The upcoming revival of King of the Hill has the chance to answer several questions left hanging by the end of the original series. Many of these questions center around the fates of different characters and their storylines, or what they might've been up to in the gap between the two shows. King of the Hill is an animated sitcom created by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-head) and Greg Daniels that ran for thirteen seasons between 1997 and 2010.
King Of The Hill centered around propane salesman Hank Hill and his oddball friends and family living in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas. It was a beloved show that offered a grounded comedic style that set it apart from the more openly cartoony animated sitcoms of the era like Family Guy. Through the 2010s it has managed to stay relevant through syndication on networks like Adult Swim or for being one of many shows embraced by internet meme culture.
Judge and Daniels are negotiating for a new series that will take place fifteen years following the end of the original. This opens the door for a lot of fun possibilities for the characters fans know and love, and where their lives may have ended up in that decade and a half. Also, while King of the Hill was never a plot-heavy show, there are some lingering questions viewers might have after finishing its thirteen-season run. A King of the Hill revival/reboot has the chance to address all of these.
One of Hank Hill's most well-known traits is that he takes pride in his work of selling propane and propane accessories. By the time the new series begins, Bobby will be an adult, so Hank won't fill the role of dutiful patriarch of the Hill family anymore. Does this mean he'll shift even more of his focus to propane? In the series propane was already an obsession for Hank, so how much of his life has been taken over by that special BBQ gas over the years? Maybe he's more successful than ever, and without having to worry about taking care of Bobby, maybe he and Peggy will have a bit more money at their disposal than the original show.
Bobby Hill, one of King of the Hill's standout characters, spent the entirety of the show's run as an awkward yet lovable preteen, but where exactly will he be after the timeskip? It might be hard to believe, but Bobby would be almost thirty at the start of the revival. On top of the question of "What exactly is a grown up Bobby like?" the show could also address what he's been up to over the years and how he's spent his 20s. Did he go to college? Did he and Connie end up together? Did he fulfill his dream of becoming a prop comic? The younger characters will be the ones most changed in a reboot, so there's potential to take Bobby in any number of directions.
One of the running gags of King of the Hill was that John Redcorn had a very obvious affair with Dale Gribble's wife and that Dale's son Joseph is very obviously John's kid. The gag was that no matter how obvious this may have been to everyone else, Dale never realized the truth. This may have just been due to the fact Dale loves his wife Nancy so deeply he can never accept she would have cheated on him, but either way, he was always shown as being a loving and emotionally open father. Will the new series address this in any way, or will it keep the joke going longer? Joseph, just like Bobby, will be an adult by the start of the new series. He'll without a doubt look even more like John, so he might have started to question his parentage. What can set the reboot apart from other upcoming adult cartoons on Fox or Adult Swim is exploring intriguing stories like this, as Joseph tries to reconnect with his heritage and is pulled back and forth between two fathers.
King of the Hill went off the air in 2010, and the world has drastically changed since then. Over the course of its thirteen seasons, only a few years - at most - passed within the world of the show, so even with the fifteen-year jump, there's wiggle room with when exactly the revival is set. Even so, it'll likely be set in a time that's close to the present, which raises questions. While King of the Hill did predict certain internet trends, technology and social media have radically altered how people communicate in the years since it ended. Hank - voiced by Beavis And Butt-Head creator Mike Judge himself - doesn't even know what a JPEG is, so it's not hard to imagine him struggling with smartphones. Then there's the elephant in the room - MAGA. The series takes place deep in Texas, so if the 2016 and 2020 elections are addressed at all, then the revival may have to explore who in its cast might've thrown in their hats with Donald Trump. There are potential jokes to be found and Judge is no stranger to satire or political humor, but still, it'll be a fine line to walk.
Fan-favorite character Jeff Boomhauer has remained one of the most enigmatic elements of the original King of the Hill. He's known for his fast, near-incomprehensible speech patterns, his womanizing, and not much else. No one even really knew what Boomhauer's job was until the final episode where it's revealed he's a Texas Ranger. The revival could potentially reveal more about Boomhauer than the original ever did. It could show him on the job as a Ranger, or possibly see him settling down in the time between the two series. This one is tricky, though, as the lack of any real knowledge about Boomhauer is no doubt part of his charm.
What's exciting about the prospect of a new King of the Hill is its potential to pick up where the old show left off. It can not only address the lingering questions left over by the original series but also show just how much - or how little - each character has evolved in years since.
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March 28, 2021 at 05:00AM
