Why ‘King of the Hill’ Embraces Its Characters Growing Older

King of the Hill Season 15 marks the Hills’ second season back after the show’s long hiatus. After spending many years in Saudi Arabia, Peggy (Kathy Najimy) and Hank (Mike Judge) return to Arlen, where they are reunited with an adult Bobby (Pamela Adlon), a changed hometown, and a modern world they are still learning to navigate.

Rather than resetting its characters, the revival embraces the passage of time. Khan (Ronny Chieng) and Minh’s (Lauren Tom) marriage faces new challenges, Bill (Stephen Root) discovers newfound confidence, and Bobby continues carving out a life independent of his parents. Along the way, the season uses its familiar humor to explore modern life while allowing its characters to evolve naturally, proving that King of the Hill didn’t need to ignore the passage of time to remain funny. Instead, aging its characters has become one of the revival’s greatest strengths.

Despite what Peggy’s stylish culottes ensemble might suggest, the Hills are noticeably older. Bobby is now a well-adjusted and successful restaurateur, while the rest of their friends and family have been through plenty of changes of their own.

The decision to age the series allows the show to stand out from the animated pack that keeps its characters in a state of perpetual stasis, frozen in time forever. But the decision to age the good folks of Arlen did not come lightly.

“I give Greg and Mike credit for the decision to age the characters,” showrunner Saladin K. Patterson told TV Insider. “That’s something that they came up with and then brought to me when we were talking about what this new refresh would look like.”

“They decided to age the characters up and to build in there a gap where Hank and Peggy have been away and are coming back, and so that I think it really was the final piece to what made this feel like a worthwhile and satisfying and fulfilling extension and continuation of the show,” explained Patterson. “King of the Hill was always a show that had a strong point of view, and they wanted to make sure it had a strong point of view relevant for today. And the best way to do that is to put our characters in situations to where they’re either experiencing new things through a new lens, or they are experiencing new things because they also have grown as we’ve grown and society has changed.”

“I think anytime you can add another layer to a relationship in this world, it’s more fun to watch,” said Toby Huss, who plays Dale. “Being able to age these people forward and see the layers to their relationships, and then see these people still opening up to each other in strange and wonderful ways, and letting their relationships change, that’s rare — in the 3D world of humanity, let alone in a cartoon.”

“It’s kind of revolutionary for animation,” said Stephen Root, who plays Bill. “Nobody ever ages in a show, except we’re aging and learning in this show. So, I think, Bill, along with everybody else, is trying to be a better person, trying to make society a better place. And I’m glad we’re going in that direction.”

King of the Hill, Season 15, Streaming Now, Hulu