“King of the Hill” is planning to pay tribute to late cast members Johnny Hardwick and Jonathan Joss via memoriam cards that will run during episodes of the show’s upcoming revival on Hulu. Both Hardwick and Joss appear on Season 14 of the show, having voiced their characters before their deaths.
“King of the Hill’s” executive producers revealed these tributes on Friday during the show’s San Diego Comic-Con panel. The producers also shared a bit more about how they’re referencing the characters of Luanne and Lucky – voiced by the late Brittany Murphy and rock star Tom Petty – both of whom passed before the recent revival. And they noted the passing this week of musician Chuck Mangione, another “King of the Hill” staple.
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The Hardwick tribute (above) had previously been announced during the show’s panel last month at the ATX Television Festival in Austin. During that event, Joss — who appears in this new season, reviving his role as John Redcorn — was in attendance in the audience. Ironically, at one point, the conversation shifted to how “King of the Hill” would honor Hardwick — and that’s when Joss leapt up from the audience and walked toward one of the microphones that had been set up for audience questions.
“You were talking about Johnny, and I want to say something about him,” Joss said. But he then went off topic, mentioning that his San Antonio home had burned down, among other things. The moment was jarring for everyone on stage. But then, just two days later, came even more shocking news: Joss was killed in San Antonio, where police arrested one of his neighbors in connection to the death.
The longtime actor behind conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble, Hardwick voiced the first six episodes of the revived Season 14 of “King of the Hill” before he died in 2023. Upon his passing, star Toby Huss — who had voiced Cotton Hill and Kahn Souphanousinphone during the show’s original run — picked up the mantle as Dale.
Huss was among the stars and creators on stage Friday during the “King of the Hill” Comic-Con panel at the Indigo Ballroom. After a premiere episode of the upcoming episode “The Beer Story,” a conversation about the show’s return included executive producer/showrunner Saladin Patterson, co-creator/executive producer Greg Daniels, co-creator/executive producer Mike Judge (who also voices Boomhauer and Hank Hill), Kathy Najimy (voice of Peggy Hill), Pamela Adlon (voice of Bobby Hill), Lauren Tom (voice of Connie, and Minh) and Huss.
The producers also discussed new new characters like Brian Robertson, voiced by Keith David, as well as Emilio voiced by comedian Anthony “Citric” Campos. Also, as previously reported, comedian Ronny Chieng is taking over the role of Kahn.
Panelists additionally touched on where their characters are now, aging the characters with Bobby as an adult, how they felt voicing these characters again and more.
The 20th TV Animation series, which premieres Aug. 4 on Hulu, comes from exec producers including original co-creators Judge and Daniels, and incoming executive producer and showrunner Patterson.
Here’s the logline for the series return: “After years working a propane job in Saudi Arabia to earn their retirement nest egg, Hank and Peggy Hill return to a changed Arlen, Texas to reconnect with old friends Dale, Boomhauer and Bill. Meanwhile, Bobby is living his dream as a chef in Dallas and enjoying his 20s with his former classmates Connie, Joseph and Chane.”
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