King of the Hill has officially made its comeback with a brand new season of episodes now streaming with Hulu, but unfortunately there are two major characters from the original series who have yet to make the jump in the new episodes. King of the Hill’s revival series has been one of the most anticipated returns of the year, and a big reason why is just how much has been changed from the original series. About a decade’s worth of time has passed for Hank Hill and the others, and their lives have been changed a great deal as a result.
Warning! Major spoilers for King of the Hill Season 14! King of the Hill has released all ten of its episodes for Season 14 with Hulu, and with it has revealed the first look at the new era for the revival series. While there are many characters who make their return as much older versions than seen in the original series, it’s soon revealed that Luanne and Lucky are nowhere to be seen in the new episodes. It’s an unfortunate absence considering how important those two were to the core of that first series’ run.
Luanne and Lucky Don’t Appear in King of the Hill Revival
King of the Hill Season 14 does not feature Luanne and Lucky, nor does it reference them in any major way. Luanne Platter was a huge part of the original series as she was Peggy’s niece who came to live with the Hill family. Voiced by the late Brittany Murphy, Luanne had a major role in the original until the series’ end where she was seen in the final seasons marrying and having a child with Lucky, voiced by the late Tom Petty. The two were seen living on Rainey Street as of the end of the original, but they’re outright missing in the new episodes.
King of the Hill showrunner Saladin K. Patternson has teased during interviews and convention appearances that the creative team has found a way to honor these two characters, but that doesn’t happen in this season. There’s a hope that the series will be continuing with a new season so that we can see that potential tribute in the future, but for those hoping to see these actors and characters honored in this way will unfortunately be bummed at the fact that this revival does not address them.
Why Luanne and Lucky Weren’t Recast
As for why Lucky and Luanne weren’t recast for the new King of the Hill revival series, showrunner Patterson explained that the creative team chose to retire them to better honor the late stars instead, “The analogy I use as a sports fan is, sometimes the best way to honor someone’s work is to hang their jersey up in the rafters as a show of respect and what they meant to the organization,” Patterson stated. “It didn’t seem right to recast certain characters. I don’t want to spoil anything, but (we) figured out other ways in the storytelling to honor those characters.”
An unfortunate result of this, however, is that there’s now an entire season of the King of the Hill without any mention of two of its biggest characters. There were no hints of them still living on Rainey St. either, so it definitely raises some questions about where the two of them (and their daughter) have gone since the end of the original show. For now, you can find King of the Hill Season 14 now streaming with Hulu.
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