King Of The Hill Revival: Here's What Happened To Each Main Character Since We Last Saw Them

The following contains spoilers for the first episode of the "King of the Hill" revival, which is now streaming on Hulu.

Mike Judge's family sitcom "King of the Hill" was a near-perfect slice of animated Americana that showed audiences a sweet and silly side of Texas that felt like home, even if you'd never been there. It's sadly been more than 15 years since we last got to spend time with the Hill family and their neighbors on Rainey Street, but the new Hulu revival aims to give fans that same comforting feeling all over again (with a few fresh updates). Instead of just trying to continue where things left off, the show is essentially picking up in real-time, with pre-teen son Bobby Hill (Pamela Adlon) now in his early 20s. Similarly, Hank (Judge) and Peggy (Kathy Najimy) have been away for several years saving up a nest egg for retirement, but now they're moving back to Arlen. It's the perfect set-up because it allows the series' viewers to get reintroduced to all of the fabulous folks in this little fictional Texas town right along with Hank and Peggy, who clearly feel a bit out of place in their former home. 

So, what's new with the Hills, the guys from the alley, and the rest of their neighbors? Let's take a look at what's happened to each of the main characters on "King of the Hill" since last we saw them.

After their son Bobby graduated high school, Hank took a job in Saudi Arabia, working as the assistant manager in charge of Arabian propane and Arabian propane accessories for a company called Aramco. The job was pretty well-paid and allowed Hank to add a bit more to his retirement fund, which means now that he's back, he's officially retired. Peggy, who formerly worked as a substitute teacher, is also retired, leaving them both with a whole lot of time and not much to do with it. "King of the Hill" fans who might worry that Hank or Peggy will have changed too much in the years they've been gone shouldn't, because they're both still very much their stubborn old selves. Hank can barely handle the idea of gender neutral restrooms (not because he's bigoted, but because he's confused), while Peggy brags that she's been told all of her life that she's a five, which she assumes is a good thing. (It's not.)

Despite learning a bit of (poorly spoken) Arabic and getting a nice nest egg, Hank and Peggy are still almost exactly the same. Their house is the same too, having been cared for by their new neighbor Brian Robertson (Keith David). The rest of Arlen, however, has definitely done some growing.

While his parents were in Saudi Arabia, Bobby has really made something of himself as the head chef of his own restaurant, a place called Robata Chane. Bobby describes the restaurant as "a traditional Japanese barbecue with a fusion of flavors and techniques from the German traditions of the Texas hill country," and since "Robata" is a kind of Japanese barbecue, that makes a lot of sense. His business partner, Chane Wassanasong (Ki Hong Lee), put his name on the place but doesn't seem to do much other than get funding through his father, Ted Wassanasong (Kenneth Choi).

Fans of the original series might remember Chane as a potential love interest for Bobby's ex-girlfriend Connie (Lauren Tom). While Bobby runs the restaurant, doing everything from cooking to sweeping the floors and locking up, Chane is out partying and attending college. He's even the president of a fraternity! It will be interesting to see how their dynamic plays out, but it's great to see Bobby really thriving and doing what he loves.

The Hill's most entertaining neighbor, Dale Gribble, is still up to many of his old shenanigans. He ran to become the mayor of Arlen during the COVID-19 pandemic and won on an anti-mask agenda, though he was explicitly against all masks, including those for tear gas and baseball catchers. That sounds pretty typical of conspiracy theorist and exterminator Dale Gribble, but what's wild is that enough people actually voted for him to win ... if only by a teeny tiny margin. (There were 11 candidates, and Dale had the most votes with a measly nine percent.)

Of course, in total Dale fashion, he "realized" the whole situation was "a scam" and challenged the results of his own election after 36 hours, basically removing himself as Arlen's mayor. Those are some big changes back and forth in Arlen, but it's all still pure Dale Gribble.

Gribble's original voice actor, Johnny Hardwick, recorded six episodes of the revival before he died in 2023. Filling in for the rest is "King of the Hill" regular Toby Huss, who provided the voices for Cotton Hill (Hank's deceased father) and Kahn Souphanousinphone, Connie's father. (Kahn has since been recast, with comedian Ronny Chieng taking over the role.) 

Nancy Gribble (Ashley Gardner), Dan's wife, now co-hosts a real estate reality series called "Selling Arlen" with her business partner (and longtime not-so-secret lover) John Redcorn (the late Jonathan Joss), and since the whole thing was Dale's idea, it seems like he's still completely oblivious to their affair. (Even the comments on the first episode of their show question if Redcorn is "tapping that," so total strangers have figured it out before him, which is kind of magical.) Nancy and John's son, Joseph (newly voiced by Tai Leclaire, a comedian from the Mohawk nation of Kahnawà:ke), is Bobby's roommate and is apparently "doing great," though he doesn't appear much in the first episode. We do see a clip of him riding horses with John Redcorn in the revival's trailer, however, and he has no idea John is his real father, so there might be some emotional moments coming for those two.

Everyone's favorite hot mess from Chateau D'Haute Rive, Louisiana, is taking his depressive tendencies to new lows. Poor Bill Dauterive (Stephen Root), Hank's friend and neighbor, stopped leaving the house after he retired from the Army and the Hills moved away. He tells Hank that everything can be ordered and delivered, so he has no real need to leave his home, but that changes at the end of the first episode when Hank does a bit of grilling outside and Bill smells it. Hopefully, the Hills returning will help Bill get back on his feet.

Hank's laid-back ladies man neighbor Boomhauer (also voiced by Judge) seems to have actually settled down for once. He's even taking care of his girlfriend's son, Luke Jr., who cannot understand a word Boomhauer says. In fact, little Luke Jr. and Boomhauer kind of confuse one another in general, but it's great to see Boomhauer trying to be a one-woman man and even help raise a kid. He also gives Hank a hug upon his return, which is a bit too "emotional" for Hank, but it's great to see him being his authentic, marble-mouthed self. 

While we don't get to see Connie's parents, Kahn or Minh (also voiced by Lauren Tom), in the first episode, we do get a chance to see Connie, Bobby's long-time girlfriend from middle school. Bobby runs into Connie after spending the night with a hook-up at Southern Methodist University, where she was also spending time with "a friend."

Bobby and Connie apparently lost touch sometime after high school, though she seems to be doing really well. She's attending the University of Texas at the Dallas campus and is in the Johnson School of Engineering, which sounds pretty impressive. She promises to visit Bobby's restaurant and asks about Joseph, so it will be great to see these old friends spend more time together again, even if the years have driven them apart.

The entirety of season 14 of "King of the Hill" is now streaming on Hulu.