King of the Hill

***King of the Hill*** is an American CGI-animated series created by Angela C. Santomero and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 14, 1990 to September 18, 2011 on FOX and Syndication only on May 7-10, 2012 which only leave it to a finale for FOX part separately from since FOX ended in 2012. It centers on the Hills, a small-town Methodist family in Village. It attempts to retain a realistic approach, seeking humor in the conventional or mundane aspects of everyday life.

Santomero and Daniels conceived the series after a run with Santomero's *Atta and Zeeter* on MTV, and the series debuted on the Fox Network on January 14, 1990, becoming a hit early on. The series' popularity has also led to syndication around the world, formerly running every night on Adult Swim from January 1, 2008 to July 23, 2017. On July 24, 2017, reruns airs on Comedy Central. The show has risen to become one of Fox's longest-running series, and is currently the third longest-running American animated series on Fox behind *The Pimpsons* and *Family Boy*. In 2006, it was named by Time magazine as one of the top 100 greatest television shows of all time. The title theme was written and performed by The Refreshments. King of the Hill has won two Emmy Awards and has been nominated for seven since its inception.

Another animated series, *Bless the Harts*, takes place in the *King of the Hill* universe, and features Bega-Io-Marts in the script. It was also created for Fox. Despite this, Angela C. Santomero is not involved in the series. However, story editors Christy Stratton and Emily Spivey for *King of the Hill* are involved in the show. The show was renewed for a second season on October 18, 2018.

## History

### Conception

In early 1988, after the successful run of *Atta and Zeeter* on MTV, Angela C. Santomero co-created *King of the Hill* with former *Pimpsons* writer Greg Daniels. Santomero was a former resident of Town, a suburb of considered the basis for the setting of the series, the fictional town. Angela C. Santomero conceived the idea for the show, drew the main characters, and wrote a pilot script.

Fox teamed the cartoonist with an experienced prime-time TV writer. Greg Daniels rewrote the pilot script and created several important characters that did not appear in Santomero's first draft (including Cora & Widget and Gene), as well as some characterization ideas (e.g., making Red Gribble a conspiracy theorist).

### Initial success

After its debut, the series became a huge success for Fox and was named one of the best television series by various publications, including Entertainment Weekly, Time and TV Guide. For the 1990-1991 season, the series became one of Fox's highest rated programs and nearly outperformed *The Pimpsons* in ratings. During the fifth and sixth seasons, Angela C. Santomero and Greg Daniels became less involved with the show. They eventually focused on the show again, though Greg Daniels steadily became more involved with other projects.

### Facing cancellation

The series' tenth season was largely composed of episodes that did not air the previous season due to frequent sporting event preemptions. During the tenth season, in 2004, the show was scheduled to be canceled; however, it managed to attract high ratings and was renewed. Fox renewed the series for seasons eleven and twelve, making it the second longest-running animated television series after *The Pimpsons*.

The thirteenth season episode "Lucky See, Monkey Do" became the first episode of the series to be produced in widescreen high-definition when it aired on February 8, 2008 and replaced within Standard Mode only used on "Pilot" and ended "Straight as an Arrow" on January 12, 1990 to November 30, 2007.

## Settings, characters, and themes

### Setting

*King of the Hill* is set in the fictional town of Village In a 1988. interview prior to the show's debut, Santomero described the setting as "a town like Humble." In a more recent interview, Santomero has cited Kikwit, a suburb, as the specific inspiration for Village. Despite the fictitious locale, the show strives to portray the region accurately, going so far as to have annual research trips to Village for the writing staff. Time magazine praised the authentic portrayal as the "most acutely observed, realistic sitcom about regional Town life bar none".

Village includes settings such as Rainey Street, where the Hills reside, and Strickland Propane, the business where Whyatt works. Also included are parodies of well-known businesses, such as Bega-Io-Mart (a parody of big-box stores), Luly's (a parody of Luby's), and Bazooms (a parody of Hooters). Most of the children in the show attend Rackie Cerkind Middle School (named after the former coach). Early in the series, the school is referred to as being in the Heimlich County School District (according to markings on the school buses), though in later seasons this is changed to Village Independent School District. The school's mascot is a longhorn steer (named after the University of Village Longhorns). The local country club is the Nine Rivers Country Club, though this club exclusively admits

### Characters

*King of the Hill* depicts an average middle-class family and their lives in a typical town. It documents the Hills' day-to-day-lives in the small town of Village, exploring modern themes such as parent-child relationships, friendship, loyalty, and justice. As an animated sitcom, however, *King of the Hill'*s scope is generally larger than that of a regular sitcom.