‘King of the Hill’ Season 14 was my best stream of the week
‘King of the Hill’ Season 14 was my best stream of the week
After more than 15 years, ‘King of the Hill’ returned with new episodes on Monday.
When a show comes back after a long hiatus, it usually doesn’t bode well for fans who want to see something other than blatant fan service. I know I have been consistently disappointed by “Futurama” ever since Hulu brought the show back, and when news dropped that “King of the Hill” was similarly being revived by the streamer, I dreaded the result. It seemed like just another example of a streaming service trying to squeeze more blood from a stone that it set down long ago, but I’m happy to report that after watching, I couldn’t have been more wrong. “King of the Hill” Season 14 is much more than just an example of fan service, which is why it was the best thing I streamed this week.
I think the best reason I can offer for why “King of the Hill” Season 14 struck me so favorably is the fact that the characters themselves have advanced. Yes, many of them still have the same mannerisms that won over viewers in the first place, but those mannerisms are blended into the show, not simply showcased with no subtlety to communicate to viewers, “Hey, this is the same thing you liked from the original — here it is again!”
Take Bobby, for example. Now a 21-year-old professional chef, Bobby is shown as an incredibly hard worker, while retaining all of the goofy, silly, and self-effacing qualities of his younger counterpart. When confronted with a relationship dynamic that he wouldn’t want to be a part of, Bobby doesn’t judge harshly as his father would; he manages to navigate the situation with grace, even as he faces a relatable amount of self-doubt.
Hank Hill is something of an anachronism after returning from Saudi Arabia. He’s an American who now loves soccer, a staunch Republican who won’t stand for conspiracy theories about Barack Obama’s birthplace, and a firm believer in propane’s ability to solve just about any problem. The new season sees Hank in a situation most fans probably could have predicted: retired and unsure of his place in the world without a job to do.
Watch the trailer for ‘King of the Hill’ Season 14:
In fact, most of the characters in the revived series have ended up more or less where most viewers would have imagined them to be. But that doesn’t make the series predictable; rather, it gives a sense that Mike Judge and the creative team behind “King of the Hill” wanted to do right by the characters, as opposed to simply giving fans more of what made those characters so popular in the first place.
I also have to give the series praise for casting voice actors of color to play non-white characters. Judge is one of the last TV writers any viewer could label as “woke,” but the common-sense decision to bring on Ronny Chieng as Khan Souphanousinphone and Keith David as the new character Brian Robertson improved the series immensely in my eyes.
Speaking of the voice cast here, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention actors from the original “King of the Hill” run who are no longer with us, and were missed in my rewatch. Brittany Murphy (voice of Luanne Platter) and Tom Petty (Lucky Kleinschmidt) passed away before production on Season 14 began, and Johnny Hardwick (Dale Gribble) and Jonathan Joss (John Redcorn) passed after completing their work on the season.
“King of the Hill” Season 14 didn’t do anything radically different from past seasons, but my admiration for the show is based on its willingness to show at least some growth. Fans will find it a worthy successor to the original run of the show, and hopefully, Hulu decides to bring it back for another go-around.
Viewers can watch “King of the Hill” Season 14 on Hulu, or on Disney+ if they have a subscription to both services. All 10 episodes of “King of the Hill” Season 14 are available to stream on Hulu now.
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