Peggy, Bobby and Hank in Hulu's 'King of the Hill' revival Hulu Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text It isn't easy to comedically turn the clock back to the 1990s. Just ask Happy Gilmore 2, a formless, two-hour blob of Adam Sandler's family and celebrity friends, with no real creative drive to speak of. But for several beloved animated shows, what had seemed so difficult for Sandler and company has been made to look relatively easy. Both Beavis and Butt-Head and Futurama, two series that premiered in the late '90s and have earned multiple resurrections, made smooth transitions to a new era and television and will be premiering new seasons in September. I liked both shows originally, and like both revivals. Related Stories TV How to Watch 'Project Runway' Season 21 Online Without Cable for Free TV 'Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox': Grace Van Patten Confronts the Truth as Amanda Knox in Trailer King of the Hill The Bottom Line Quickly settles back into its funny, big-hearted rhythms. Airdate: Monday, Aug. 4 (Hulu)Cast: Mike Judge, Kathy Najimy, Pamela Adlon, Toby Huss, Stephen Root, Jonny HardwickCreators: Mike Judge and Greg Daniels Returning first, though, is King of the Hill, which aired from 1997 to 2009. Mike Judge and Greg Daniels' Texas-set slice of life, which always seemed right on the edge of going full dramedy in a broadcast landscape that required an exclusive dedication to laughs, ran 250-plus episodes, and while I'd put it just behind The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers in the Fox Animation Domination pantheon, that's not bad at all. Toward the end of its run, the network often seemed to forget that King of the Hill existed, right down to airing four episodes of season 13 only in syndication. So it's as much for Fox as for fans that I note that this revival of King of the Hill is launching on Hulu, and it's more for fans than Fox that I note that this revival of King of the Hill is, on the whole, very good. The show's generally conciliatory ideological worldview manages to be almost a balm in our fractious times without ever feeling excessively treacly and, as was often the case during its original run, its acknowledgement of something resembling the passage of time gives it a dramatic weight that wholly unserialized animated series usually can't (and don't aspire to) reach. The result is a satisfying 10-episode 14th season that marks a solid and seamless introduction for Saladin Patterson as showrunner. The season begins with a time jump and a lot of exposition, yielding a premiere that is both necessary, in terms of bringing audiences back into the fold, and my least favorite installment of this batch. Hank (Judge) and Peggy (Kathy Najimy) are back in Arlen after several years in Saudi Arabia - much funnier the way Peggy says it - where Hank was serving as assistant manager in charge of Arabian propane and Arabian propane accessories for a Saudi company. We get some sense of what their life was like in Saudi Arabia, but one key thing is important: They existed in a corporately created residential bubble, which allowed them to miss many details from the evolving culture. As a result, Hank and Peggy are flummoxed upon their return to the U.S. by rideshare etiquette, all-gender restrooms and people being "canceled." Don't worry. The season does not become an Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer situation in which the modern world confuses and frightens Hank Hill. This is just something the show has to get out of its system. Over 25 minutes, the episode catches us up on the important details in the lives of most of its core characters. I will only spoil that Bobby (Pamela Adlon) is 21 and now part-owner and chef of Robata Chane, "a traditional Japanese barbecue with a fusion of flavors and techniques from the German traditions of the Texas Hill Country." In short order, we're updated on what's been up with Boomhauer (Judge), Dale (the late Johnny Hardwick, transitioning into Toby Huss), Bill (Stephen Root) and several other members of the gang through these tumultuous years. After that opening, though, King of the Hill gets back to the business of simply being King of the Hill, with weekly adventures like Bobby and Hank engaging in a beer-brewing competition and going to a Dallas Cowboys fantasy camp; Kahn (Ronny Chieng, replacing Toby Huss) and Minh (Lauren Tom) celebrating their 30th anniversary and sparking marital insecurity with Hank and Peggy; and something about the Alley Gang hunting feral pigs. There are lots of returning characters from the show's fairly vast ensemble, and plenty of references that feel less like pandering Easter eggs than acknowledgment of a deep canon. Most animated shows wouldn't need any of these updates at all, but King of the Hill likes to handle the real world in ways that are oblique - I don't think th