Bob's Burgers' original pilot included a significant difference to the actual show, as Tina Belcher was set to be a boy character at first. A recent animated hit for Fox, Bob's Burgers follows the Belcher family and their burger restaurant. The series debuted in May of 2011 amid a lukewarm response, but later seasons have helped transform the series into the smart and hilarious comedy that it is now known as.
The central protagonist of Bob's Burgers has long been Bob, the husband and father of the Belcher family and owner of Bob's Burgers. He is married to his wife Linda, and together they have three children: Tina, Gene, and Louise. Each kid has their own unique quirks that have made audiences grow attached to them, but it is Tina who has become one of the show's most beloved characters. Tina is the oldest of the three Belcher children and is a socially awkward teenage girl who enjoys movies, rainbows, writing fan fiction, and more.
Tina is a great character on her own and works wonderfully with the larger dynamic of Bob's Burgers, but there was a time when everything about the character would've been different. As discussed in a new Screen Rant video detailing some surprising facts about the animated hit, the original plan for the series didn't include Tina as fans know her now. The first pilot for Bob's Burgers didn't have a character named Tina at all, as the oldest Belcher kid was a boy instead.
With Tina not part of the plan, the pilot for Bob's Burgers had a character by the name of Daniel fill the spot of the eldest Belcher kid. Daniel was voiced by Dan Mintz, the same man who has voiced Tina throughout all nine seasons of the show. Outside of their different genders, Daniel did have a similar personality to the one Tina received. The decision to make the change came based on concerns that Daniel and Gene were too similar.
Even though Tina wasn't in the original plan for Bob's Burgers, fans of the show are undoubtedly pleased by this change. But, that isn't the only difference from the original pilot and Bob's Burgers' actual pilot though. An early idea for the series had the Belchers be a family of cannibals running a restaurant. This scrapped idea was used as inspiration behind the series' actual pilot episode, where Bob's Burgers is the subject of rumors that their meat includes human flesh. In any case, Bob's Burgers has shown a great ability to adapt and has been rewarded with a character like Tina as a result.