FIRST LOOK: Hulu’s ‘King of the Hill’ Reboot
Bobby is all grown up now as Hill clan tries retirement on for size
Fox’s “King of the Hill” wasn’t just a successful sitcom.
The animated series showed a side of Texas rarely featured in pop culture. The Mike Judge series knew Texan culture and wasn’t afraid to poke fun at it. The show also respected the Lone Star State without resorting to mean-spirited cliches.
That compassionate angle made the show’s jokes land even harder.
Fox canceled “Hill” after 13 seasons in 2010, but it was only a matter of time before someone revived the saga. Enter Hulu, which just gave us our first look at the “King of the Hill” reboot along with some intriguing details.
The new season features 10 episodes and finds the Hill clan in a very different state of mind.
The season 14 revival picks up several years after we last saw the Hill family – Hank and Peggy Hill are now retired and return to a changed Arlen after years of working in Saudi Arabia; and Bobby is 21 and living his best life while navigating adulthood as a chef in Dallas.
Original show co-creators Judge and Greg Daniels are back for the reboot, with Judge once again voicing Hank Hill. “Bernie Mac” TV veteran Saladin Patterson joins the team as the new showrunner.
One sad change?
Johnny Hardwick, who voiced the conspiracy-happy Dale Gribble during the show’s original run, died in November 2023. His character appears in the teaser video along with signs suggesting Dale ran for Mayor since the show’s last episodes aired.
Hardwick’s name appears in the list of Hulu credits, but it’s unclear if he recorded any new audio for the reboot before his death. People magazine’s obituary for the voice actor suggests he may have done just that.
“King of the Hill” returns Aug. 4 on Hulu.
UPDATE: Deadline reports that actor Toby Huss will voice Dale Gribble moving forward. Hardwick recorded his vocal work for six of the upcoming 10 new episodes before his passing.
I am completely on-board for this! I always loved King of the Hill. It was a consistent theme of the auto parts store that I worked at for many years. We each had our own character, and we hammed it up. I was the Dale Gribble of the group. But that fun aside, the show actually covered a lot of sociopolitical ground but did it in an amusing and non-confrontational way. I fondly remember Hank, in reference to Ronald Reagan, saying “I miss voting for that man.” Thank you Christian for bringing this to my attention. I might not have known of it otherwise.