Loren Bouchard

An animator with a signature visual look and a distinctively sweet-natured comic style far removed from the aggression of many of his peers, Loren Bouchard first gained notice for the easygoing, largely improvised "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" in the 1990s. He followed that success with the winsome surrealism of "Home Movies," one of the first shows to premiere on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup, following a truncated prime-time run on the fledgling UPN. Bouchard made the leap from cable to a major network with the witty cult favorite "Bob's Burgers," a clever retooling of the typical cartoon family that exploded sitcom stereotypes like the henpecked husband, nagging wife and precocious children by making all of the characters both more believably well rounded and more cartoonishly eccentric.