Uphill comeback: “King of the Hill” returns

Hank with his family and friends steps inside Bobby’s new restaurant to enjoy some good ol’ fashioned barbecue by his son. But when he steps inside the kitchen to appreciate Bobby’s chosen propane grill, he is horrified to see that it’s actually a charcoal grill!

Other big changes from character appearances to relationships such as this are found with the king’s return in the new season 14/reboot of “King of the Hill,” released on Hulu on Aug. 4.

After eight years working for a propane company in Saudi Arabia and living in its idyllic American-style community, Hank and Peggy return to Texas to see that the Arlen they knew is completely different from when they left.

As they struggle and find themselves confused with the new changes around town, such as rideshare apps, gender restrooms, fruity beer, and navigating around the road with “no-left-turn-rules and whatever twig boy had these floppy flex posts installed,” they soon find out that the town isn’t the only thing that’s changed.

Bobby owns a Japanese-German fusion robata joint in Dallas and shares an apartment with Joseph. Boomhauer is married and has a stepson, Bill committed identity theft, Connie has an open relationship with Chane, and Dale was mayor of Arlen?! 

For the most part, I really enjoyed the addition of these changes and what they brought to the table. 

It was really interesting and just as comedic to see how Hank and Peggy try to adapt to our modern world’s new standards, just as it is interesting to see how both changed during their time in Saudi Arabia, such as Hank now enjoying soccer.

Additionally, the time skip also opened up the opportunity for new character interactions to take place in new modern scenarios and with new people. My favorite being Hank having to take care of his step-brother, Good Hank, now an adult and a fan of the show’s parody of the Andrew Tate-like character. 

My favorite aspect of the new season was that underneath the new character designs and relationships, all of our favorite characters still act like how we would expect them to. We can see how the characters’ experiences in the previous seasons affected their future personalities and actions.

While I believe that the new season is just as great as any other, there is one major issue I have, and despite what many people say, I actually think the change in animation is not as bad as people make it out to be.

My real problem comes from how side characters like Strickland, Redcorn, and Kahn barely appear aside from one episode at best. It’s most apparent when with the season’s Kahn-focused episode, which had a major reveal, but the lack of buildup to the reveal makes it not as impactful as it should’ve been. 

Overall, despite its minor bumps, the new season is a fantastic continuation of the series that I can see both appealing to older fans and newcomers alike. And if the series continues on par with the quality show here, I think the series is going to be all right.