JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Is anyone really craving another '90s TV reboot?
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KING OF THE HILL")
MIKE JUDGE: (As Hank) Yep.
JOHNNY HARDWICK: (As Dale) Yup.
STEPHEN ROOT: (As Bill) Mm hmm.
SUMMERS: Well, if you recognize that chorus of voices, maybe you are. The animated comedy "King Of The Hill" is back with a brand-new season on Hulu.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KING OF THE HILL 2025")
JUDGE: (As Boomhauer) Oh, man, look at that - return of dang old king, man.
(As Hank) Oh, wow. I'm getting a hug. OK. Emotional.
SUMMERS: The previous seasons ran from 1997 through 2009, focused on Texas propane salesman Hank Hill and his neighbors. And unlike most long-running cartoons, the characters now aged up. Even though Hank and his wife, Peggy, are kind of culturally frozen in time, they returned to their fictional suburb of Arlen after a decade living overseas, and they're a little overwhelmed by the changes.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KING OF THE HILL 2025")
JUDGE: (As Hank) Ugh. What happened to this town? Look at all these reflectors. And what kind of food is poke?
SUMMERS: Series cocreator Mike Judge still voices Hank, whose son, Bobby, is now an adult and still voiced by actor and screenwriter, Pamela Adlon. Even though she's voiced dozens and dozens of characters in her career...
PAMELA ADLON: You know, I've said that when I see, like, a picture of Bobby, I think I'm looking at a picture of myself. Like, that's what a touchstone he is in my life.
SUMMERS: Another TV veteran, Saladin K. Patterson, is the showrunner for this new season. Both he and Pamela Adlon talked to me about bringing the "King Of The Hill" universe, which often depicted liberal and conservative values, into the present.
SALADIN K PATTERSON: "King Of The Hill" was never a political show. You know, it was always a show that was about family, characters and relatable stories. So we really tried to focus on that. Like, you know, the temptation was, like, what's our immigration story going to be? Well, no, let's not do an immigration story. Let's do a story about Bobby, and maybe, you know, Bobby has someone working in his restaurant who is on the line in terms of, you know, having come into this country. And we deal with it in terms of their relationship but not in terms of what the policy is. And so we didn't tear the house down. We kept the foundation. Now we're updating the house with new energy-efficient, you know, materials and things that are based on today. And so - but it'll still be the same house that everybody loves.
SUMMERS: Pamela, I wonder, you know, so many animated shows, they never actually age long-running characters. Was that something for Bobby Hill that was exciting for you to think about or more stressful?
ADLON: Well, I feel very protective of the world and of Bobby, certainly, who is my favorite character - hands down - I've ever played in my career. And the only challenge for me was making sure that it was authentic.
PATTERSON: And I'll just add really quick, Pam is magical. And, like, when it came to the voice, we were like, OK, he's grown now, so what do we do? Do we want to, you know, have Pam just, you know, deepen her voice when she's doing it? Do we want to do it in post, pitch it down some? And at the end of the day, we were like, hey, Pam did something magical...
ADLON: Aw.
PATTERSON: ...And let's let Bobby sound like Bobby.
SUMMERS: And for fans who may not remember, people who are not big fans of the show, let's just play some tape of what Bobby Hill sounded like in the original series.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KING OF THE HILL")
ADLON: (As Bobby) Well, I need a window seat because this flower is welting.
JUDGE: (As Hank) Oh, Lord. All right, everyone...
ADLON: (As Bobby) Yo Sherice, you stone-cold fox, what up?
(As Bobby) That's my purse. I don't know you.
SUMMERS: And now here is what Bobby Hill sounds like all those years later, as an adult.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KING OF THE HILL 2025")
ADLON: (As Bobby) My dad loves four things in life, America, my mom, me and propane. And when I was a kid, depending on the week, propane would be above me on the list.
SUMMERS: Pamela, what were you hoping that fans would think when they heard Bobby again all these years later? How were you hoping people would react?
ADLON: My one job was to go in and just make it work for me in my head and my heart, and I feel like it's a subtle shift. And I really like that because it's not hitting it over the head, and then Bobby doesn't all of a sudden sound like a cross between Garth Brooks and Barry White.
PATTERSON: (Laughter).
ADLON: Like, you know, either it's going to be a big joke, or...
PATTERSON: Right.
ADLON: ...You're going to have a little nuance, subtle change, but your guy is still there. You know, Bobby grew up in this conservative household. And if I say that to my mom, for example - like me, Pamela, in real life - she'll be so offended if I use the word conservative. But, you know, my parents were strict growing up. It's like old-school values. And, you know, Bobby now is able to really know and appreciate his parents for what they've done and given him.
SUMMERS: So I mean, this reboot comes with so much nostalgia but also some sorrow for the "King Of The Hill family." The main cast has now lost several voice actors, including Jonathan Joss, who voiced John Redcorn. He died earlier this year. Johnny Hardwick, the voice of Dale, died back in 2023 after he did record some episodes for this new season.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KING OF THE HILL 2025")
HARDWICK: (As Dale) I was wondering when you'd get around to me.
JUDGE: (As Hank) Ugh, Dale, how long have you been in that trash can?
SUMMERS: And of course, Brittany Murphy, who voiced Hank and Peggy's niece, Luanne, died in 2009. I mean, Pamela, how do you think about their legacies with the show?
ADLON: Oh, well, I mean, Brittany, that's a heartbreaker. She was very, very close to me. And I mean, we also lost Dennis Burkley, who played the principal at Tom Landry.
PATTERSON: Right.
ADLON: Oh, my God. I loved Dennis. You know, it's not grasping at straws to keep the legacy going of the show, and it really is about honoring the characters that were built there.
PATTERSON: And I'll just speak, Juana, from the point of view of, like, I didn't have the history that Pam and the other cast members had. But when we first came back and had those first table reads, you know, what I saw was them appreciating it even more because of the cast members that they loved who were no longer with us.
SUMMERS: What do you think will most surprise fans? We don't want to give away a ton of spoilers, but what do you think will surprise and excite people about bringing "King Of The Hill" and all of these beloved characters into our modern times?
ADLON: I'm dying to do spoilers, but I...
PATTERSON: (Laughter).
ADLON: ...Won't, Juana. I'm so excited for, like...
SUMMERS: We've got to hold it in.
ADLON: ...There's a couple that I'm just, like, bursting...
PATTERSON: (Laughter).
ADLON: ...And, you know, it's going to be really freaking hard for me to hold my tongue, ugh.
PATTERSON: I mean, I do think fans of the original are going to be pleasantly surprised with how we have kept and continued the core heart of the show. And I think they're going to be pleasantly surprised with how we've then wrapped it with relevancy that applies to today in very funny and moving ways.
ADLON: Yeah. It's just very rare air, and I know that we're all really grateful. But at the end of the day, it's not just the job, it's the fact that we were able to make these new episodes, these new shows that are really good. That's it. That's the way I drop the mic, right here.
SUMMERS: We've been speaking with Pamela Adlon who voices Bobby Hill, and Saladin K. Patterson, showrunner of the latest season of "King Of The Hill." Thanks to both of you.
PATTERSON: Thank you so much.
ADLON: Thank you, Juana.
PATTERSON: It's been so great talking to you, Juana.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE REFRESHMENTS' "KING OF THE HILL THEME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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