The Return of the King: How Did the New Season of "King of the Hill" Turn Out on Hulu?

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All episodes dropped on Hulu on August 4th, and critics are already calling the new season "the best revival ever made" and "the new gold standard for how it should be done."

What the New Season Is About

Eight years have passed in the "King of the Hill" universe since the last season aired in 2010. All this time, Hank Hill and his wife Peggy have been living in Saudi Arabia – the family patriarch was earning his retirement working in the oil industry. Now they're returning to their hometown of Arlen, Texas, and reuniting with old friends.
Scene from the animated series King of the Hill, Hank, Bobby and Peggy Hill embracing
The Hill family together again
Source: Hulu
Their son Bobby is now 21, working as a chef in Dallas and enjoying his youth alongside former classmates Connie, Joseph, and Khan.

While Hank and Peggy lived abroad, a cultural shift happened back home. Essentially, the new episodes show us how the conservative couple adapts to life in modern 2020s America. And the grown-up Bobby usually serves as the bridge between old and new.

What Critics and Viewers Are Saying

The reaction from both critics and longtime "King of the Hill" fans has been overwhelmingly positive.

Just 24 hours after the premiere, the new season earned a perfect critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes – 100%. For a revived project, that's basically unheard of.

The Hollywood Reporter called the new season "quite good overall," noting that "the show's generally conciliatory ideological worldview manages to be almost balm-like in these fractured times without becoming overly saccharine."
King of the Hill: Revival. Trailer
Den of Geek says "this is exactly what longtime fans were hoping for, but the barrier to entry for new viewers is minimal."

IndieWire heaped on praise too: "The King of the Hill revival is a rare case where past merit, opportunity, and talent artfully combine."

But Why Tho? went even further, calling the new "King of the Hill" "the best revival that has ever been made."

What Critics Are Praising

Critics especially praise Bobby Hill's character development. He's shed most of his character flaws, which were largely caused by his childhood impressionability.
A scene from the animated series King of the Hill featuring adult Bobby Hill in a bathrobe
Viewers praise the grown-up Bobby Hill character
Source: Hulu
The series tackles modern American realities, but it doesn't mock them directly – instead, it pokes fun at how the older generation perceives them after spending years in something of a "cultural bubble" abroad.

Gender-neutral bathrooms, rideshare drivers begging for five-star ratings, ubiquitous electric scooters, cancel culture... But it's all presented without malice or preachiness – every joke has that same spirit that made us love the original King of the Hill.
A scene from the animated series King of the Hill showing Hank Hill choosing which bathroom stall to use
A scene from the new King of the Hill
Source: Hulu
Dale Gribble's character feels especially relevant now, we think at zoomboola.com. He doesn't seem quite as paranoid as before, something even his new voice actor Toby Huss noticed: "As a nation, we've turned toward Dale."

What Critics Are Criticizing

Some fans say they need time to adjust to the new voice actors. Johnny Hardwick, who voiced Dale Gribble, Hank's paranoid friend, died during production in 2023. Toby Huss takes over voicing Dale in the final third of the season.

Jonathan Joss, who voiced John Redcorn, announced on June 1st – just hours before his death – that he'd already recorded lines for four episodes.

One Reddit ResetEra user noted:
The only nitpick is that some of the line delivery (especially Dale's and sometimes Redcorn's) feels a bit unnatural.
GamesRadar critic George Marston points out that the series needs some time to find its groove (but then everything clicks into place):
While the series takes time to adjust to its changed setting and new twists on old relationships, by the end of season 14, it's easy to feel at home in the new Arlen.

What Social Media Is Saying

Fans are buzzing about the animated series' return across Reddit and other platforms.
Watched the first two episodes and really enjoyed it. Takes some getting used to, but in a good way. Laughed a lot.
Reddit user on the new King of the Hill season
Rotten Tomatoes users are expressing wild enthusiasm:
Been a fan since childhood and so excited to see the revival. They absolutely nailed it. The storyline is the best. So cool to see how these characters turned out. Watching Hank, Peggy, and Bobby deal with the time jump is amazing.
Rotten Tomatoes user on the new King of the Hill season
Another fan added: "The show was brilliant then and just as brilliant, if not better, now."

Variety summed up the overall mood:
In a sea of TV revivals and reboots, King of the Hill sets a new gold standard for how to do things right. King of the Hill isn't just the sizzle of the meat – it is the meat.
King of the Hill's 14th season proves that quality revivals are possible when the original creators (primarily Mike Judge) return with an understanding of what made the series special in the first place. The new season expertly balances nostalgia with relevance. For fans who've been waiting 15 years (and we're among them), the premiere delivered on expectations.

All 10 episodes of King of the Hill's 14th season are available to stream on Hulu starting August 4, 2025.