Bob's Burgers: Who Is The New Voice Of Jimmy Pesto?

A highlight from early episodes of "Bob's Burgers" was the rivalry between Bob Belcher with his struggling burger shop and Jimmy Pesto across the street who was more successful financially even though his food wasn't as good. Jimmy hasn't been around "Bob's Burgers" much lately, and that's a result of his former voice actor, Jay Johnston, facing legal repercussions for his alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the nation's capital. Jimmy hadn't had a speaking role on the animated sitcom since May 2021, but that all changed with Season 14, Episode 5 — "Bully-ieve It or Not" — which aired on November 5. 

Jimmy's back to his old tricks, this time stealing Bob's idea of "burger balls" and changing them to "pizza balls." However, Johnston isn't back to play the character. Instead, Eric Bauza will play Jimmy Pesto moving forward. Bauza is an experienced voice actor, even taking on such legendary roles as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig in various Looney Tunes projects. He's even appeared previously on "Bob's Burgers" as Big Bob on Season 12, Episode 14 — "Interview With a Pop-pop-pire."

Bauza has a dynamic range, and there's a good chance many viewers didn't even notice Jimmy Pesto was voiced by someone new. It's good to see the show put the messy situation with Jay Johnston behind and bring back a character who brought out a different side of Bob. 

From insulting Bob to his banter with Trev (David Herman), Eric Bauza embodies everything people love to hate about Jimmy Pesto. It's a good thing the show didn't permanently retire him or try to replace him with someone else to own the restaurant across the street. Jimmy Pesto's voice actor replacement signifies a changing of the tide in the show, which is still finding ways to stay relevant and entertaining even after 14 seasons. 

Another major voice acting change-up to occur this season deals with Marshmallow. She's been on the show since the first season but has faced controversy for being a Black trans woman character voiced by a white cisgender man. She also had been absent from the series for several years, and in an interview with Looper in 2022, "Bob's Burgers" creator Loren Bouchard admitted it was a challenge figuring out how to move forward with Marshmallow. Fortunately, the character made a triumphant return in Season 14, Episode 1 — "Fight at the Not Okay Chore-al" — where she was voiced by transgender artist, Jari Jones. 

"Bob's Burgers" feels more like itself than ever with the return of such characters. Plus, Season 14 has delved more into secondary characters featured throughout the show so far, such as Regular-Sized Rudy (Brian Huskey) and Zeke (Bobby Tisdale). Hopefully, "Bob's Burgers" keeps it up and finds new ways to explore such beloved characters.