King of the Hill was part of Fo's earlier Animation Domination block from 1997 to 2010, running for 14 seasons in total. The Mike Judge-created series centered around Arlan, Texas native Hank Hill, and his family as they deal with everyday life and share friendships with the neighbors. King of the Hill was a hit for Fox, and its cancelation led to several unhappy fans.
I was one of those unhappy fans, so when I first heard of the King of the Hill reboot, I was stoked; I'll tell you what. The reboot will give a reunion of the characters that made the show stand out, and while the comedy was rough around the edges, it was honest and to the point.
With a reboot on the way, fans will be able to revisit old episodes and introduce a new generation. Nowadays, many shows are discovered through streaming instead of flipping through multiple channels with a remote on cable TV. King of the Hill is no exception to this rule, as newer fans have found the animated comedy on Hulu.
What to know about the King of the Hill reboot
The King of the Hill reboot was announced in 2022, with showrunners Greg Daniels and Mike Judge starting their own animation studio, Bandera. It was unveiled by The Hollywood Reporter that the beloved Fox sitcom was getting a revival.
While the majority of information is under wraps, here's what we know at this time of writing. Several of the original voice actors behind the characters will be reprising their respective roles. Judge will return as Hank; Kathy Najimy as his wife, Peggy Hill; Stephen Root as Bill Deutrive, the good-hearted but melancholy neighbor, and others, Nicole Tom as Lin and Connie, and Pamela Adlon as Bobby Hill, the Hills' bubbly 12-year-old son with a penchant for comedy and food.
It's food the young man decides to do for his career, and according to Adlon in an interview with MovieWeb, Bobby is a chef working in nearby Dallas.
"“We're in the second season [of creating] the reboot, and Bobby is 21. He's a chef in a fusion restaurant in Dallas. And it's been incredible. It's just been really fun. I think it's been freakier for Mike and Greg to think about Bobby going from 12 to being 21 and having a relationship and being a person. But don't we all go through that with our kids and our friends' kids? It is shocking when I see my friends' kids and they're all grown up. And I'm like, ‘Wait a second, what just happened?’ So, it’s just a little bit of a mess.”"
To further confirm Bobby's employment, actress Grey DeLisle uploaded an Instagram photo of the character, who's now an adult. It was later deleted, but fans managed to save it and then re-sharing it.
In the picture, Bobby is shown in a traditional Japanese Chef's uniform, and per the biography below, he infuses Texan food with global flavors, particularly with Asian ones. Bobby's love of cooking was rooting from barbequing with his day on the weekends and the meals his mother cooked for him when growing up.
His age additionally affirms a nine-year time jump, placing his parent at around 48-49 years-old.
As Brittany Murphy and Tom Petty passed away in 2009 and 2017, it's unknown what will become of their characters, Luann Platter and Lucky. Whether they'll be recasted with new voice actors, or retired, it yet to be confirmed.
Johnny Hardwick, who voiced Dale Gribble, the group's oddball, passed away in 2023 in the middle of production. Like Luann and Lucky, it's undetermined what will happen to Dale, as he was the one who caused amusing storylines among everyone. However, Hardwick was able to record a handful of episodes before his death.
When will the reboot premiere and where can it be watched?
Both Daniels and Judge hope to premiere the King of the Hill reboot sometime during 2025's first quarter. It'll be on Hulu, where the classic show lives and neighbored with other iconic adult animations, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Futurama.