The Real Life Texas Incident That Inspired Mike Judge To Create King Of The Hill

Mike Judge and Greg Daniels' "King of the Hill" have never prioritized jokes. The animated sitcom mines humor from the mundanity of everyday life, some of which is based on Judge's real-life experiences of living in Texas throughout the years. In fact, the impetus for the series was inspired by the creator's beer-drinking, tool-obsessed neighbors — a group who seem like they share a lot in common with Hank Hill (voiced by Judge) and his friends on "King of the Hill."

During a conversation with NPR's "Movie Interviews" podcast series, Judge revealed that the idea for "King of the Hill" was sparked by his moving into a new home near Dallas and attempting to fix the garden fence, only for his aforementioned neighbors to swiftly take over. In his own words:

"I see this guy over, kind of eyeballing me, looking at what I'm doing, and then he comes over, followed by a couple others, and he says, 'Well, you're going to have to take the whole section out, and this post here is a little rotted.' And then before I know it, one of them brings over a wheelbarrow. They'd yanked out the whole thing. They're digging up a fence post, they're pouring concrete or mixing concrete, and finally, I kind of became kind of useless."

Judge's story sounds like a scene from a great "King of the Hill" episode, as Hank and his friends have given viewers many laughs through their passion for DIY. What's more, Judge's neighbors give Hank and co. a run for their money when it comes to perfection.

The fence-building experience didn't end with Mike Judge's neighbors simply repairing the damaged structure. Later on, they instructed the "King of the Hill" creator on how to add palings that could survive the wrath of termites. He took their advice on board — but it didn't take long for them to notice a fault in Judge's attempt to complete the task at hand, ultimately giving him inspiration for the characters who would go on to define his beloved sitcom. As he told NPR:

"I start putting on the palings. This is much — you know, like three or four hours later. I'm hammering the nails in. I see him over, and he peeks his head out of the alley, and he's looking at me, and he walks over, and I'm going, 'Oh God, what now?' And he comes over, and he says, 'Those are the wrong kind of nails. You're going to need galvanized steel. Here, I'll go get you some.'"

Thanks to this interaction, Judge was able to co-create a series with some bona fide staying power. In 2025, "King of the Hill" returned to screens with an all-new timeline following a 15-year hiatus. However, while the revival places the characters into contemporary times, they are still the same beer, tool, and propane-loving Texans they've always been. The only difference is that Hank Hill enjoys soccer now... even though he is ashamed to admit it.