It’s about time we had some good news to report, I’ll tell you what! One of the most pleasant surprises we had this year was the revival of “King of the Hill.” Though the world had changed a lot in the 16 years since the series finale, the comedic sensibility and fantastic storytelling of the series has not.
Owing to the overwhelming positive reviews for the revival, Hulu has ordered an additional 2 seasons!
Hulu was confident enough to greenlight two seasons of the “King of the Hill” revival to start. This isn’t an uncommon thing with streaming networks, in fact a lot of the time something with hype behind it gets two seasons but gets cancelled afterwards. We were inclined to believe that wouldn’t be the case here though; the season was too high quality and we weren’t the only ones to think so. The 14th season of “KOTH” garnered rave reviews from most critics and also pulled in strong viewing minutes for Hulu. With two additional seasons on the way, we’ll have “KOTH” into season 17.
The show has benefitted greatly from the returning of as much of the original voice cast as possible, along with original creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels returning as executive producers. Judge naturally reprises his roles as Hank Hill and Boomhauer too. The notable absences of Tom Petty and Brittany Murphy (as Lucky and Luanne, respectively) were hard to take and were compounded by the deaths of Johnny Hardwick (Dale Gribble), and the murder of Jonathan Joss (John Redcorn). Hardwick did record some parts as Dale, and Joss completed his recordings.
The series lovingly paid tribute to Hardwick and Joss, but Dale is the only character we know to have lived beyond his actor, with Toby Huss continuing in the role.
With at least three more seasons in its future, “King of the Hill” has plenty of time to explore the current world it finds itself in. The time jump of eight years in-universe for the series has set up a number of possible storylines as Hank explores retirement, Bobby explores adulthood, and everyone tries to navigate a world that has evolved technologically, socially, and politically. Gratefully, the series has maintained its amazing sense of heart and we look forward to seeing what the show has in store for us in the years to come.
