Animated sitcoms have been a welcome part of television programming for many years now. From the “Flintstones” and “Jetsons” of old, to the long-running “Simpsons” today, they have been the source of many laughs and portraits of everyday life and pop culture. From 1997 to 2009 Fox aired an alternative slice-of-life cartoon sitcom to their zanier “The Simpsons” fare. That was “King of the Hill,” created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. Nowadays with media reboots and revivals suddenly becoming vogue, Fox has decided to seriously consider the feasibility of bringing back the Hill Family of Arlen, Texas for more hilarious yet grounded sitcom fun.
The Hills in the days of Trump
The summer press tour of the Television Critics Association on Tuesday, August 8 has proven a fine platform for many major networks to drop hints as to what their next big programming blowout might be. Fox was no exception, with their Television Group co-chairman and CEO Dana Walden revealing that the network held a secret meeting two months ago with “King of the Hill” creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. The subject of their discussion was to bounce ideas leading to a revival of the popular animated sitcom, which ran for a respectable 13 seasons.
Walden however was quick to stress that the talks with Daniels and Judge were still simply “exploratory” in nature.
The gist had been how a middle-class family like the Hills would be navigating life in America in the current social and political climate. She noted that while the creators were excited at the idea of “King of the Hill” returning to television, they also both had prior commitments and projects to attend to. The matter now is finding enough time for both network and creators to go over the possibilities in more detail.
“It was one meeting, and I hope to revisit it,” Walden mused.
Nothing concrete for now
“King of the Hill” was a Fox cartoon sitcom centered on a family much like “The Simpsons.” One major difference was that the characters were down-to-earth and not over-the-top in nature, and the episodes were more focused on day-by-day slice-of-life rather than exaggerated zaniness.
Executive producer Mike Judge was also the voice actor for the family head, Hank Hill. Hank’s catchphrase as a propane (and propane accessories) salesman was so popular with viewers that at one time that it was referred to in a videogame (Blizzard’s “Starcraft”).
For now, any discussion by Fox regarding “King of the Hill” will have to be tabled. Judge is a show-runner for the live-action comedy series “Silicon Valley” on HBO, while Greg Daniels is currently working on “People of Earth” over at TBS.
