rewrite this title King of the Hill Season 14 Review: One Of The Best Revivals Ever

PLOT: 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.

REVIEW: King of the Hill has been off the air since 2009 and a lot has changed since then. The world is a very different place and so there is always the question of whether or not that the humor would translate into modern era. And I’m happy to say that this new iteration absolutely nails the tone and spirit of what made KOTH great. This is my favorite animated series of all time, so I had very high expectations, and they were met in just about every way.

Season 14 follows Hank and Peggy returning to Texas after spending years in Saudi Arabia. After decades of adoration towards Texas, they’re shocked at how much they don’t recognize. Bobby is now a Chef at a restaurant in Dallas, and therefore doesn’t interact as much with his parents. But when he does, it feels just like old times. Dale had won his campaign to be Mayor (which didn’t last long), Bill became an absolute mess, and Boomhauer now has a stepson. Unless I just happened to miss it, there’s no real mention of Luanne and Lucky, which isn’t a surprise given that their original voice actors (Brittany Murphy and Tom Petty) have since passed. But most of the characters are accounted for and feel like respectful continuations.

There’s always been something special about KOTH in that, once you understand the character dynamics, every little line can cause gut-busting laughter. And none of that is more evident than with Peggy Hill, whose oblivious ignorance is one of the highlights of the season. Her mispronouncing Saud-eye Arabi-ee-eye or her clear ignorance of the culture is a great carryover from her Spanish days. Though if any character feels a little shortchanged with what she’s up to this season, it’s probably her. But with only 10 episodes, there’s only so much that could be done.

After Season 6, the network mandated that the show switch from syndicated (where storylines would carry over and be referenced throughout the season) to being episodic, with the logic being that it would be more accessible. Thankfully, we see the return of the syndicated story format, and thus, the show is really able to shine again. The Bobby storyline in particular works wonderfully, both as a way to show how much he’s grown, but also how much he’s still the same character we’ve always loved. His gradual progression from episode to episode and his love for his job really show how much he truly takes after Hank. I was genuinely rooting for his reunion with Connie in a way that I wasn’t expecting, and that’s all due to the wonderful writing.

I’d argue that the best episode of the season goes to “New Ref In Town”, where Hank becomes a secret Soccer ref. Pre-Saudi Hank openly hated soccer and so it’s fun to see his character growth, and the logical reasons for why his character would grow to love it. And this is true of most of the character growth in the show. It all just fits with what we had seen in the prior 13 seasons. The only person who feels a bit off is Connie, who does some stuff that feels a little out of left field. But it’s a good way of showcasing how much people can really change during their formative years.

In terms of negatives, some of the voices feel a little off. Like many other animated shows that would replace their voice actors with actors of color who actually voice characters of color, Toby Huss is unfortunately no longer voicing Kahn Souphanousinphone. Instead, Ronny Chieng takes up the mantle and honestly does a terrible job of it. He does the laugh right, but that’s just about it, with his entire cadence and word structure being off. It’s like he hardly took the time to listen to what Kahn sounded like prior. This takes a lot of the humor away from the character. Ironically, Huss actually takes over for Johnny Hardwicke as Dale after episode 7, and does a spot-on carryover of the newer Dale voice. In fact, there are times when it feels more like the old Dale than even Hardwicke managed. Joseph is also replaced by Tai Leclaire, and it feels like the perfect blend of Joseph’s old voice and John Redcorn.

Overall, this season is a return to form for the series. Those who were worried this would carry over more traits from the end of the show should set those fears aside and look at this as even more of a continuation of those first six seasons. There are some beautiful tributes to Johnny Hardwick and Jonathan Joss, two important actors to the series that both sadly passed away before the new series aired. I can’t wait for Season 15 and hope that we get many more adventures with these wonderful citizens of Arlen.

KING OF THE HILL: SEASON 14 IS NOW STREAMING ON HULU AND DISNEY PLUS.

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