For the first time since 2009, the Hill family is back on our television screens. In August, Hulu released the 14th season of King of the Hill, an adult animation series that originally aired on Fox. Jumping roughly nine years in the future, we pick back up to the Hill family in the current age, watching Hank and the gang navigate ride-share apps, cancel culture, and internalized misogyny.
For those who need a refresher, the original series was focused on Hank Hill, a propane salesman, living in Arlen, Texas. He’s married to Peggy, a substitute teacher, and has one child, a boy named Bobby. He’s an avid fan of beer, grilling, and hanging out in the alley with his best friends since childhood – Dale, Bill, and Boomhauer.
In the original series, we also follow the adventures of Hank’s niece Luanne, his mother Tilly, and his father Cotton. The Souphanousinphones family, who live next door, is another prominent part of the show, consisting of Kahn, Minh, and Connie. Laotian-American, Khan and Minh both consider themselves socially above their neighbors, but slowly build a friendship over the series. Connie and Bobby are close friends, eventually becoming (on and off again) girlfriend and boyfriend.
There are countless other side characters who are prominent in the show. Nancy and Joseph, Dale’s wife and son, are friends with Peggy and Bobby. Hank’s boss, Buck Strickland, causes chaos both at work and at home for the Hill family. Ted and Cindy Wassonasong are affluent members of the Arlen community who hold the keys to the Nine Rivers Country Club that Kahn and Minh are desperate to join. I could list these characters for days, and they’re all important in their own way. I’m personally biased to enjoying plots that include Luanne and the Souphanousinphones family.
The original series aired from 1997-2009. Though I consider myself a (literal) day one watcher of similar shows like The Simpsons, I don’t remember ever sitting down with my parents to watch a new episode of King. That said, I know that I had to have tuned in for episodes here and there, because there was a shocking amount from the series that I remembered. I just needed to jog my memory! For this review, I went back and watched episodes from seasons 5-9. There were multiple times, particularly in season 6, that I went “oh, I remember this!” From Bobby’s iconic “that’s my purse” scene to Boomhauer sobbing to Heart as he drove away from a failed proposal, I found myself remembering more from the series than I ever thought I could.
I’ve spoken to multiple people in my life who were original King watchers and were hesitant about watching the revival. Some people worried that the show would be watered down or that the original tone would be impossible to replicate. Other people were put off by the new animation or found that the show had written off too many important characters. I don’t blame original fans for their hesitation. I’m a fan of many older shows that constantly tease a reboot – One Tree Hillwas one of my favorite shows growing up, and I am hesitant about the reported revival in the works at Netflix. That said, I knew that I wanted to give King a chance. What can I say, I’m too big of an adult animation fan to let an event like this pass me by.
The first episode of the 14th season opens with our favorite propane salesman and substitute teacher coming home to Texas after years of living in Saudi Arabia. Initially thrilled to be home and reunite with their friends, the couple is concerned that they made the wrong choice in moving back to Texas. Too much had changed since they were home last, and they’re concerned that they no longer have a place in Arlen. We jump between their struggles and check in on our beloved Bobby. Bobby is absolutely crushing it as the head chef and co-owner of a Japanese-German fusion restaurant called Robata Chane. He is happy, fulfilled, and feels successful… most of the time. Bobby is still young, and he spends this first episode wondering if he missed out by not attending college like his peers in their early 20s.
I really enjoyed this first episode. I think it was a great call by the writing team to have the Hill family be in a transition period at the beginning of the new series. The time jump was also a brilliant idea – I’m so glad that they didn’t feel the need to keep Bobby 13 forever. Seeing the characters aged up is a little jarring at first, but believe me, their attitudes are the same. These are the same characters we know and love, just with a *tiny* bit more wisdom.
The rest of the season follows the Hill family and inner circle get into their typical shenanigans – Bobby and Hank both enter a beer brewing competition, Peggy builds a neighborhood free little library that goes horribly wrong, Khan and Minh show up for a very memorable anniversary party, Bobby is accused of cultural appropriation, and Hank discovers that Bobby is using charcoal for his restaurant, instead of propane. *shudders*
Clocking in at 10 episodes, this new season is a quick and easy watch. I do hope that the following seasons will be a little longer – I wanted to spend more time with these characters! Due to this small season, we don’t see nearly enough of some fan favorite side characters. I don’t think there’s enough time spent on Hank’s friend group – I wanted to see even more of Dale, Bill, and Boomhauer. They each get one memorable plot line for the season, but I know that if we had 22 episodes, we could have gotten even more.
That said, the new season does spend a lot of time with my favorite character, Bobby. I think it’s so much fun to keep up with adult Bobby. To see this once clumsy, class clown, goofy boy transform into a competent businessman and chef? I’m obsessed. Outside of his business, Bobby spends a lot of time in this season trying to define his relationship with Connie. Are they just friends? Childhood sweethearts destined to be together again? Neither he nor Connie is sure during the first nine episodes of the season. I’ll let you watch for yourself to see where they land in episode 10. 😉
Tragically, multiple original voice actors had already passed away prior to or passed away during the recording of the new season. Brittany Murphy voiced Luanne, who is nowhere to be seen in season 14. Tom Petty voiced Lucky, Luanne’s partner, who is also not in the season. Johnny Hardwick was the voice of Dale and passed away during the recording of season 14. Toby Huss, a voice actor who already voiced multiple characters in the show, was appointed as the new voice of Dale. This caused quite a stir in the King fandom, but I truly couldn’t tell which voice was which. Finally, Jonathan Joss, the voice of John Redcorn, was killed after season 14 had finished recording. They have yet to announce what will be done with Redcorn for the upcoming season.
Bravo to the entire King of the Hill cast and crew for a satisfying and hilarious comeback to the adult animation world. We missed you, Hank & Co.
poptalkwithrach 