In the Age of ‘Roseanne’, We Also Need ‘King of the Hill’

There has been a lot of digital ink spilled about how our television landscape needs Roseanne right now. Many of these pieces praise (or criticize, depending on the site) the show’s depiction of middle class families. However, with respect to all of those Roseanne lovers, there’s one show our collective television consciousness needs just as much as Roseanne: we need King of the Hill.

For years now, the complete run of Mike Judge and Greg Daniels‘ mundane Texas comedy has been missing from most streaming services (save for the select episodes that are on Adult Swim’s site). Recently Judge teased bringing back the series with an older Bobby, and as interesting and funny as that reboot would likely be, it’s the old King of the Hill and its authentically slow-burn lessons about accepting people despite their conflicting viewpoints that’s missing from our lives.

From its very first episode, the animated Fox show was revolutionary in its normalcy. There were no insane adventures of the week — a format that King of the Hill’s long-running animated peers like The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy have relied on over the years. There was just the painfully mundane Hank Hill (Judge), his sassy wife Peggy (Kathy Najimy), and their odd son Bobby (Pamela Adlon). The series’ overwhelming simplicity made its sociopolitical jokes land even harder.

One of the joys of watching animation is that it can allow for anything to happen, from the vulgar fast food protagonists of Aqua Teen Hunger Force to the unbelievable babyhood adventures of Rugrats. Animation as a form of entertainment usually implies that its stories will be larger than life. Not King of the Hill. The tension between what could be, and what was actually put on screen was palpable, and created a friction that heightened otherwise low stakes situations.

Nowhere was that better depicted than with family patriarch Hank Hill. Hank only wanted to drink beer, grill, watch sports, sell propane, and spend time with his family. Any other nonsense that distracted from those basic tasks was an immediate source of frustration for Hank, which more often than not meant his son Bobby was one of the biggest stressors in Hank’s life. Bobby stood in direct opposition to Hank’s stereotypically masculine upbringing, preferring to bake, watch TV, and try out for the cheerleading squad than pay attention to football. Most episodes revolved around Bobby doing something that went against Hank’s very limited view of the world, eventually forcing Hank to adapt. There’s a formulaic approach to much of the show’s conflict, but it’s an approach that always felt authentic to how most families and America actually handle conflict.

However, despite the fact that the show almost constantly focused on conflicting opinions and political division, there was very little grand-standing in King of the Hill, something that many family sitcoms including Roseanne have been guilty of in the past. No matter what happened episode to episode, Hank Hill always remained Hank Hill. Though he was the show’s protagonist, his worldview was rarely hailed as the “correct” one in the series, and he rarely had big, revolutionary moments when he saw that he might be wrong. Instead, most episodes ended with Hank begrudgingly accepting a choice Bobby, Peggy, or Luanne (Brittany Murphy) had made before reverting to a slightly altered version of his idea of normal.

Hank was an ever-stoic character, but that steadiness better mirrors how most political and ideological divides are really handled than most shows on TV. With every reluctant agreement with his family, Hank slowly becomes a more accepting man and father over the course of the show’s 13 seasons. That’s how many real people respond to shifting political climates and familial fights — not through dramatic life lessons, but through small moments of acceptance that eventually lead to larger changes.

It’s a nice parallel to Roseanne, which is at its best when it does the same — not landing on easy answers, but instead presenting the characters with options they sometimes take (and sometimes don’t). Arguably, Hank Hill made more progress than Roseanne (the character, not the person) ever did, and that was all due to his complicated relationship with his son. It’s interesting to see this growth slowly happen in between a show’s funny moments rather than watching a show that focuses on life lessons first and humor second. Both approaches are valid, but King of the Hill’s execution of the former resulted in a surprisingly subtle watch about family, love, and the mundane sacrifices and compromises families make on a daily basis.

King of the Hill never pointed fingers when it came to its shifting lessons of acceptance, but those lessons were always there for the show’s ever-divided yet loving family. That’s certainly a lesson we can benefit from now.

Where to stream King of the Hill