---
title: "King of the Hill"
year: 1997
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997"
fi1m_id: "king-of-the-hill-1997"
imdb_id: "tt0118375"
tmdb_id: 2122
wikidata_id: "Q1135966"
fi1m_score: 82
critics_score: 80
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-09-16"
updated: "2026-09-20T21:25:52.706395+00:00"
region: "HK"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# King of the Hill (1997)

Created by Greg Daniels, Mike Judge · 22m · Animation, Comedy, Family

## Identity

King of the Hill

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** king-of-the-hill-1997
- **IMDb ID:** tt0118375
- **TMDB ID:** 2122
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1135966
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118375/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/2122, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1135966

**Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 80 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* A decent man sells propane, drinks beer in an alley and waits, patiently, for the rest of America to calm down

> Greg Daniels and Mike Judge’s animated sitcom about a propane salesman in a small Texas town is the kindest and most patient of its kind, funny because nothing in it is exaggerated. It runs long, and a few of its stories wear thin, but we recommend it warmly.

## Synopsis

Arlen, Texas. Hank Hill (Mike Judge) sells propane, mows his lawn in straight lines and drinks beer in the alley behind his house with three neighbours: Dale Gribble (Johnny Hardwick), an exterminator who believes the government is listening; Bill Dauterive (Stephen Root), a divorced army barber; and Boomhauer (Mike Judge), who talks fast and says almost nothing anyone can follow. Indoors, Hank’s wife Peggy (Kathy Najimy) teaches substitute Spanish with more confidence than Spanish, and their son Bobby (Pamela Adlon) would rather tell jokes than throw a ball. When Bobby comes home from Little League with a black eye, a case manager (Gailard Sartain) decides Hank did it, and Hank has to prove, without raising his voice, that he is a decent man. Then niece Luanne (Brittany Murphy) moves into the den.

## Review

[*King of the Hill*](https://film.one/film/king-of-the-hill) began on 12 January 1997, ran for thirteen seasons, and came back on 4 August 2025 for a fourteenth, with a fifteenth following in 2026. Across all of that its premise has not moved an inch. Hank Hill sells propane in Arlen, Texas, loves his wife, worries about his son, and stands in the alley behind his house most evenings with a can of beer and three friends, saying “yep” at intervals. Greg Daniels and Mike Judge built a comedy around a man who wants nothing more than for things to work properly. It is the kindest and most patient of the American animated sitcoms of its era, and we recommend it with one caveat, which is that at over 250 episodes it knows some of its own tricks too well.

What the show is attempting is unusual for animation. There are no talking pets, no cutaway gags, no trips to space. People are drawn at roughly human proportions and coloured in the flat browns and greens of a real suburb, and the joke, most weeks, is that they are exactly as ordinary as they look. Judge and Daniels trust a pause the way other cartoons trust an explosion. A long shot of four men staring at a lawnmower is allowed to be the punchline.

The directing credits run to dozens of names, among them Wes Archer, Klay Hall and Dominic Polcino, and the house style holds across all of them: fixed angles, few close-ups, a pace that lets Hank finish his thought before the cut. The writing room is similarly deep. Jim Dauterive, whose surname the show borrowed for its saddest character, Paul Lieberstein, Jon Vitti and later Wyatt Cenac and Emily Spivey all wrote for it, and the scripts share a discipline: a small domestic problem, a wrong first response from Hank, and a resolution that costs him a little pride. Nobody learns much. That is the point.

Judge voices Hank and Boomhauer himself, and Hank’s clipped, exasperated “Bobby” is the sound the whole programme is built on. Kathy Najimy gives Peggy a self-regard so complete it becomes a kind of innocence. Pamela Adlon’s Bobby is cheerful, soft and entirely unbothered by his father’s disappointment, which is the show’s best running joke and its warmest. Johnny Hardwick plays Dale Gribble as paranoia with a cigarette, and Brittany Murphy makes Luanne sweeter than the writing strictly requires.

Then there is Bill. Stephen Root plays him as a man whose loneliness is the gag, week after week, and one evening we realised we had stopped laughing. He was sitting in his empty house waiting for someone to ring, the frame held on him a beat longer than a sitcom usually allows, and we felt wretched for a drawing of a barber. The show does that. It keeps a joke going until you notice the person underneath it, and it never announces the moment when the switch happens.

The flaws are the flaws of length. Peggy’s vanity, funny in season two, is pushed by season eight to the point where she is a set of traits rather than a woman. Stories repeat: Hank is embarrassed by Bobby, Hank is embarrassed by his own body, Hank is embarrassed by a new neighbour, and after 200 episodes you can call the ending from the title card. The show is weakest whenever it leaves Arlen; a trip anywhere with a coastline is usually a wasted week. The revival is gentler and quieter than the original, and Toby Huss is now credited alongside Hardwick as Dale, which takes a little getting used to.

Set against [*The Simpsons*](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons), which it followed on to American screens, and *South Park*, which it followed by a matter of months, it is the one that has dated least, because it never chased a headline. It also has less range than either. It cannot do a musical number or a ten-minute set piece and does not try.

Watch it two episodes at a time, not ten. It rewards the same patience Hank brings to a barbecue, and it punishes bingeing, because the rhythm that makes it work is the rhythm of an ordinary week, and nobody has ten of those in a row.

*Fi1m score 82, published 16 September 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is King of the Hill worth watching?**

*King of the Hill* is worth watching for anyone who prefers comedy that keeps its voice down, and we scored it 82. Greg Daniels and Mike Judge built a sitcom around a decent propane salesman in Texas, and the jokes come from pauses rather than gags. It runs to more than 250 episodes and repeats itself; watch two at a time, not ten.

**How long is King of the Hill, and what is it rated?**

*King of the Hill* has episodes of about 22m. It is an animation and comedy series.

**Where can I watch King of the Hill in Hong Kong?**

*King of the Hill* is streaming on Disney+ in Hong Kong. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is King of the Hill, and is it suitable for children?**

*King of the Hill* is rated 12 in the UK and TV-14 in the US, and it is neither violent nor frightening. The humour is domestic and dry, with beer in the alley, a paranoid neighbour and a wife who teaches Spanish badly; the 12 reflects grown-up subject matter rather than anything alarming. Younger children may simply find it slow.

**How does King of the Hill compare to Detectorists?**

*King of the Hill* and [*Detectorists*](https://film.one/tv/detectorists) share a pace and a temperament: ordinary men, gentle jokes, and silences allowed to land. *Detectorists* is the tighter and more exactly written of the two, but it is small and brief; *King of the Hill* has far more range of character, and far more episodes, some of which wear thin. Choose Crook's fields for a weekend and Hank's alley for a long winter.

**What should I watch after King of the Hill?**

After *King of the Hill*, try [*Detectorists*](https://film.one/tv/detectorists) (2014, Fi1m 87): Two men in a field, a gentle pace, and jokes that never raise their voice. Then [*The Royle Family*](https://film.one/tv/the-royle-family) (1998, Fi1m 85): A family on a sofa doing nothing, filmed as if it mattered, because it does; and [*Office Space*](https://film.one/film/office-space) (1999, Fi1m 80): Judge’s live-action film on the same theme: decent men, stupid systems, quiet fury.

### Reviews we read (8)

- **The AV Club**, Nathan Rabin (90/100, inferred): The review praises the series for trading broad satire for subtle sociological insight and surprising warmth, creating empathy for its characters through relationships, setting, and values rather than standalone gags. It highlights the meticulous craft evident in the first season and its rich depiction of family life in Texas. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/king-of-the-hill-the-complete-first-season-dvd-1798198721)
- **The Guardian** (85/100, inferred): The critic argues King of the Hill is a better and more prophetic show than its 1990s peers like South Park. They single out its nuanced portrayal of a frustrated everyman left behind by social change as particularly prescient. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/apr/19/justice-for-king-of-the-hill-a-better-more-prophetic-show-than-its-90s-peers)
- **Empire**, Dorian Lynskey (80/100, inferred): The series is the truest and kindest of the post-Simpsons animated sitcoms, with a natural feel for small-town rhythms. Hank Hill is portrayed as the sympathetic face of Red State America. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/king-hill-seasons-1-2-review/)
- **The Independent**, Ben Thompson (80/100, inferred): The piece praises the show's subtle exploration of family values and mid-American angst as a refreshing contrast to Beavis and Butt-head. It highlights the precisely observed characters and beautifully written scripts. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/drawn-from-real-life-1252998.html)
- **The Telegraph** (75/100, inferred): The review finds the revived series timely and engaging despite the long gap. It singles out Hank Hill's unchanging conservative outlook as a fascinating lens on modern America. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/king-of-the-hill-season-14-disney-review/)
- **The Times**, Laura Lee Davies (75/100, inferred): The DVD release offers classic sitcom tales of suburban Texas life with the hapless propane salesman Hank Hill, as tragic as they are funny. It is cathartic viewing and a treat, with plenty of extras. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/king-of-the-hill-season-1-and-2-px73g9pw7qk)
- **Variety**, Phil Gallo (70/100, inferred): The debut is plenty funny as Mike Judge zeroes in on small-town America with well-conceived shots at pickups, trailers, dysfunctional families and supermarket busybodies. Judge’s compelling humor deserves a slot in primetime, though Fox faces a challenge luring audiences from Beavis and Butt-head or The Simpsons. [Read](https://variety.com/1997/film/awards/king-of-the-hill-3-1200448430/)
- **Den of Geek**, Wesley Mead (90/100, inferred): The piece celebrates the series as a complex, funny, and humane program with strong character development, observational comedy, and emotional realism that sets it apart from flashier animated sitcoms. It notes its consistency over 13 seasons and unique Texan specificity as key strengths. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/celebrating-king-of-the-hills-understated-joys/)

## Details

- **Created by:** Greg Daniels, Mike Judge
- **Creator:** Greg Daniels, Mike Judge
- **Director:** Tricia Garcia, Adam Kuhlman, Cyndi Tang, Kyounghee Lim, Dominic Polcino, Gary McCarver, Anthony Lioi, Allan Jacobsen, Jeff Myers, Robin Brigstocke, Shaun Cashman, Ken Wong, Klay Hall, Ron Rubio, Wes Archer, Tony Kluck, Matt Engstrom, Michael Loya, Anthony Chun, Martin Archer, Monte Young, Boo Hwan Lim, Michael Dante DiMartino, John Rice, Mollie Helms, Michael Baylis, Steve Robertson, Kelly Turnbull, Yvette Kaplan, Brian Sheesley, Lauren MacMullan, Julius Wu, Pat Shinagawa, Annie Li, Martin Archer Jr., Samantha Arnett, Chuck Sheetz
- **Writer:** Jim Dauterive, Kit Boss, Paul Lieberstein, Norm Hiscock, Dan McGrath, Jonathan Collier, Etan Cohen, Garland Testa, Christy Stratton, Tony Gama-Lobo, Johnny Hardwick, Peter Huyck, Rebecca May, J.B. Cook, Dan Sterling, Alan Freedland, Alan R. Cohen, Sivert Glarum, Joe Stillman, Brad Walsh, Murray Miller, Paul Corrigan, Jon Vitti, Judah Miller, Gregory Thompson, Mike Judge, Sanjay Shah, Aron Abrams, Jonathan Aibel, David Zuckerman, Greg Daniels, Glenn Berger, Chip Hall, Dave Schiff, Michael Jamin, Blake McCormick, Tim Croston, Erin Ehrlich, Dean Young, Brent Forrester, Jerry Collins, Alex Gregory, Wyatt Cenac, Cheryl Holliday, Anthony Del Broccolo, Greg Cohen, Jeremy Hsu, Sam Fishell, Michael Jarmin, Erica Rosbe, Gina Fattore, Dave Krinsky, Saladin K. Patterson, Emily Spivey, Jennifer Barrow, John Altschuler
- **Cast:** Mike Judge as Hank Hill / Boomhauer (voice); Kathy Najimy as Peggy Hill (voice); Pamela Adlon as Bobby Hill (voice); Johnny Hardwick as Dale Gribble (voice); Stephen Root as Bill Dauterive (voice); Brittany Murphy as Luanne Platter (voice); Toby Huss as Dale Gribble (voice); Lauren Tom as Connie Souphanousinphone (voice)
- **Runtime:** 22m
- **Release (Hong Kong):** 12 January 1997
- **Genres:** Animation, Comedy, Family

## Where to watch in Hong Kong

- Disney+: streaming, hd

*Checked 2026-09-16.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Teen Choice Award for Choice Animated Show 2006: Teen Choice Award for Choice Animated Show (nominated)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 2002: Outstanding Voice-Over Performance (won)
- Primetime Emmy Awards 1999: Outstanding Animated Program (won)
- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Cartoon 1998: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Cartoon (nominated)
- TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy 1997: TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Detectorists* (2014), Fi1m 87: Two men in a field, a gentle pace, and jokes that never raise their voice — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/detectorists.md)
- *The Royle Family* (1998), Fi1m 85: A family on a sofa doing nothing, filmed as if it mattered, because it does — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/the-royle-family.md)
- *Office Space* (1999), Fi1m 80: Judge’s live-action film on the same theme: decent men, stupid systems, quiet fury — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/office-space.md)
- *Bob's Burgers* (2011): Another animated family that likes each other; louder, sillier, equally kind
- *Daria* (1997): The same year, the same flat suburbs, seen through a teenager’s contempt

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997