Loren Hal Bouchard (born 1969 or 1970) is an American animator, writer, producer, director, and composer. He is the creator of several animated TV shows such as Bob's Burgers, Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, and Central Park. He is also the co-creator of Home Movies with Brendon Small as well as the executive producer of The Great North.
Early life Bouchard was born in New York City to a Jewish mother and a Catholic father. He grew up in Medford, Massachusetts.
Career A high school dropout, Bouchard was working as a bartender in 1993 when he bumped into a former grade school teacher of his, Tom Snyder, who asked if Bouchard was still drawing and offered Bouchard a chance to work on a few animated short films Snyder was making."Interview with Bouchard" on The Apiary website The shorts developed into Bouchard's first series, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, which he produced. He credits Jonathan Katz, H. Jon Benjamin, and Snyder as major influences."Ten Questions: Lauren Bouchard" , IGN, November 16, 2004 Dr. Katz ran for six seasons, from 1995 to 2000. He also produced one season of Science Court, another animated show made by Soup2Nuts."Comic-Con 2005 Video Blog: Loren Bouchard" IGN
Towards the end of Dr. Katz, Bouchard and Brendon Small teamed up to create Home Movies. The show was picked up initially by UPN, which dropped it after five episodes; the remaining eight episodes from season one, and the subsequent three seasons, were shown on Adult Swim. The show was not renewed after the conclusion of the fourth season in 2004.
After Home Movies concluded and another Bouchard pilot, Saddle Rash, was not picked up, Bouchard created Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil. The show's pilot was created on October 30, 2005, but it was not until September 2007 that the show debuted as a weekly feature on Adult Swim.Article on Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil on the Variety website He was a consulting producer on HBO's The Ricky Gervais Show."Television Review - 'The Ricky Gervais Show'" , New York Times, February 19, 2010.
In 2009, Bouchard got together with King of the Hill writer and producer Jim Dauterive and developed Bob's Burgers, an animated series about a family working at a hamburger restaurant. Bouchard grew up in a working-class family full of "blue-collar creatives" and created Bob's Burgers because he didn't see that kind of life represented on TV. In 2010, Fox placed the series on the primetime slate for the 2010–11 television season. A special preview aired on Thanksgiving on November 25, 2010. When the series premiered, it received mixed reviews with a Metacritic score of 54 out of 100. However, as the first season progressed and concluded and the second began, critics began giving the series praise. The show has generally been viewed as a spiritual successor to King of the Hill, which carried less emphasis on shock comedy and focused more on character-driven humor. A film adaptation based on the animated TV series was released on May 27, 2022. and serves as Bouchard's feature directorial debut.
Personal life Bouchard lives in Los Angeles"Interview with Bouchard" in Impose Magazine with his wife, Holly Kretschmar. The couple married on September 3, 2006, and have two sons.
Filmography Series +Television work by Loren Bouchard Year Title Creator / Showrunner Involvement (episodes) Role1995–1999 Dr. Katz, Professional TherapistWriter, producer, editor (47 episodes) —1997 Science CourtProducer and director (12 episodes) —2001–2004 Home Movies (52 episodes)Writer, executive producer, director, co-theme music composer Josie Small (voice)2005–2007 Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil (11 episodes)Writer, executive producer, director, composerClassmate (voice)2007 My Gym Partner's a MonkeyVoice actor (episode: "Flesh Fur Fantasy/Substitute Sweetheart")Teddy (voice)2010 The Ricky Gervais ShowConsulting producer (season 1) —2011–present Bob's BurgersWriter, co-developer, executive producer, main theme composer Mickey (voice) (episode "Beach, Please", replaced Bill Hader)2020–2022 Central ParkWriter, executive producer, main theme composer —2021–2025 The Great NorthExecutive producer —
Films +Film work by Loren Bouchard Year Title Director Involvement Role2022 My Butt Has a Fever Short film, writer, music and lyrics, performer — The Bob's Burgers Movie Writer, producer, music and lyrics, additional score arrangements, additional music, musician, vocalist, song producer Additional voices
Awards and honors +Accolades for Loren Bouchard Year Award Category Work Result1995CableACE Award Animated Programming Special or SeriesDr. Katz, Professional Therapist Writing a Comedy Series 1998 TCA Award Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming Science Court 2011 Teen Choice Award Choice Animated SeriesBob's Burgers 2012 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Animated Series Teen Choice Award Choice Animated Series Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "Burgerboss" 2013 Annie Award Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production Bob's Burgers for "Ear-sy Rider" Teen Choice Award Choice Animated Series Bob's Burgers Primetime Emmy Awardhttp://www.emmys.com/sites/emmys.com/files/EmmyNoms65-Press-Release.pdf Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "O.T.: The Outside Toilet" 2014 Annie Award Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast ProductionBob's Burgers Critics' Choice Television Award Best Animated Series Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "Mazel-Tina" 2015 People's Choice Award Favorite Animated TV ShowBob's Burgers Annie Award Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production Critics' Choice Television Award Best Animated Series Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "Can't Buy Me Math" Environmental Media Award Television Episodic Comedy Bob's Burgers for "Late Afternoon in the Garden of Bob and Louise" 2016 People's Choice Award Favorite Animated TV ShowBob's Burgers Critics' Choice Television AwardBest Animated Series Annie Award Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "The Horse Rider-er" 2017 People's Choice Award Favorite Animated TV ShowBob's Burgers Annie Award Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production Bob's Burgers for "Glued, Where's My Bob?" Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production Bob's Burgers for "Glued, Where's My Bob?" (shared with John Dylan Keith) Teen Choice Award Choice Animated TV Show Bob's Burgers Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "Bob Actually" 2018 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Animated SeriesBob's Burgers Teen Choice Award Choice Animated TV Show Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "V for Valentine-detta" 2019 Annie Award Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production Bob's Burgers for "The Bleakening: Parts 1 & 2" Critics' Choice Television Award Best Animated Series Bob's Burgers Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "Just One of the Boyz 4 Now for Now" 2020 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "Pig Trouble in Little Tina" 2021 Dorian TV Awards Best Animated ShowBob's Burgers Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards Best Animated Series or Animated Television Movie Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Animated Program Bob's Burgers for "Worms of In-Rear-Ment" 2022Peabody AwardEntertainmentBob's Burgers
References
External links
SQUIGGLEVISION! 30 Years of Kvetching from the Couch of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist