New episodes of King of the Hill are set to premiere as part of the 2025 TV schedule years after the series originally ended in 2009. Needless to say, a lot has changed since then. Hank and Peggy will have to adapt to new elements in Arlen, Texas after spending a good deal of time overseas. Some things, however, have not changed, including the now-adult Bobby's voice. CinemaBlend actually spoke to his voice actress and the series' showrunner, who shed light on that creative decision.
I had the honor of speaking to the creators and cast of King of the Hill during San Diego Comic-Con 2025. During, the chat, I specifically asked Pamela Adlon if she'd given any thought to changing Bobby's voice for the revival. The actress said the decision was more up to Mike Judge, Greg Daniels and showrunner Saladin Patterson but that there had been a lot of discussions by the time she was officially tapped to reprise her role:
I was like, ‘OK, what are we doing?’ I did all my research. Adults whose voices never changed? I googled it. I'm grateful to be doing it, but you don't want Bobby to fall in between somebody who sounds very young and a middle-aged lady.
King of the Hill isn't the first series to have this unique situation, and it's actually something that's come up quite a bit in the anime genre. Dragon Ball hero Goku has been voiced by a woman, Masako Nozawa, since he was introduced back in the 1980s. While Americans are used to Goku having a distinct child and adult voice, it's not an issue at all for Japanese fans that the character is currently voiced by an 88-year-old woman.
Normally, I wouldn't compare the two, but it feels apt, given the context of how Americans see King of the Hill. Showrunner Saladin Patterson told me that the reason we'll ultimately hear Bobby with the exact same voice when viewers stream the revival using a Hulu subscription is that he decided that is what the fans would want:
Greg and I had a conversation about what the fans are gonna really wanna see when they revisit this. We personally like hearing Pam just do Bobby, you know, not trying to change it, not trying to pitch it up, whatever, you know, we, we feel that that's going to be most comfortable for people to hear that voice they recognize and it's Pam. I mean it's magical, right? So you know why, why tweak the magic?
The fact that Bobby Hill's voice is the exact same may be a comfort to some, especially since King of the Hill was forced to make some. Said creative moves were partially due to the death of Dale voice actor Johnny Hardwick. Toby Huss has taken over playing the character, and his former role as voice of Kahn Souphanousinphone will be played by Ronny Chieng. It's an adjustment that won't go unnoticed but, ultimately, the spirits of both characters are still alive.
I think it would be much harder to cope with a voice as iconic as Bobby Hill suddenly being changed to a more gruff tone. For me, it would've been disturbing to hear him sounding any other way, and I think the familiarity helps with some of the other changes with the character we see in the revival.
With all that said, change is a big theme of King Of The Hill's latest season, as Hank and Peggy get reacquainted with American life after living on an idyllic American base in Saudi Arabia. As someone who zoomed through the eight episodes pretty quickly, I'm already hungry for more seasons, and happy that Hank and Peggy are back in Arlen -- that they reunite with a son who still sounds like he always has.
Watch all new episodes of King of the Hill when they drop on Hulu on August 4th. I'm hoping the series gets enough attention to score a quick renewal.
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