We might be deep into the age of revivals and reboots, but Hank Hill and his family are going to remain in the past. Over the past couple of years, there have been some rumors and reports of a King of the Hill revival happening at Fox. Back in July, the potential revival seemed to have gotten its most promising update yet when co-creator Mike Judge told fans at San Diego Comic-Con that King of the Hill had "a very good chance of coming back." That followed a previous tease from writer-producer Brent Forrester that the series was in "hot negotiations" for a reboot that would pick up a decade and a half after the original show.
"I am sure [series creators] Greg Daniels and Mike Judge will murder me for sharing this but... HELL YES," Forrester said about a revival happening. "They are in hot negotiations to bring back King of the Hill. The Trump administration made it suddenly very relevant again. The characters have all aged 15 years. The project is sooooo good. Okay I've said too much."
That all sounded dandy for the fans eager to see Hank Hill condemning his son's behavior once again in an all-new series. Unfortunately for those fans, it has now been revealed that Fox has passed on the revival. Per THR, the news comes straight from Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn, who made it clear that if the series gets a revival, it won't be at its former home.
“That’s not going to be with Fox. We love that team, and we love that show. It’s obviously part of our animation legacy. But we’re we’re really focusing on animation is launching the kind of the next wave of our signature animated series, while still having our great legacy shows.”
King of the Hill Won't Return at Fox
Fox passing on a new King of the Hill is not because of a lack of confidence in its success. Thorn says that with Disney owning 20th Century is the main reason why the show won't be coming back to Fox. The network is more committed to focusing on new shows where it can have more independent ownership. With King of the Hill, that's not an option, putting the revival off the table.
"We’re really focused on what are the new shows that we believe can creatively break out, that we also have a significant ownership stake in, and if not outright own 100 percent of it. And on a show like King of the Hill, which we love, there’s really no opportunity for us to have an ownership stake in that show. It’s not a move that we can make as we grow out our next wave of animation, where ownership is so, so crucial to the long-running success of these series.”
There is still some hope for the revival, as there's always the chance a streaming service will fork up the cash required to land the rights to a new King of the Hill series. As the new Beavis and Butt-Head revival was picked up by Paramount+ after it was originally announced for Comedy Central, perhaps that could also be a new avenue for King of the Hill.