I've always wondered what was the reason for King of the Hill not to be renewed for more seasons?
shareIt was the type of show always on the bubble with being renewed. It escaped cancellation several times in it's run.
I think Fox wanted to change up it's animated Sunday lineup, and Mike Judge wanted to move on to develop The Goode Family.
The show ran for 14 seasons--what do you expect?
shareThis. Why do people always act as if King of the Hill had an unjustly short run? It remains one of the longest running comedies to this day.
Remember kids, dressing up like Hitler in school isn't cool!share
I think there is a feeling (at least for me) that "King of the Hill" was one of those rare gems in the animated genre that had relatively believable characters (with some liberties taken with our more eccentric characters), and actual story-lines.
It didn't rely on shock-value and absurdist humor to keep its audience engaged, but rather had a way of looking at suburban Texan life in a satirical, but also very loving manner.
It was a show with a heart.
Also, while Hank Hill was obviously the most normal and level-headed amongst his friends, he was not without his faults. He was both an admirable and flawed protagonist.
The last animated show that I think approximated this was probably "Daria", which could be said to share many of the same elements I've described above, but in a vastly different context.
When I saw the last episode I thought: "Is that is? Surely there must be more!"
Unlike "Daria", things didn't wind up. Things didn't end. The show just stopped, as if you put a bookmark in a novel and never picked it up again.
It was like suddenly stopping before ending a VERY GOOD novel.
That's why people feel the show should have continued, at least for a few more seasons.
It needed a sense of closure and completion...even if our zany cast of characters all ended more-or-less where they started.
That's a great commentary and I share your opinion of this fine show.
My only grievance against it is that the creators never approached the Bobby character from the same perspective they did almost every other thing on the show. While the rest of the show mostly kept its grounded footing, Bobby, from about the halfway mark of the show, became a Peter Pan-like character, never growing, never evolving... I thought it was a real shame too; I would have loved to see Hank have to deal with his son in high school for instance.
With a show like Family guy I don't mind that the children never grow up because the whole thing is so ridiculous. But on KotH this aspect was irritable, I thought.
You do bring up some good points regarding Bobby, but since the show was really focused on Hank, the true development was through their relationship.
Hank (as the flawed protagonist) was quite judgmental of his "oddball son", often saying "that boy ain't right". At the same time (as a good father) he would eventually find ways to him guide him through his moral dilemmas and difficulties, when it became apparent that brute force was not the way to go...however, this became an easier thing for him to do as the series progressed.
You can see over the seasons how he loosens his grip (while not going into all out "Peggy territory")...and actually realizes that he's raised a good son.
Yes, Bobby did learn some valuable lessons in his own right, and those could be interpreted at some level as "character development" (especially when contrasted with his relationship with his increasingly hormonal friend, Joseph)...but ultimately I think it was the father-son dynamic that evolved.
Oh, and I also would have loved to see Hank deal with a high-school aged Bobby...but even if he didn't, one who was in the midst of puberty like Joseph would have been just as interesting.
I would also liked to have see lasting character development in Bill, who I've always had tremendous sympathy for. When he was cutting hair with Luanne I felt that he was truly in a good place in his life. If the show had continued, and Luanne's baby was old enough that she could resume work (at least part-time), then I feel that they could have worked together again at the barber shop, marking a real turning point in Bill's life.
This could be the very thing to give him the sense of belonging and purpose that he initially sought out in the army...Only this time it would be in a caring and creative context with someone who was "practically family".
Anyhow, I know none of this will ever happen, but I can pretend.
(Or gosh-forbid...get into writing fan-fiction of dubious quality)
Anyhow, thanks for sharing your thoughts in your reply.
You have a good one! :)
but ultimately I think it was the father-son dynamic that evolved.That's a real interesting perspective.
Bobby never "became" a Peter Pan character. He was always a character wavering between childhood and adulthood--just as Hank was always a character no longer young but not quite middle aged. To that point Bobby had clearly failed to live up to Hank's dreams for him, and is rapidly approaching the age when Hank can no longer influence him. That's Bobby's function in the show. His triumph in "To Sirloin with Love"--and the fact that he did it as a member of a team!--represents an important watershed to Hank, and is as appropriate point as any to end the series.
Luanne is the character who changes the most over the course of 13 seasons, yet she really doesn't. She's still basically the same age with the same level of insight. The writers have just given her a wide variety of story lines befitting someone at her stage of life.
The last animated show that I think approximated this was probably "Daria", which could be said to share many of the same elements I've described above, but in a vastly different context.
I would like it if they eventually bring the show back.
"Screw you guys, I'm going home"-Eric Cartman
how? Luanne and Carl Moss are dead
I can live with Carl being dead, but Luanne will be the hard part
"Dont take a picture of the fire, PUT IT OUT"
I also don't like the idea of a revival without Cotton.
Are people really so entitled that they want a show that lasted for thirteen seasons to come back?
Remember kids, dressing up like Hitler in school isn't cool!share
Look at the Simpsons, that show is still going and look how crappy it has got. Have a KOTH movie and I am happy.
Because a rotting undead corpse is probably a better choice than most politicians
King of the Hill already had its ending and everybody had their closure. It's unnecessary, especially without Brittany Murphy.
Look at the Simpsons, that show is still going and look how crappy it has got.
Remember kids, dressing up like Hitler in school isn't cool!share
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Because thirteen years is enough. Jesus. We are not owed more seasons of a cancelled show that ran for over a decade.
Remember kids, dressing up like Hitler in school isn't cool!share
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I'm a bleeding heart liberal, dearie. Entitlement transcends party lines.
Remember kids, dressing up like Hitler in school isn't cool!share
Mediocre ratings for the last four-five seasons probably had something to do with it.
I'm afraid that you underestimate the number of subjects in which I take an interest!
if it ever did come back it needs to be re-freshed, everyone's ages on point and maybe answer some questions we never got answers to in the other 14 seasons...I would like to see bobby, connie & joseph in high-school, maybe it would start from there?
shareThey said if it ever came back, Luanne would be excluded, owing to the death of Brittany Murphy.
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Agreed. For the entire series I was hoping and waiting for Beavis and Butt-head to have a cameo appearance for at least just one episode, even if only briefly.
But yeah I don't understand why anyone would want any more seasons or even a movie out of this show, I'm glad it ended when it did, it had a real good run and ended before it got too dull. Too much of anything is never good. Also Brittany Murphy died, sadly, before the last episodes even aired.
It dipped down into quality year by year with the occasional stellar episode the last few years. To Sirloin With Love was the perfect series finale. I would always love to see more KOTH because of how awesome it is and the most "real" cartoon I've ever watched. I would love to see a future series down the road of Bobby as Hank's age if they'd do it right. For now, I'll just stick to watching all the episodes on Adult Swim over and over again.
shareYeah . . . this was one of those shows that was VERY popular - but with a fairly "cult-sized" audience. And the network didn't help much - poor promotion, moving it around, etc. And these animated shows take a LOT of work - I read once that an episode of The Simpsons take 22 months (almost 2 YEARS) from conception to air date. So the networks are always cautious with these shows. Anyway, in my opinion - 13 seasons is really enough for most shows. It was fun while it lasted . . .
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