The 2025 TV schedule features the return of one of my favorite animated shows, and I'm sure I'm not alone in being thrilled that King of the Hill is headed back to television. Sure, it'll be a bit different bingeing the series with a Hulu subscription rather than watching it Sunday nights on Fox, but I'm much more hung up on some of the other big changes coming in the series when it comes to Boomhauer.
Hank's womanizing friend, who always had free time and was allegedly a Texas Ranger according to the prior finale, was a gem of the series, even if you didn't always understand him. I noticed he had considerably more wrinkles in the opening sequence that was released a while back.
Boomhauer's Voice Is Markedly Slower
We only hear Boomhauer a couple of times in the recently released trailer, but it's enough to notice he's not speaking quite as quickly as he once did. Part of one of the ongoing jokes in King of the Hill was that he was occasionally difficult to understand, and yet it felt like no one on the show ever struggled to get what he was saying.
I'm wondering how this could change the show, and more importantly, how people feel about the show. Fans are already coping with a new, updated animation style, as well as new voice actors taking on the voices of other characters. It has me wondering if fans are going to reject the mountain of changes in the new series, or if they'll lean into it and it'll actually make the series more appealing as a result.
Is This Change Deliberate, Or Just A Consequence Of Time?
I'm wondering if this is a deliberate choice King of the Hill made to make Boomhauer talk slower, or if it's just a result of co-creator and voice actor Mike Judge not being able to replicate the same rampant rambling dialogue the character once had. Or, he's deliberately leaning into something that happens to those types of guys once they age. I've never been to Texas, so I can't say for sure.
I will say that all of his vocal work on the latest Beavis and Butt-Head seasons and the Paramount+ feature has been aces, without any kind of pronounced changes in how the performances are handled. So it does seem more intentional than anything.
Of course, it's not the end of the world either way. It feels like a lot of King of the Hill is going to be about change, as Hank meets new neighbors and gets used to his surroundings after living in Saudi Arabia with Peggy on a contract job. Arlen has seemingly changed a great deal since he was last there, so I can't wait to see how he copes with some of the new changes we've already seen in promotional posters and other footage.
King of the Hill will premiere all its new episodes on Hulu on August 4th. Tune in to see how Arlen has changed along with Hank and Peggy, and be prepared for some wild changes that could catch you off guard.
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