Every Season Of King Of The Hill Ranked Worst To Best

Ever since "King of the Hill" debuted January 12, 1997 on Fox, fans have delighted at the amusing-yet-relatable antics of Hank, Peggy, and Bobby Hill, as well as their friends and neighbors in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas. One of the best aspects of the show is the writing of its characters, as they are all clearly defined and have their own set of idiosyncrasies, making it all the more hilarious when their quirks collide in otherwise mundane situations. "King of the Hill" has differentiated itself from other animated sitcoms in that it has generally focused on more realistic scenarios and finding humor in everyday life, as opposed to the often absurd comedy found in "The Simpsons" or "Family Guy." While the gags may not be as over-the-top as those typically found in animation, the show's creators still managed to deliver countless laugh-out-loud moments with its more character-driven comedy approach.

While "King of the Hill" has experienced some ups and downs throughout its 13-season run, it will still go down as one of the greatest animated sitcoms in television history, as even its middling seasons have delivered plenty of laughs and memorable moments. Plus, considering original series creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels are working on a "King of the Hill" revival, fans can expect even more of the classic show. Until then, here's every season of "King of the Hill" ranked, according to IMDB.

While the final season of "King of the Hill" is one of its weakest, its final episode — "To Sirloin with Love" — did a terrific job of wrapping up the series in a way that reminded audiences of how much heart the show had without getting too sappy. In it, Bobby (played by the incomparable Pamela Adlon) finally develops a skill for scrutinizing different cuts of beef, something that Hank has been trying to teach him for most of Bobby's life. Hank, proud of his son for showing interest in something other than video games, encourages Bobby to join a meat-inspecting team at a nearby community college. While Hank and Bobby may never bond over sports or tools, one thing that will always bring them together is their love of BBQ.

Cotton Hill's death was an odd tearjerker, so it was nice to see an episode pay tribute to the beloved character. "Serves Me Right for Giving General George S. Patton the Bathroom Key" sees Hank being tasked to carry out his late father's final wishes, one of which involves a toilet that a certain legendary WWII general used.

It's always a blast when Hank becomes interested in the very thing he was initially against. Case in point: "Grand Theft Arlen." In this episode, Bobby's middle school implements a new program that allows students who are falling behind in gym to play video games, which deeply offends Hank's hard-working ethic. However, Hank falls for the allure of a particular video game called "Pro-Pain!," whose protagonist looks just like him. Meanwhile, Bobby is actually starting to get in shape for a change, which goes completely unnoticed by Hank due to his video game obsession.

Peggy is the center of "The Peggy Horror Picture Show," which sees her feeling ashamed of what she perceives to be a less-than-feminine appearance. However, her spirits are lifted when she meets Carolyn, who believes Peggy has a very womanly look. Peggy finally having another woman in her life to talk to makes Hank happy, but discovering that Carolyn is a drag queen who is only hanging out with Peggy because they think Peggy is a drag queen makes Hank mortified. While that's all going on, Bobby and Joseph are trying to become all-star pranksters, but find that every time they play a prank on someone, they end up benefiting from it.

"Megalo Dale" is one of the best episodes to feature Chuck Mangione playing himself. Mega Lo Mart hires Dale's extermination services to take care of some pests plaguing the store. However, it turns out that the "pest" he's actually after is Mega Lo Mart's own representative, Mr. Mangione himself. In addition to Chuck, this episode also features guest appearances from Topher Grace and Danny Masterson.

"The Texas Skilsaw Massacre" has a sort of "Odd Couple" premise, but more extreme: When Dale bores a large tunnel that goes under the Hills' kitchen, rendering their home uninhabitable until the tunnel is filled, Hank and his family are forced to move into the Gribbles' home. However, when Hank accidentally cuts off Dale's finger with a saw, Dale accuses Hank of trying to hurt him, which requires Hank to take an anger management class. While Hank and Dale are lifelong friends, it was still a lot of fun seeing the two men clash while living in the same house. "Maid in Arlen" gives Bill the spotlight when he begins dating Kahn's mother Laoma, who also becomes a housekeeper for the Hills. While Kahn is bothered that his mom works for the Hills, he's even more annoyed that she's getting involved with Bill, so he sets out to disrupt their relationship at every turn.

While "King of the Hill" had an auspicious debut with its strong first season, the series' sophomore season was a bit of a step down in terms of overall quality. Some aspects of the show had been refined and polished, but the writing wasn't quite as fresh as that of the inaugural season. Still, Season 2 had some hits. In "Hank's Dirty Laundry," Hank learns that he has bad credit while he tries to buy a new dryer. It turns out his bad credit is the result of an angry video store clerk who believes Hank once rented a dirty movie and has never returned it. Hank is shocked at having such a raunchy accusation hurled at him, and has to endure the disbelief from everyone around him. Of course, being the pure type, he sets the record straight on his video-renting past.

"Texas City Twister" does a nice job blending thrills and family drama: Hank kicks Luanne out of the Hill house, forcing her to move back to the trailer that she moved out of in the first place when her mom attempted to murder her dad. However, there's a tornado heading straight for the trailer park where Luanne is, and Hank — feeling bad about the way he treated her — must save her before the tornado hits.

A truly classic episode, not just from this season but from the series as a whole, is "Bobby Goes Nuts." In it, Bobby gets bullied by Chane Wassanasong at a slumber party, prompting Hank to encourage Bobby to learn boxing at a YMCA class. However, Bobby instead finds himself learning how to "fight" at a women's self-defense course, where he learns how to stand up for himself by simply kicking his attackers in the crotch. While bullies leave Bobby alone after he demonstrates his new move, Hank is none too happy about how his son fights, especially when his groin experiences the business end of Bobby's foot.

Season 6 had some other great episodes like "Soldier of Misfortune," which features Dale going to great lengths to win re-election as the president of the Arlen Gun Club, and enlisting the help of his friends. Gary Busey even joins in on the fun, playing Mad Dog. We also get some Hill family revelations when Hank learns that he has a half-brother in Japan. When Hank's dad Cotton decides to go to the Land of the Rising Sun to atone to a widow for killing her husband in WWII, it's revealed that he also had an affair with her and sired another son with her named Junichiro (played by David Carradine).

The first season for many shows is often a bit weak. The creators haven't quite nailed down the tone of the series, the chemistry of the cast is still developing, and there's some inconsistency in the style that hasn't been worked out yet. The first season of "King of the Hill," however, was surprisingly strong. So many of the elements that would become trademarks of the show were introduced here, and the characterizations of the main cast were already pretty crystalized. Heck, even the pilot still holds up. This inaugural episode of the series follows Hank as he inadvertently develops a reputation of beating up teenagers. First, Bobby's black eye (which he got from an accident during a Little League game) arouses suspicions that he got it from Hank. The rumor continues when word spreads of Hank attacking a teenage employee at Mega Lo Mart, even though he only yelled at him for his ignorance of some products' locations.

Hank and Peggy's puritanism is hilariously tested in "Plastic White Female," where in preparation for a coed party that he was invited to, Bobby plays Spin the Bottle with Luanne's beauty school mannequin head but gets caught kissing it. The episode is a priceless early example of the Hill parents having to deal with Bobby's exploits as a growing teenage boy, which would continue throughout the series.