If there was any show that was going to do well with a new season after 15 years away, it was going to be King Of The Hill. Mike Judge and co-creator Greg Daniels never rooted the show in cheap gags or tried to push through a laugh-a-minute pace. From the start, the show was built around the Hill family and the world around them in Arlen, with character-based humor and solid stories providing the framework. That hasn’t changed in Season 14, probably because Daniels and Judge are still there.
Opening Shot: We hear a sigh and pee plinking into a toilet. Then we see Hank Hill (Mike Judge) hunched over an airplane lavatory toilet, trying to go to the bathroom.
The Gist: Hank’s wife Peggy (Kathy Najimy) informs the entire planeload of passengers, lining up to use the lavatory for what seems like the entire flight, that Hank has a narrow urethra that is just getting narrower with age, despite his healthier diet in Saudi Arabia. Of course, Hank embarrassing yells out, “Don’t share that, Peggy!”
The flight arrives in Dallas, and the Hills are back on American soil since Hank took that job in Saudi Arabia, selling “Arabian propane and Arabian propane accessories” for Aramco. Now that they’ve built a nice nest egg, they’ve decided to retire. But Hank is already chafing at the changes he sees, from the stores at the airport to his having to use an app to get a car back to Arlen. Peggy continues to butcher whatever the Arabic she thinks she learned there.
They get back to their house, and it’s immaculate, thanks to Brian Robertson (Keith David), whose family rented the house from the Hills. In fact, Brian liked it there so much, he still hangs out in the alley, drinking Alamo beer with Boomhauer (Judge) and the ever-paranoid Dale (Johnny Hardwick/Toby Huss). Where’s Bill (Stephen Root)? Well, he’s become a shut-in, letting himself go over Hank’s absence. He’s been inside since the pandemic, and only talks to people via the “house hole,” aka the window.
Hank and Peggy haven’t seen their son Bobby (Pamela Adlon) yet because he’s busy as a chef, running a German-barbecue-Japanese fusion restaurant being funded by the dad of his bro-ish buddy Chane Wassanasong (Ki Hong Lee). He’s happy to be an entrepreneur and doing what he loves at 21, but is happy to get an invite to a frat party, where he hooks up with a co-ed. After leaving her dorm the next morning, he runs into an old friend, Connie Souphanousinphone (Lauren Tom).
Hank continues to chafe at the changes in Arlen, including not being able to make left turns near his house anymore. He’s shocked to learn that Dale somehow managed to be elected mayor before he decertified the election 36 hours later. He almost considers a return to the Aramco base in Saudi Arabia, where the town they set up “was more like Texas than Texas,” but an encounter at the Mega Lo Mart makes him change his mind.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? King Of The Hill Seasons 1-13.
Our Take: We will admit that “Hank chafing at all the changes in American life” was a low bar to clear for the first episode of the show’s return because that’s basically been the nature of Hank’s character for the show’s entire run. But giving the context that he and Peggy were in some sort of Leave It To Beaver-style utopia at the Aramco base helps here, because Arlen they left was already changing. It’s still funny seeing Peggy butcher pronunciations and Hank give his rideshare driver only four stars “to give him something to work towards.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Hank and a grown-up Bobby relate to each other now. Hank has always loved Bobby, of course, but hated that his son was an emotional, gentle soul instead of a propane-loving, feelings-suppressing alpha male like himself. But grown-up Bobby, while still possessing all of the qualities his younger self had, actually has forged a life for himself, and is willing to stand up to his dad even more than he used to. We see that in the second episode, where their differing opinions on how to homebrew beer leads them to enter their own brews into a contest and compete with each other.
The changes to the voice cast are barely noticeable. We’re not sure if the late Johnny Hardwick or Toby Huss voiced Dale in Episode 1, and that’s just fine with us. We think Jonathan Joss recorded most of his dialogue as John Redcorn before his untimely death. And we haven’t heard Ronny Chieng’s version of Kahn yet. We also think it’s pretty funny that, despite Bobby now being an adult with chin whiskers, Adlon has only lowered her voice a tiny bit to play him.
Sex and Skin: None. Bobby’s hookup with the co-ed is only implied.
Parting Shot: Hank makes burgers on his new grill, with Dale, Boomhauer and Robertson hanging out in the backyard. Even Bill comes out, big gut, massive beard and all. Robertson points out that Bill isn’t wearing anything under his big undershirt. Then we see the updated version of the opening credits.
Sleeper Star: We forgot to mention Joseph Gribble, who is so obviously John Redcorn’s son, is now being voiced by Tai Leclaire.
Most Pilot-y Line: Bobby’s restaurant is called “Robota Chane,” which is named after his business partner and… ? We’re not sure.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Fifteen years after we last saw the Hills, King Of The Hill basically picks up where it left off by doing what it does best: Telling funny and warm stories about the Hills and the people in Arlen.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.