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Animated shows which are made for adults to enjoy are now pretty common, but there was a time when The Simpsons was pretty much the only game in town. Of course, that all changed when King of the Hill came into play in 1997, and the new Fox series became nearly an instant hit. King of the Hill went on to run for an impressive 13 seasons, and ever since it took a riding mower off into the sunset, fans have been wanting more from the crazy cast of characters. Now we're hearing that a revival is, indeed, still in the works, and that we might have more King of the Hill sooner rather than later, but with some big changes.
While King of the Hill, which was created by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head) and Greg Daniels (The Office), debuted as a mid-season replacement, there was soon no doubt about the popularity of the animated family sitcom. The show revolved around the citizens of the fictional Arlen, Texas, with the focus on Hank and Peggy Hill, their son Bobby, and their assorted wacky friends, family, and acquaintances.
We had heard that there were tentative plans to revive the show as far back as August 2017, and now Brent Forrester, who wrote for the hit series (and several others), has confirmed that possibility, along with a major change for the characters. During a recent Ask Me Anything on reddit, Forrester responded to a query about updates on the revival, saying:
I am sure Greg Daniels and Mike Judge will murder me for sharing this but... HELL YES. They are in hot negotiations to bring back King of the Hill. The Trump administration made it suddenly very relevant again. The characters have all aged 15 years. The project is sooooo good. Okay I've said too much :)
Good to know! If you were a fan of King of the Hill you will know that it was appointment viewing for a lot of people. The sitcom dealt with small town life in the south, and had a big focus on Hank's social conservatism and the liberalism of others, and also on culture clashes in general. But, we also got to watch his son Bobby deal with his pre-teen years and coming of age stories, and saw other characters develop and grow through small arcs across the show's many seasons. And, it was all done through sometimes outrageous, but still relatable, situations.
If you've watched other animated shows like The Simpsons or Family Guy, you'll be well aware of the fact that, regardless of any potential growth the characters might undergo, one thing they never do is age, but from what Brent Forrester said, Daniels and Judge are planning to go there with the cast of characters on King of the Hill. Not only is the apparent plan to age them, but to age them (basically) in real time.
King of the Hill went off the air in late June 2009, so while it hasn't been a full 15 years just yet since the show faced the sting of cancellation, should these plans get the go-ahead from a network or streamer, that many years could have passed by the time audiences can watch it. While the characters did age a teensy bit during the course of King of the Hill, the show only took them ahead by a little over a year. Bobby, for instance, starts the show at 11, turns 12 during Season 1, and then celebrates his 13th birthday during Season 5, and is on the cusp of high school for the remainder of the series.
It sounds like Greg Daniels and Mike Judge already have some solid ideas in place so that they can bring King of the Hill back in the modern day, so let's all hope we have the chance to see a revival before too much longer!
You can stream the full run of King of the Hill on Hulu.
