King of the Hill has managed to achieve a cartoon rarity. While there have been cartoons that were revived after being finished for over a decade, King of the Hill actually factored in a passage of time. That means Hank is retired and Bobby is an adult, which is an entirely new status quo for the show.
Still, new episodes of King of the Hill feel like a natural continuation of the show. None of the changes were too drastic, and no new information was introduced to recontextualize anything. Many of the callbacks to previous episodes weren’t there for fanservice. They were just there to remind us of the history of these characters. Here’s a list of the best callbacks and references that helped deepen the characters and enrich the show’s history.
10) Bill Has Non-Existent Friends
Bill Dauterive, the most pathetic friend Hank Hill has, sometimes makes up stories to look less pathetic. In “Dang Ol’ Love”, Hank had to remind Bill that he made up people named Larry and Wayne and who he said would play soccer with him.
Revival Bill hasn’t shaken this reputation. In “Peggy’s Fadeout”, Bill says he has plans with friends he has made while Hank was away. Dale and Boomhauer are immediately skeptical, pointing out that Bill has a tendency to lie about these things. Hank follows Bill and is shocked that Bill did actually make new friends (although less surprised to learn Bill had been lying to them).
9) Bobby Likes Charcoal
Hank is so into propane that Peggy and Bobby often wonder if they rank higher or lower than it on the list of things Hank loves. Peggy and Bobby never even tasted meat cooked in other way until “Hank and the Great Glass Elevator” when they discover the joy of charcoal. They felt so guilty about it that they had to hide it from Hank.
Even though Hank did find out about their charcoal use, they had to make sure to never use charcoal again. In the revival, Bobby is a chef at Robata Chane and cooks with charcoal for the authentic robatayaki experience. In “Bobby Gets Grilled”, Hank is under the impression that Bobby had been using propane at his restaurant. Bobby is deeply ashamed when he has to tell Hank the truth.
8) Hank Once Hated Soccer
Hank prides himself on being an American. That means he loves American sports, like football, and looks down his nose at something like soccer. In “Three Coaches and a Bobby”, Hank’s distaste for soccer is in full force when his son prefers it to football.
Things have turned around for Hank in the revival. “New Ref in Town” posed the question of what it would take to make Hank a fan of soccer. When repairing a propane tank at a soccer stadium in Saudi Arabia, Hank grew to appreciate the field and then eventually the sport itself.
7) People Think Hank is Bad Hank
During the original run, Cotton Hill had another child. He decided to call his son Hank because he always wanted a son named Hank. Given that he already has a son named Hank, Cotton named the newborn “Good Hank”. Hank objected, saying that if one son is named Good Hank, people will think he’s “Bad Hank”.
In “No Hank Left Behind”, we meet the now teenaged Good Hank Hill. While taking care of Cotton’s affairs, Junichiro (Cotton’s other son) introduces his brothers as “Good Hank” and “Hank”. The lawyer looks at Hank and asks him if he is “Bad Hank”. Hank scowls and says he’s “just Hank”.
6) “How Do I Live” is Bobby and Connie’s Song
Bobby and Connie becoming each other’s first love was an ongoing plot over many early seasons of King of the Hill. Their relationship had its ups and downs. In “Love Hurts…and So Does Art”, Bobby gets gout and doesn’t go to a dance with Connie. At the end of the episode, he fights through the pain, and he and Connie dance to “How Do I Live” by LiAnn Rimes.
Bobby and Connie’s relationship didn’t last, but the new episodes have them attempt to rekindle what they once had. In “Chore Money, Chore Problems”, Connie invites Bobby to a karaoke night. They sing “How Do I Live”, and while Connie wanted to fix Bobby up with a friend of hers, the duet made Bobby realize how much he wants to be with Connie.
5) Joseph Drives John Redcorn’s Car
While Joseph Gribble’s parentage is obvious to the audience (and those around him), he remains blissfully unaware that his biological father is actually John Redcorn and not Dale. Joseph and Dale have such a strong bond that no one has the heart to tell him the truth. However, John Redcorn still has paternal feelings for Joseph.
John Redcorn’s affair with Nancy has long ended, and he doesn’t spend a lot of time with Joseph in the new episodes. However, in “The Beer Story”, we see Joseph driving a 1986 Jeep Wrangler YJ, which was John Redcorn’s car in the original run. This implies that John Redcorn gave Joseph his car and is still looking out for him.
4) Cotton Hill Killed Fitty Men
King of the Hill has had to change a few things up in terms of the timeline, but Cotton fighting in World War II remains constant. A recurring joke was that not only did Cotton lose his shins during the war, he also managed to kill fifty men (or “fitty” as he proudly says).
Cotton’s legacy resurfaces in the worst way in the episode “Bobby Gets Grilled”. While defending his restaurant’s authenticity, Bobby meets a man with German heritage. He asks if Bobby is related to Cotton Hill, who machine gunned his grandfather. Bobby realizes this must be one of the “fitty men”.
3) Fox Cancelled King of the Grill
In our world, King of the Hill ran from 1997 to 2009 on Fox. With 13 seasons, that occupied a huge space in the Fox line-up. So in the world of King of the Hill, what show took that spot?
Apparently, a show called King of the Grill. Not an adult animated comedy, apparently, King of the Grill was a cooking competition show. Chane says Fox stupidly canceled it 15 years ago. So King of the Hill managed to make a meta-call back about the show itself.
2) Bobby Once Kicked Peggy in the Groin
Bobby was never the most athletic kid, and in learning how to defend himself, he ended up taking lessons from a women’s self defense class. In “Bobby Goes Nuts”, Bobby went around kicking people in their testicles. He even kicked Hank, but when he tried it on Peggy, he was dismayed to learn that kicking her in the groin was ineffective.
In “No Hank Left Behind”, Peggy in injured while playing tennis. She has Bobby take her to get an MRI, but Peggy has difficulty with it. Bobby is there with her when she finally goes through with it. The doctor tells Bobby that Peggy has scar tissue in her groin area. She speculates that Peggy was kicked in the groin by a 12 year old years ago, and Bobby sheepishly responds “You can tell it was a 12 year old?”
1) That Man Ain’t Right
King of the Hill has so many memorable characters and catchphrases. One of the most iconic is Hank’s “That boy ain’t right”. A lot of the drama in the show came from Hank’s inability to relate to Bobby. Hank dismissing Bobby’s behavior and saying he “ain’t right” is the show in a nutshell.
Now that Bobby is in his 20’s, Hank can no longer call him a “boy”. While they are better at finding common ground in new episodes, Hank lets out a disappointed “That boy ain’t right” in “Bobby Gets Grilled”. When Peggy reminds him that Bobby isn’t their little boy anymore, Hank says “All right then, that man ain’t right.”
