King of the Hill premiered on Fox in 1997 and became an instant hit for the network, airing for over a decade. From creator Mike Judge, audiences likely tuning in were expecting something similar to his previous series Beavis and Butthead. Yet King of the Hill was a remarkably different series, one focused on the Hill family and its patriarch, Hank Hill, who sells propane and propane accessories. His wife Peggy is a substitute Spanish teacher, who believes she is more talented than she actually is. Bobby Hill, Hank and Peggy’s son, aspires to be a prop comic, and Hank and Peggy’s niece Luanne Platter is often very naive of the world around her but has a big heart.
The Hill family is a traditionally conservative household, in a traditionally red state like Texas, which has led to some people revisiting the series in the wake of the 2016 election, with many wondering who the various characters would have ended up voting for during the election and how they would navigate today’s world. With rumors of a King of the Hill revival circulating, and a possible time jump in store for the series, this is certainly a possibility the show will address.
However, despite the set dressing, King of the Hill is a series all about American conservatism and liberalism coming together to find a common footing. The series is less focused on political ideology and more on moral character. This is how King of the Hill can provide the antidote for political divisions.
Hank Hill’s Politics Are Motivated by Common Sense
20th Television
Fans of King of the Hill know that Hank Hill is very committed to what he believes. Hank identifies as a Republican, and he certainly takes issue with hippies and government bureaucracy. He believes in hard work above all else. However, Hank does not fall in line with complete conservative ideology just because. He acknowledges issues like America’s mistreatment of indigenous peoples and even continued doing yoga despite thinking it was a hippie activity because it allowed him to continue working.
Much of Hank’s beliefs are defined not by politics but by his own sense of morality and his own common sense. For example, In the season 12 episode titled “Raising the Stakes,” Hank gets involved with the organic food business. Hank embraces organic food practices because it just makes for overall better-tasting meat, which as the assistant manager of Strickland Propane makes sense for him.
Hank’s belief in 2000 Republican candidate George W. Bush is shaken, not by any political platform, but by the discovery he has a limp handshake. This causes a crisis for Hank, who almost skips out on voting. While Hank does vote in the end, it is never revealed who he voted for, showcasing that Hank is not shaped by political ideology, but something more personal. This makes him a television character that viewers across the political spectrum can identify with.
Break the Chain
King of the Hill is a generational show, with the major contrast coming between the adult cast and the various children. A constant tug of war in the series is between the generational differences between Hank and his son Bobby, with both needing to get a better understanding of one another. Hank is often shocked by a changing world, but also throughout the series he does go on to either change his own preconceived notions or adapt to make it fit within his own established worldview. Meanwhile, Bobby may not pick up his father’s hard work attitude, but he does look up to Hank, and the lessons both Hank and Peggy have on their son will help shape him and guide him through the world.
The generational divide is further highlighted by Hank’s relationship with his own father, Cotton Hill. Cotton is a World War 2 vet who likes to remind people he lost his shins and killed 50 men, but he was also cruel and unloving to both Hank and Hank’s mother. While Hank is not the most affectionate with Bobby or Peggy, he still does care for them and shows his love in his own way. He wants to be a better person than his father was, and wants Bobby to have a better future than he had.
Bobby Hill is the Key to the King
Despite Hank constantly saying “that boy ain’t right” in regard to Bobby, he is the ideal version of the man Hank imagines. Many of the ideal candidates Hank aspires to but doesn’t quite have are all present in Bobby. The series establishes that Bobby is a great shot with a gun, something Hank struggles with. Hank’s judgmental WW2 veteran father Cotton has more love and appreciation for Bobby than he ever did Hank.
Meanwhile, Bobby is shown to be mentally stronger than Cotton as he lasted longer than his grandfather in solitary confinement in military school. Bobby also seems to symbolize a more modern Texas, as in the world of the King of the Hill series it is heavily implied he is the reincarnated version of the Dalai Lama, signifying a unification between traditional American conservatism with spiritual Buddhist teachings.
It is fitting in the series’ final episode, Hank and Bobby bond over their love of meat and grilling, as Bobby shows a natural talent for being able to identify meat. In a moment of father-son bonding, Hank installs a second grill next to his own for him and Bobby to cook together. As the Hill’s neighbors come around to join in for a communal meal, Bobby comments on it being the last one (referring to a steak but also the final episode) with Hank assuring Bobby he will be doing this for years and is only the beginning, symbolizing that father has passed on the best to his son and that son will carry with him to improve for the next generation.
Community Makes People Better
King of the Hill displays the many various complicated facets of a person, and how they often don’t fit into one simple box that can be checked off on a simple political division. Dale Gribble, the conspiracy-minded member of Hank’s friend group, is an active member of the gun club and the kind of person that in traditional media would be displayed as a stereotypically closed-minded conservative, and yet he is open-minded when he finds out his father is gay.
Khan and Minh Souphanousinphone, the Hill’s Laotian neighbors, often refer to their neighbors as hillbillies and rednecks, but they also do show a certain appreciation and care for them. Khan and Minh might not want to admit it, but it is their proximity to their neighbors that has made them better people and also impacted their daughter Connie.
In many cases, King of the Hill shows that the community is made up of various individuals with different political and ideological beliefs, they have more in common than they realize. Much of the series is less about Hank and his friends enforcing their way on others (except maybe their own children) but more about making sure they and by extension, the rest of Arlen can live their best lives as they see fit. This is why the first scene of the series is a group of friends just having a drink, and the final scene of the series is all the neighbors coming together to enjoy a nice meal. It is a collection of people and ideas that define a community and shape a person.
