Early into the season premiere of King of the Hill Season 14, the taciturn and set-in-his-ways Hank Hill (Mike Judge) is confronted with a current phenomenon of the 2020s: The all-gender public rest room. It’s an ungainly second for him, however when he talks to his spouse Peggy (Kathy Najimy) about it later, he’s not indignant — he’s simply nervous a few lady strolling in on him whereas he’s doing his enterprise. “That’s the way you get canceled,” he says. It’s an trade that does a tidy job of capturing the spirit with which King of the Hill returns: Able to acknowledge the methods through which the world has modified for the reason that unique collection resulted in 2010, however with extra kindness than you may anticipate.
When a revival of Greg Daniels and Decide’s long-running animated comedy was formally confirmed in January 2023, it was simple to think about the lazy jokes that would end result, the satirizing of “woke-ness” that may be anticipated in a time when the pink state vs. blue state battle has solely gotten extra intense. As an alternative, it’s a pleasure to say that King of the Hill has a sort coronary heart beating in its chest, and thus it continues to be a candy, character-focused comedy. The present does deal with loads of politically right touchstones, however the focus stays on the Hills and their associates, simply doing their finest to get by in difficult occasions.
Whereas there have been no exhausting date stamps on the unique King of the Hill episodes, the primary 13 seasons did exist largely in a Simpsons-esque bubble where time didn’t pass much — Bobby might have been 11 when the collection started and 13 when it ended. Fairly than preserve the Hills in that bubble, the brand new present jumps ahead by eight years within the characters’ private chronology.
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In case you had been to do some math based mostly on when Season 13 completed airing (2010), that will theoretically set the present in 2018. However we’re undoubtedly in a post-pandemic 2020s period when Hank and Peggy return to Arlen after dwelling overseas for years. It’s a intelligent method so as to add some fish-out-of-water pressure to the collection, as they address the modifications that even their small Texas city has skilled.
Whereas their home stays the identical (because of their neighbor Brian, voiced by the all the time welcome Keith David) and the again alley stays a hot spot for drinking beer with your buds, the established order has been altered in a single dramatic method: Bobby (Pamela Adlon) is now 21 years outdated and working his personal Japanese-German fusion restaurant in Dallas. Whereas changing into a enterprise proprietor has helped Bobby develop up so much, he’s nonetheless fairly younger in different methods, and an enormous a part of the brand new season is concentrated on him navigating his relationship together with his mother and father as a quasi-adult. (He’s additionally courting now, and his light spirit makes his quest for love simple to root for.)
Hank’s small cluster of associates have additionally gone by means of their very own experiences whereas remaining comparatively true to themselves — like, of course conspiracy-loving Dale (voiced by each the recently deceased Johnny Hardwick and Toby Huss) was an anti-masker, and candy shy Invoice (Stephen Root) didn’t deal with the stress of the pandemic properly. Via them and others, the present does an admirable job of each reflecting at the moment’s vibe whereas additionally holding the deal with the humanity of those characters. Even a vegan character launched halfway by means of the season isn’t outlined solely by her weight-reduction plan and various viewpoints — she will get a full backstory and actual dimension by the tip.
King of the Hill (Hulu)
The animation model stays clear and easy, precisely the way you keep in mind it, whereas the jokes nonetheless pop and the tales nonetheless ship some surprising twists. (The decision to an episode the place Peggy opens up a free lending library is wry, ironic, and hilarious.) And each Hardwick and the late Jonathan Joss are memorialized correctly by the present, after delivering performances that solely spotlight how a lot they’ll be missed.
The most effective facet of those 10 episodes is that they do lean exhausting into the best way society has developed, even whereas Hank’s core values haven’t — seeing the best way his dedication to these core values run up in opposition to ideas like “males’s rights” is the place among the present’s finest jokes and most attention-grabbing pressure comes from.
Later within the season premiere, Hank and Peggy run throughout some Lady Scouts promoting cookies, and Hank asks in the event that they’ve obtained any Samoas. One of many ladies informs him that these cookies are actually known as Caramel Delites, to be extra delicate to folks from Samoa. “That’s change,” Hank says earlier than shopping for a field. “It’s good to be good,” the Lady Scout agrees. Phrases that really feel particularly good to listen to proper now from anybody, however particularly from a present like this.
King of the Hill Season 14 premieres August 4th on Hulu. Take a look at the trailer beneath.
