Hank and Peggy Hill return to Arlen this summer. As for Bobby? He’s cooking up a new life for himself in Dallas.
DALLAS — We’ve known for two and a half years that a “King of the Hill” reboot was in the works. And, now, we’re finally getting an official taste of what the return of the single-greatest piece of media depicting North Texas will bring – and when.
While we’ve previously seen a poster hinting at what’s to come in the reboot, heard word about preview screenings of the show and even caught glimpses of its offering through on-set leaks, Hulu formally released to YouTube the opening credits to the refreshed “King of the Hill” – and its log line and release date as well.
Check out the 14th season’s opening credit sequence for yourself below:
As for the whole season? Hulu revealed alongside this release that it’ll make its formal debut on the streaming platform on Aug. 4.
In the meantime, diehards will surely find plenty to parse through in the 40-second clip, which, just like its O.G. version, features The Refreshments’ familiar theme song playing over a time-lapse of the goings-on around the alley behind the Hill family’s Arlen house.
But the description Hulu offered up alongside the footage is all most viewers will really need to know: “After years working a propane job in Saudi Arabia to earn their retirement nest egg, Hank and Peggy Hill return to a changed Arlen, Texas to reconnect with old friends Dale, Boomhauer and Bill. Meanwhile, Bobby is living his dream as a chef in Dallas and enjoying his 20s with his former classmates Connie, Joseph and Chane.”
What the credits don’t yet offer is how the new version show will handle the character of Luanne, who was voiced by the late Brittany Murphy. Her character is conspicuously absent from this presentation, and neither the show’s creators – Mike Judge and Greg Daniels – nor any members of the cast have yet commented on their plans for her.
Even so, there’s a lot to digest here – and to get a little emotional about, particularly in the final frame, where viewers are treated to a family pose showing a grown-up Bobby Hill standing between his parents.
Perhaps the biggest reveal of this release is the confirmation that, in this future version of the Hill family universe, Bobby indeed has grown up to become a chef in Dallas – y’know, that city not too far from where he grew up, which is presumably still “crawling with crack heads and debutantes, and half of them play for the Cowboys” in the eyes of Hank.
“King of the Hill” is, of course, set in the fictional Dallas suburb of Arlen, which sure sounds like an amalgam of the North Texas communities Arlington and Garland, but was confirmed in 2019 by show creator Mike Judge to be inspired by the Dallas suburb Richardson, where he once lived.
(Really, though, Arlen was pretty clearly a combination of various Dallas-area suburbs and small towns, and a Reddit investigation – because those are air tight – pinpointed Waco as the proper location for Arlen, based on location references made throughout the show.)
In its initial incarnation, “King of the Hill” lasted 259 episodes across 13 seasons on FOX, with its run ending in September 2009. How long its Hulu run will last, and if there will be additional seasons to come behind this 14th one, remains to be seen.
Still, if only for a little while, it’ll sure nice to be back among our old friends, sipping on some ice cold Alamo Beer in the alley out back once again, I’ll tell you hwhat.