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This article is about the King of the Hill TV series. For other uses of "King of the Hill", see King of the Hill (disambiguation).

King of the Hill is a long-running, satirical U.S. television comedy animated series. It depicts a "typical" Texan family, the Hills. A conservative, God-fearing Methodist family proud of its Texas heritage, the Hills reside in the fictional town of Arlen. Unlike most other animated series, it attempts to retain realism; it is something of a dramedy. It is broadcast weekly on the FOX Network. The show's popularity has also led to frequent re-runs (syndicated) by many local affiliates and FX Networks.

King of the Hill documents the Hill family's daily life, taking on, in the process, some of the most controversial topics in modern America. Themes of past episodes have included women's liberation, female pastors, sex education, sexual harassment, proctologic examinations, ethnic diversity, social workers, traffic school, and addiction support groups. The show focuses on the simple lives of the Hill family, often in contrast to "outsiders" such as the Souphanousinphones.

The series is the brainchild of Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge. After a successful run of Beavis and Butt-head on MTV, he went on to co-create King of the Hill with former Simpsons writer Greg Daniels. Judge is a former resident of Garland, Texas, which is possibly the inspiration for the fictional town name Arlen. The town on which Arlen is based is not known; however, a letter was once shown on the show with the ZIP Code for Beeville, Texas.

The town must be somewhere near Dallas, because in one episode the Hill family drove to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW), only to discover all flights were cancelled, then drove to Love Field (DAL), the other major airport in Dallas, to try their luck there. In one recent episode, Bill joined a men's singing group that slowly began to consume his entire life, which seems to be based on the Vocal Majority, a championship men's chorus from Dallas. The same episode finally revealed that Arlen is 96 miles away from Dallas.

Arlen must also exist quite some distance from Houston, since Boomhauer inadvertently went there when he fell asleep floating on an inner tube and floated down a river into Houston's sewer system. Another episode said it Arlen is a two-hour drive from Houston, which, considering the maximum speed limit on rural Texas highways at the time of the episode, places Arlen a maximum distance of 140 miles from Houston.

The title theme was written and performed by The Refreshments.

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Major Characters (Voice Actors)

(Characters listed in alphabetical order)

• Boomhauer, (Mike Judge), womanizing friend of Hank who mutters incomprehensibly. Example: "Dang-ol'-dang-ol'-one-two-three, man, dang-ol', mumble mumble." Boomhauer apparently supports his bachelor lifestyle through disability insurance payments.
• Bill Dauterive, (Stephen Root), overweight, clinically depressed neighbor of the Hills, a barber and sergeant in the United States Army whose wife left him.
• Dale Gribble, (Johnny Hardwick), chain smoking neighbor to the Hills, insect exterminator, conspiracy theorist, borderline maniac. He is also president of his gun club and a licensed bounty hunter, though the latter seems to be for prestige, as his bravado fails during confrontations when he thinks he may be in physical danger.
• Joseph Gribble, (Brittany Murphy/Breckin Meyer), muscular 13-year-old son of Dale (although John Redcorn is the biological father, unbeknownst to Dale). The running joke is that despite Joseph's obvious Native American features, Dale is unaware he is a cuckold.
• Nancy Gribble, (Ashley Gardner), wife of Dale, weather girl on local television station, has a lengthy affair with John Redcorn.
• Bobby Hill, (Pamela Segall (Also as Pamela Segall Adlon)), The chubby 13-year-old son of Hank and Peggy, who wants to be a famous prop comic when he is older.
• Cotton Hill, (Toby Huss), Hank's coarse and politically incorrect father, "had his shins blown off and his feet reattached in WWII," resulting in his short height and stumpy gait. Has recently remarried his nurse, Didi, and fathered an infant child, "Good" Hank (or G.H.).
• Didi Hill, Cotton's wife. She is his nurse. She went to kindergarten with Hank.
• Hank Hill, (Mike Judge), assistant manager at Strickland Propane, sells "propane and propane accessories." He sounds (and looks) almost exactly like Anderson from Beavis and Butthead, a character also voiced by Judge.
• Lady Bird (Hill), the Hills' old hound dog. She is 14 years old. Her acquisition helped Peggy and Hank conceive Bobby. Named after famous Texan U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's wife Lady Bird Johnson. Her mother was involved in the manhunt for James Earl Ray.
• Peggy Hill, (Kathy Najimy), wife of Hank, bad substitute teacher, bad Spanish teacher, freelance newspaper columnist, Notary Public, and Boggle champion. She often thinks she knows what she is doing and believes herself to be smarter than she really is.
• Luanne Platter, (Brittany Murphy), college-age niece of Peggy, creator of Manger Babies, student of the beauty academy and later, junior college..
• John Redcorn, (Jonathan Joss), Nancy's Native American 'healer' and adulterous lover, biological father of Joseph Gribble, and former lead singer of Big Mountain Fudgecake; drives a Jeep Wrangler.
• Kahn Souphanousinphone, (Toby Huss), the Hill's rich, Laotian American, materialistic next-door neighbor. Harbors a prejudice against whites, American Southerners in particular.
• Minh Souphanousinphone, (Lauren Tom), Kahn's wife.
• Kahn "Connie" Souphanousinphone, Jr., (Lauren Tom), daughter of Kahn and Minh, violin player, A-student, dated Bobby for the majority of the show's run.
• Buck Strickland, (Stephen Root), owner of Strickland Propane, Hank's boss, compulsive gambler, alcoholic, adulterer, womanizer.

Minor Characters (Voice Actors)

• Lenore Dauterive, Bill's ex-wife (also, in one episode, the name of his iguana). Mentioned frequently throughout the course of the show, but only appeared once (at which point she was voiced by Ellen Barkin).
• Buckley, (David Herman), boyfriend of Luanne, vaporized in a propane explosion while working at Mega Lo Mart. Had no real feelings for Luanne--or anyone or anything. The majority of his dialogue on the show were the words "What" and "Hey." With tiny angel wings, Buckley came back and visited Luanne after his death.
• Eustace, (David Herman), a wimpy, moustached patent lawyer, father of Bobby's classmate, Randy.
• Debbie Grund, former employee of Strickland Propane who was Buck Strickland's mistress. She accidentally kills herself while waiting to murder Buck and his wife Miz Liz Strickland. She didn't speak much in the series. When she did, she was voiced by Brittney Murphy. In the episode leading to her death, she was voiced by Reese Witherspoon.
• Chuck Mangione, playing himself, musician who shamelessly promotes Mega Lo Mart until he grows tired of going to every Mega Lo Mart opening and becomes a hermit. The store's slogan incorporates the title of his well-known hit song "Feels So Good."
• Leanne Platter, Luanne's mother. Imprisoned for stabbing her husband with a fork. Frequently mentioned over the course of the show but seen only once. In that episode she is released from prison and has an affair with Bill.
• Lane Pratley, The sexist owner of Arlen's Hyundai & Cadillac car dealership. Favors prostitutes.
• Chane Wasonasong, a smart but obnoxious classmate of Bobby and Connie's. Connie's parents are constantly trying to fix her up with Chane as they see him as a positive alternative to dating Bobby. Chane often refers to Bobby as "Booby" Hill. In one episode, Bobby finally stands up to Chane's abuse by kicking him in the testicles.
• Jimmy Wichard, A violent mentally retarded man. According to Dale: "People say he fried his brain one day staring at the sun. Of course he couldn't have been too smart to begin with...kind of a chicken/egg thing I guess." He has had several jobs including concession manager at the racetrack.
• Lucky. A dimwitted local man on disability (he slipped in urine in a Costco bathroom), and proud of it. Once worked on an assembly line making snack foods, which led to him scheming to show Bobby how good a chip tastes right off the line by breaking into his old workplace. Dated Luanne, to Hank's consternation. Voice of Tom Petty.
• M. F. Thatherton, (Burt Reynolds), former employee of Strickland Propane who struck out on his own and opened up the crooked Thatherton Fuels company across the street from Strickland. He is a foil to Hank Hill. Thatherton once bragged that he sold propane to nursing homes by telling them it was oxygen. A small joke involves the alluded to, but not stated, meaning of the initials M.F.
• Toppington (aka Topsy), An old wartime buddy of Cotton's, he often acts as accomplice to Cotton's inane hate/revenge-driven schemes. Topsy has no teeth so he mumbles whenever he talks, and one of his favorite tricks is to puff out his cheeks a la Dizzy Gillespie. Topsy always appears somewhat disoriented and mildly violent. In a late episodes he is left for dead by Cotton after a failed scheme; Cotton: "He's playing checkers with the worms."
• Monsignor Martinez, the hero of the fictional TV show The Monsignor Martinez Mysteries that appears in several episodes. Martinez is a homicidal priest that often kills his enemies in violent or extravagent ways. His killing someone is always accompanied by him saying, "Vaya con Dios" (go with God).

Recurring Settings

Arlen

Arlen is a fictional town located in the equally fictional Heimlich County, Texas (in the first episode it was located in Arlen County). Arlen may be loosely based on the real-life city of Garland, Arlington or may be a combination of the two words. All these cities are adjacent to Dallas, where series creator Mike Judge lived for some time. A ninth season episode finally reveals that Arlen is 96 miles away from Dallas.

Arlen's K–12 schools, with the exception of Arlen High School, are named after Dallas Cowboys legends: ("Tom Landry Middle School" and "Roger Staubach Elementary School").

Strickland Propane

Strickland Propane, owned by businessman Buck Strickland, its founder, is where Hank Hill "sells propane and propane accessories."

Mega Lo Mart

The town of Arlen features a giant discount department store called Mega Lo Mart, a satirical creation lampooning Wal-Mart and other similar American business landmarks that are widely popular in the southern region of the U.S. In one episode it blew up because of a propane leak caused by Buckley. After being rebuilt, it no longer carried propane, freeing Strickland Propane from having to compete with it. Its spokesman is folk/jazz musician Chuck Mangione, whose hit song "Feels So Good" serves as the store's slogan.

Tom Landry Middle School

The school attended by the children of the show. In one episode Peggy tends the school garden and gets in trouble by using chemicals while proudly boasting it's organic. The school is sometimes referred to as TLMS.

See also

• List of King of the Hill episodes

External links

• King of the Hill (Fox Broadcasting Company site)
• King of the Hill at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• King of the Hill at IMDb
• King of the Hill Information Site
• King of the Hill images via Google
• Template:Google Video Search1

• Animated television series
• King of the Hill
• Fox network shows
• 1990s TV shows in the United States
• 2000s TV shows in the United States