As fans count down the days until they can stream the iconic, animated series, “King of the Hill,” on Hulu, it turns out they aren’t the only ones excited for its revival.
MORE: What to know about “King of the Hill’s” premier date, voice casting
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Hours before lines wrapped around the Paramount Theater in Austin to get a sneak peek at the series revival during the ATX TV Festival, I got to chat with some of the cast members, including Pamela Adlon, Toby Huss, Lauren Tom, and showrunner Saladin K. Peterson.
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Despite an epochal wave of reboots, remakes, and revivals—some of which admittedly have mixed reactions— it can be tempting to wonder how the series would be received by audiences and lifelong fans alike, given the timing. It turns out, the initial thought was conceived right before the series was coming to an end.
“[Creators, Greg Daniels] and Mike [Judge] realized there was still such a large fan base that still loved the show, even after the first run ended, that they almost 10 years ago came up with the idea of, ‘Hey, maybe we should think about revisiting the characters in the world,’” Patterson, who serves as the show’s Executive Producer and Showrunner, but might be best known for serving as executive producer for “The Wonder Years” but earned his stripes producing hit shows like “Psych,” and “Dave.” It really boiled down to wanting to make sure that they had something relevant to say that hadn’t already been done. And I really think that the fans are gonna see that we did that."
Regardless of the timing, the cast argues “King of the Hill” started its series in 1997 with a strong team of thoughtful and intelligent writers. And though years have passed since the award-winning series closed its book in 2009, and the crew has gone on to pursue other projects, remembering that dedication back then was more than enough to get everyone involved in the new chapter.
“The writing is so important,” Tom, who reprises her dual role as mother and daughter, Minh and Connie Souphanousinphone, explained. “But I think that all of us trusted the writers 1,000% because the first go-round was so brilliant that it was an absolute no-brainer."
“It really just felt like a gift,“ Adlon, who is stepping back into her role as now-adult Bobby Hill, added. ”I mean, that’s just the way it feels for all of us. It doesn’t feel like you’re forcing something. Everything is kind of just unfolding the way if it feels right."
Though not everything will be the same. News broke moments before our interview that Huss would take the reins in voicing Dale Gribble, a fan-favorite and one of the main character Hank Hill’s best friends and neighbors. The role was previously played by Johnny Hardwick, who tragically passed away in 2023.
“I was really flattered that they trusted me to do this character that Johnny developed all those years ago,” Huss said. “Johnny was a friend and he was a good fellow and it’s very humbling to try to do that sort of really wonderful and wacky character that he came up with and try to do that justice and do something that I think Johnny somewhere would go, ‘OK, yeah, that’s not awful,’ hopefully somewhere Johnny’s going, (imitates Hardwick as Dale) ‘That doesn’t suck.’"
There are some episodes Hardwick was able to record before his passing, though fans will get to see. But because of how Hardwick brought the character to life, it was worth asking how Huss is handling the pressure of stepping into the shoes of a close, dear friend.
“I think part of the trick is to not overcome the pressure," Huss explained. “To see it and to know that you’re doing your old buddy’s character that he developed over the years, that he worked on, that he voiced, and you have to do him justice—and it has to be in his tone, in his actions, in his work."