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‘King of the Hill' Announces Guest Stars, Recasting for Upcoming Hulu Revival
Earlier this month, Hulu announced that the upcoming 'King of the Hill' revival will see Ronny Chieng take over the recurring guest role of Kahn Souphanousinphone from the show's original run. The decision meant that the Asian character, previously one of several parts voiced by Toby Huss, would be voiced by an Asian performer for the first time.
Now, IndieWire can exclusively reveal five new guest stars for the show's long-awaited 14th season, several of which are similar recastings of old recurring characters with actors of color. In addition, Keith David and Anthony 'Citric' Campos have joined the series as new characters.
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David will play new character Brian Robertson, who rented the house of main character Hank (series co-creator Mike Judge) in between the events of the show's original seasons and the revival, and integrates into Hank's friend group. Campos will play Emilio, a chef at the Dallas restaurant of Hank's grown son Bobby (Pamela Adlon).
Returning characters Ted Wassanasong, Chane Wassanasong, and Joseph Gribble have all been recast with new performers. Ted, a Laotian businessman and the financial backer of Bobby's restaurant, will now be voiced by Kenneth Choi, after having previously been voiced by Huss in the show's original run. Chane, Ted's son and Bobby's former childhood bully and now business partner, will be voiced by Ki Hong Lee; previously, he was voiced by Adlon. Joseph Gribble, Bobby's half-Native best friend, will be voiced by comedian Tai Leclaire, after originally being voiced by Breckin Meyer.
The creative team of 'King of the Hill' have previously been open about the possibilities of recasting for the revival. In 2023, while the season was still in development, co-creator Greg Daniels said in an interview with TVLine that he wasn't sure if Kahn would return for the revival, but, in the event that he did, 'We would most likely replace Toby's voice for Kahn. Like, if we were casting today, we wouldn't have cast him. But we cast it in 1997.
'Most animation casts play multiple roles, and Toby Huss initially played [Hank's father] Cotton Hill and was cast for that, and then Kahn came up later,' Daniels told TVLine. 'And most productions, especially back then, didn't have the budget to to hire a special performer for each voice. But it's different now.'
In the years since 'King of the Hill' went off the air, the topic of casting racially appropriate voice actors for animated series has become a more contentious issue. 2017 documentary film 'The Problem with Apu' ignited conversation over Hank Azaria voicing the Indian 'Simpsons' character, which led to Azaria stepping down from the role. In 2020, a wave of voice acting recastings occurred after the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer: Jenny Slate stepped down from the role of Black middle-schooler Missy in 'Big Mouth' and was replaced by Ayo Edebiri, Kristen Bell was replaced by Emmy Raver-Lampman in voicing mixed-race teen Molly on the Apple TV+ series 'Central Park,' and 'Bojack Horseman' star Alison Brie publicly apologized for voicing a Vietnamese character in the series.
The original 'King of the Hill' first premiered in 1997 on Fox, and ran for 13 years before its final season wrapped in 2010. Starring Judge as propane salesman Hank Hill, the series revolves around the everyday lives of Hank, his family, and their friends and neighbors in the small city of Arlen, Texas. Praised for its realistic and grounded humor, the show developed a cult following, and won two Emmys over the course of its run.
The upcoming Season 14 follows Hank and his wife Peggy (Kathy Najimy) as they return and readjust to Arlen, after spending years living in Saudi Arabia selling propane to earn their retirement money. Their son Bobby, previously a child in the original series, is now an adult running a restaurant in Dallas with his childhood friends. Alongside Judge, Najimy, and Adlon, the revival also features Johnny Hardwick, Stephen Root, and Lauren Tom in the main cast. In addition, Huss will take over the role of Dale Gribble, previously voiced by the late Johnny Hardwick. Deceased voice actors Brittany Murphy and Tom Petty, who voiced the characters of Luanne and Lucky, will not be recast for the revival. In addition, Season 14 will feature the late Jonathan Joss, who was shot and killed this June, in his final appearance as the character John Redcorn.
'King of the Hill' comes from 20th Television Animation, and is executive produced by original co-creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. Saladin Patterson serves as showrunner and executive produces, alongside 3 Arts' Michael Rotenberg and Howard Klein and Bandera Entertainment's Dustin Davis. All 10 episodes of the season premiere August 4.
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