I had a blast experiencing SDCC in-person in July 2019 – seeing panels inside massive halls and some fun outdoor events too (in gorgeous weather).
I miss the energy that events like Comic-Con provide: going from place to place, meeting new people, taking pictures with celebs, displays and those in cosplay. Hopefully we all get to return to that kind of experience soon. For now though, thanks to the @Home YouTube streams, the ability to see makers & stars and get some cool news & clips is still only a few clicks away.
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