King of the Hill is coming back for a new revival series later this Summer, but we won’t be finding out who Hank Hill voted for anytime soon. King of the Hill was always a series that leaned a bit more conservative in nature due to Hank’s views of the rest of the world. The changing environment around him always caused him to press forward with his beliefs on how things should be done, and a few times this angled politically as well. Hank has endorsed Presidents like Ronald Reagan, and laughed at others like Jimmy Carter. So fans have always debated who Hank would vote for in the years since the original show ended.
With King of the Hill coming back for new episodes sixteen years after the original show ended, there seemed to be opportunities to explore the current political climate and Hank’s potential place in it all. But as the series creators and new showrunner explained to Vulture, King of the Hill won’t be showcasing Hank’s political leanings. Instead, much like the original series, the new King of the Hill will be highlighting Hank’s reactions to changes in culture.
King of the Hill Will Have a Changed World
King of the Hill‘s new revival takes place at least eight years since the events of the original show, and Hank himself has been missing for a good deal of it. He’ll be returning after years of working in Saudi Arabia, and coming back to a United States that has changed a great deal. “Hank always represented the sensible middle, the old show did a great job handling the extremes and kind of pushing people towards what the common-sense middle was,” Saladin K. Patterson, new showrunner explained. “Well, Hank’s been gone, and while he’s gone, the country’s changed so much that where Hank stood in the middle isn’t really the middle anymore.”
For those wondering if this means we’ll see what Hank thought of the last few elections, King of the Hill series co-creator Greg Daniels debunked the idea, “It always was a very specific show. It’s about these characters who live around this alley. It’s a character comedy,” the co-creator explained. “I hope no one has an expectation that it’s a late-night show. Animation takes a long time. We’re not ripping headlines. It’s about character and culture.”
“I think focusing on small, relatable things was the way that we were able to steer clear of things that were gonna feel like gratuitous satire, on-the-nose, or just ineffective,” Patterson continued. “You know, Oh, I see what they’re doing here. That’s a conservative point of view, that’s a liberal point of view. It’s kind of easy and simple, right?” From the sounds of things, it’s still very much in the spirit of the original where it’s less about the politics of Hank’s views themselves, but the core ideologies.
RELATED: King of the Hill Revival Breaks Hearts With One Missing Character (& It’s Not Who You Think)
When Does New King of the Hill Come Out?
We’ll see how it all shakes out soon enough as King of the Hill Season 14 will be making its premiere with Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on August 4th. The new season will be running for ten episodes, and the synopsis teases it as such, “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.”
Original series creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels have returned for the new King of the Hill revival, with Saladin K. Patterson serving as showrunner. Original series stars Kathy Najimy, Stephen Root, Pamela Adlon, Lauren Tom, and Jonathan Joss return from the original series for their respective roles with Toby Huss taking over as for Dale Gribble. A potential future for Joss’ John Redcorn character has yet to be announced as of the time of this publication.
The post No, We Won’t Find Out Who Hank Voted for in King of the Hill’s Revival appeared first on ComicBook.com.
