In 2017, the cast of King of the Hill held a 20-year reunion, and talks of a new season began to stir. After years of uncertainty, we now have a new King of the Hill season!
King of the Hill follows the Hill family from Arlen, Texas. The show centers on their daily lives dealing with the chaos that comes from work, friends, and family. Hank, our propane and propane accessory salesman, is the father. Peggy, a substitute Spanish teacher with a poor handle on the language, is the mother. Bobby, their son, is seen as an odd duck by Hank but is encouraged by Peggy.
The first episode aired in January 1997 and ran until May 2010. The series ended with the 13th season, with the 259th episode wrapping up the show in a neat little bow. This new season jumps ahead 10 years, giving it a breath of fresh air as the entire cast has aged up.
What We Know
When the trailer for the new season launched, we learned that Hank and his family moved to Saudi Arabia and are now coming back to Arlen. While they were gone, they rented out their home to Brian Robertson, a new character who is voiced by Keith David. Everyone’s grown up, and times have changed. However, Hank remains steadfast in complaining about how weird the world is based on his conservative standards.
We’ve also learned that Khan will have a new voice actor. The team decided that it was time for an Asian man to voice a fictional Asian man, so they replaced Toby Huss with The Daily Show’s Ronnie Chieng. However, that doesn’t mean Huss is out of a job. He’s taking over as the new voice of Dale as a result of the death of Johnny Hardwick. In an interview with EW at SDCC, Huss said he wants to do justice to his performance and honor Hardwick’s legacy.
What We Saw at the Panel
During SDCC, fans were able to experience Arlen outside of the convention center with some BBQ, lawn games, and themed photo ops. The real fun was at the Friday panel, where attendees were able to watch the second episode of the new season.
It follows Bobby and Hank as they engage in a homebrew beer contest. The two men bond over beer, but their differences are very clear. Bobby is much more open to making more experimental beer, while Hank prefers his beer to taste like traditional beer. Across the way, Boomhauer gets his stepson into non-alcoholic beer, but worries he’s teaching him some bad habits.
What We Learned at the Panel
After the episode, the cast appeared on stage and talked about the season and what’s in store for the audience. A big plot point that will be explored is Bobby struggling with his friends going to college while he works as a chef. Bobby’s voice actor, Pamela Adlon, loves that Bobby’s journey mirrors hers and can relate to him and his struggles. She also expressed that she was excited when the murmurs of a new season started circulating. However, she didn’t get her hopes up until she received a real confirmation. Kathy Najimy, Peggy’s voice actor, expressed how lucky she is to have such a fun and well-written role. Peggy felt like a different side of her, and reprising her role felt like a homecoming. Lauren Tom, Connie and Minh’s voice actor, talked about Connie’s path and how she’s living vicariously through her as he explores her relationships and adulthood.
Fans also got tidbits about Bobby’s childhood friends, Connie and Joseph. Connie practices ethical non-monogamy. Joseph is just as oblivious as Dale and believes Dale is his birth father. In the show’s original run, Dale was known for having a lot of conspiracy theories and was constantly blown off. However, it’s come to light that a lot of his theories were proven correct. He also became mayor at some point during that time. Fans also learned that two show favorites, Luanne and Lucky, were retired from the show. They will still be referenced throughout as they live their lives off-screen.
Overall, it seems like Season 14 is shaping up to be a solid reintroduction to the series.
King of the Hill Release Date
King of the Hill’s 14th season will have 10 episodes that will be released all at once on August 4th on Hulu.
