Parents' Guide to The Great North

Fans of Bob's Burgers will want to draw up a chair for this animated comedy, which boasts a similar gentle vibe and comedy mined from silliness and foibles instead of mockery. At first, the similarities to Bob's may make The Great North feel like a bit of an also-ran: both shows center on quirky families running a seaside business; the animation style is definitely from the same universe; the baby of each family even wears animal ears. But The Great North does something that puts a major shift on the types of stories it takes on -- teenage daughter Judy is the lead, not patriarch Beef, as we're primed to expect from shows like Bob's and Nick Offerman's comedic fame.

Slate, who here sounds more like her Missy character on Big Mouth than her conceited eighth grade Tammy in Bob's Burgers, is up to the challenge. Her Judy is brimming with confidence, loves her family, and is ready to take the world by the butt cheeks as she tells us in the show's pilot episode. And though her burgeoning independence initially cause some family fallout, it's all smiles and hugs by the show's end. And that's what viewers can expect from The Great North, some sharp jokes, gentle whimsy, and smiles and hugs by the end, with "A" plots that center on such things as school dances, a new job at the mall where a cute older boy works, and Wolf's hopes to turn the family's fishing boat into a tourist attraction. For a show set in a cold place, The Great North sure feels warm and comforting.