The king is once more chugging over the hill as the animated sitcom “King of the Hill” is resurrected for its 14th season on Hulu next month. The popular series, which ran on Fox and in syndication and on various sites, is about a well-meaning and earnest blue-collar family in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas.

Mike Judge, famous for his “Beavis and Butt-Head” characters, created the series and plays the patriarch of the family, Hank Hill.

Judge says he got the idea for the series by watching his neighbors. “I think as far back as in college a good friend of mine and I used to sort of do a bit of two bubbas sitting around drinking beer and talking about what’s in the news or whatever,” he recalls.

“I had a paper route that was sort of in a blue-collar neighborhood with lots of Texas transplants, so early on I had these kinds of characters around me. But I think when I lived north of Dallas, I had really a pretty good neighborhood; everyone took care of each other, helped out with each other’s lawns.

“Later on when I was back from New York, after ‘Beavis and Butt-Head,’ I had done a panel cartoon. I just had this image of four guys with beers standing out in front of the fence, kind of like I used to see when I’d look out my kitchen window.

“And I just drew them all saying, ‘Yep, yep, yep.’ And that’s still basically the drawing you see at the beginning of the show, is those four guys and their beers. That was really the seed of the idea, I guess.

Unlike other cartoons, which often blast their way into the flat screen, “King of the Hill” is about ordinary people doing everyday things. “When I was first writing the pilot, I was just really thinking about the neighborhood I lived in in Dallas and what I did day-to-day; I would go to Home Depot all the time and work on my fence.

“So it’s really just kind of trying to just look to real life for inspiration as much as possible instead of other TV and movie characters.”

At first, Judge says he and co-writer Greg Daniels weren’t sure how to depict the quirky family.

“We debated in the beginning about having them age possibly, and then quickly decided not to. But I think some of the characters have evolved a little; especially, I think, Peggy became more interesting around the second season.

“At one point there was a note from an executive, who’s not there anymore, that we need more life-changing episodes. And they were trying to apply that theory that works on some shows about just constantly shocking the audience and having crazy things happen. I think you do that too much, and then you don’t have anything left. I think part of the strength of the show is that we haven’t changed that much,” he says.

“I like shows like the old ‘Bob Newhart Show,’ where you can pretty much see something the first season or the last season in one of those episodes and really everybody stayed pretty consistent. I think that’s one of our strengths.”

But plunging into its 14th season after an extended hiatus calls for change. This time Hank and his wife, Peggy, are back in Arlen from years in Saudi Arabia where they secured their retirement nest egg. And their nonathletic son, Bobby, is now trying to negotiate life in Dallas as a chef.

Of course, the guys with their brews at that Tom Sawyer fence are back: Dale, Boomhauer and Bill. Most of the original cast returns headed by Judge, Kathy Najimy as Peggy and Pamela Adlon as Bobby.

Stand-up comic Ronny Chieng guests as Laotian neighbor Kahn Souphanousinphone, an arrogant and materialistic IT guy who thinks he’s better than his working-class neighbors.

When Fox anointed the first season, Judge says he was working “like crazy on the ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ movie.

“With the ‘King of the Hill’ animation you work way ahead of the schedule, so I’d done most of (the episodes). We had a half season so we had, I think it was 12 episodes or 11, maybe it was 13, I don’t know — but our first season was a half season and those were all recorded pretty much in the can, and I was working on the ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ movie and I thought, ‘Who knows what ‘King of the Hill’ will do; who knows what people will make of this?’”

What people made of it is part of TV history. And while Hank and Peggy have aged, Judge’s technique for making them funny hasn’t.

“It’s usually putting Hank up against something really annoying and ridiculous in the modern world and just making it as annoying and ridiculous as possible,” says Judge. “Like the mold episode, where the mold inspector comes to his house and he’s got to live in a hotel.

“Also, we’ve lined up all the characters and just had them really humiliated and embarrassed, putting them in humiliating situations, like when Hank was constipated, or when Peggy tried to join the beauty pageant. I think those are two formulas, if you can call them formulas. I try to not let the show get too political. To me, it’s more social than political I guess you’d say, because that’s funnier.”

Eddie Murphy is behind the wheel

Eddie Murphy portrays an armored car driver along with Pete Davidson in the Prime Video comic original, “The Pickup,” premiering Aug. 6. Keke Palmer plays a wicked, wicked mastermind who orchestrates the theft of the payload and the chaos that follows.

Murphy, who’s been ducking the spotlight lately, tells me, “There has been a point where I wanted to quit. I've been there, but that was when I was young. I’m now realistic about it. If you can make a living in show business — no matter how much of a living it is — if you can provide for your family. There are people who have real jobs and have to go and bust their ass. Show business isn't what that is.

How can you brood in this business because you didn't get good table, somebody said you sucked? It takes the wind out of your sails. Somebody always has something to say. I used to work in a shoe store. I used to work at McDonald's. I can't complain about anything in show business.”

Sharks attack the Discovery Channel

The Discovery Channel is revving up its seagoing courage as it presents a whole week of shark-infested tales. On Tuesday it seems that the Great Whites are enjoying a cooler climate as they’re gathering on the shores of Nova Scotia in Canada. On “The Great White Northern Invasion” a team of scientists tag the biggest of them to determine where the sharks are likely to cluster. At 9 p.m. ET the channel teaches you “How to Survive a Great White Attack,” at 10 it’s the hybrid shark “Black Mako of the Abyss.”

Wednesday Discovery is airing two Josh Gates shark-related gigs (if you can stand his gab) followed by an intrepid scientist studying shark venom.

On Thursday biologist Tom “Blowfish” Hird and predator ecologist Michelle Jewell dive with the great whites to see if they can really eviscerate a boat or if skinny dipping attracts the behemoths.“Surviving Jaws” at 8 p.m. is followed by “Caught: Sharks Bite Back,” relating episodes with sharks that proved too close for comfort. Friday leads off with “The Great White Reign of Terror,” researching why there are sudden attacks on South Africa’s eastern coast.

And at 9 p.m. on Friday you’ll find out why people are avoiding New Smyrna Beach in Florida which has been crowned “The Shark Attack Capital of the World.” This beach alone accounts for 30% of the shark attacks in the world. You may see why kids would rather swim in the local pool than take their chances on this deadly fish. Shark related episodes continue through Saturday with everything you ever wanted to know about the deadly giants but were too afraid to ask.

Victor Garber lays down the law

Things aren’t going well for little Abigail on the CW’s series, “Family Law” when it returns for Season 4 on the CW Wednesday. Abby (played by Jewel Staite) is passed over as a partner in the law firm, Svensson & Associates, by her estranged and much-married father, played by Victor Garber.

Garber, who’s known for his work in “Alias,” “Titanic,” “Sleepless in Seattle” and “The First Wive’s Club,” explains why he became an actor. “Acting’s the only thing I can do. I really can’t do anything else,” he shrugs.

“I’ve always loved to entertain and make people laugh and tell stories, that’s what an actor does. From childhood there was never any question that was what I was going to do ever,” he says.

“When I was very young, I was introduced to children’s theater group in London, Ontario, where I'm from. And it was in the local amateur theater. I went there on Saturday mornings and the minute I walked up those stairs, I knew that’s where I belonged, and that’s what I always wanted to do.

“My mom would play Broadway musicals on the stereo, and I was fascinated by anything to do with the theater. And she would go to New York and bring home (theater) programs. And that was my dream to become a Broadway person. My parents were pretty lenient and positive — my mom more than my dad. My dad was nervous about it, but there was no stopping me.”

———

©2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC