‘Bob’s Burgers’: John Roberts on Perfecting Linda Belcher’s Singing Voice, the Movie & More (VIDEO)

Emily Aslanian February 25, 2022, 2:30 pm

Alriiiiight! Fox’s animated sitcom Bob’s Burgers is back with a new holiday episode, and we can’t help but l-o-v-e it.

In this Sunday’s Valentine’s Day episode, restaurant owners and parents Bob (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) and Linda (John Roberts) ferry over to Kingshead Island for a fancy dinner date while their three kids must bypass their easy-to-fool babysitter on a mission to get cheap Valentine’s Day candy.

Sweet, right? We always love Bob’s Burgers‘ holiday outings, especially since this one — which you can get a glimpse of in our exclusive clip below — features plenty of Linda’s hilariously fabulous singing voice. Earlier this week, Roberts told TV Insider that playing Linda is “a dream job come true,” adding that: “it’s very heartwarming to play Linda because she’s got a big heart.”

Sounds like a match made in Heaven to us. Below, Roberts fills us in.

First, folks must be surprised when they find out that you voice Linda, right?

John Roberts: I do like fooling people. I think people have no idea. That means I’m doing a good job. I think Linda’s kind of taking on a life of her own. It’s always great in animation to play around with gender, it’s a tradition, and it’s something that works really well.

You’ve talked about how your mom inspired Linda’s voice, but how does your mom feel about this character being out there, who has, as you said, taken on a life of her own?

She’s very proud and she enjoys it very much. She’s a big fan. She still watches every Sunday. And it’s very surreal that she’s kind of part of it. She’s such a big muse for me with this character. So, of course she enjoys that.

Right, because if she is anything like Linda, then she would definitely be excited and bragging about it.

Yeah. She also loves all Bob’s Burgers merchandise. She’s always like [in a Linda-esque voice]: ‘Give me a shirt! Or a jacket! I want that, I want it, I want it!’

That’s so great. Now, how did you find Linda’s musical voice? It’s such a hilarious part of her character, and it makes her even more fun to watch.

Well, I think I sing a lot of stuff, and you know, [creator] Loren [Bouchard] is very musical, and we’ve become, not a musical show, but we definitely have moments. I think me singing as Linda is just another part of the job now. I feel like I’ve gotten better at it as time has gone on. We were kind of improvising songs and things like that at the beginning, and now we have a huge team and it’s turned into something really professional. And it’s kind of like, ‘Oh wow! That kind of sounds like Broadway!’

Looking to this Sunday’s episode, “Ferry on My Wayward Bob and Linda,” Bob and Linda are going on a ferry to head to a date for Valentine’s Day. What can you tell us about that?

Yeah, they’re having a very sweet date together. I think it just shows how in love they are this episode, and the things that they kind of get through together. We have Jen the babysitter is back [voiced by Bob’s Burgers writer Wendy Molyneux], which is always amazing. And, it’s a very sweet episode, but also funny and ridiculous.

What else do viewers have to look forward to this season?

Well, Teddy [Larry Murphy] is getting back into his Navy roots, and Linda goes with him, you know he’s got some bad memories so she’s helping him deal with memories and old Navy buddies, that kind of thing. There’s one where Gene [Eugene Mirman] and Courtney [David Wain] are shooting a music video for her song and she needs Gene in the video, but he keeps making up excuses not to participate. We’ve got three coming up, so those three I can tease.

The trailer is also out for The Bob’s Burgers Movie, which is in theaters on Friday, May 27. How does it feel to be going to the big screen with Bob’s Burgers?

It’s a crazy dream come true. I can’t wait to see the trailer in the theater, or movie poster — I’ve yet to go in — and I’m glad that people are starting to go back to the theaters. [Now] we can have our dream of everyone getting dressed up and going as a character, some kind of fun Rocky Horror vibe for the movie. It’s going to be very festive. It’s really going to be beautiful animation.

And just, thanks for all the support from our fans, and everyone that’s been watching the show since we started. We’re excited to be back together and still going strong, to keep pumping out more goodness for everybody. And the movie is just the cherry on top!

Check out an exclusive clip below from this Sunday’s Bob’s Burgers episode, “Ferry on My Wayward Bob and Linda”: