NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Hank Hill is back and he's the same ol' Hank Hill, but a lot of things around him have changed.
The lovable animated hero of 鈥淜ing of the Hill鈥 has returned from a 15-year lull and he isn't sure what boba tea is, how ridesharing works and is confused by all-gender bathrooms. 鈥淲hat kind of food is poke?鈥 he asks his wife, Peggy.
Hank and Peggy have returned to their hometown of Arlen, Texas 鈥 and our TV sets 鈥 but a lot has happened over the years and they're stepping into a world they don't always recognize.
鈥淗ank, have things changed here more than we thought?鈥 Peggy asks, worried, in the first new episode. 鈥淒id we make a mistake coming back?鈥
Hulu is definitely hoping not, reuniting many of the same writers and voice cast who turned the propane-loving, beer-sipping Hill into one of TV's few blue-collar icons. The first 10 episodes hit Hulu on Monday.
A new 鈥楰ing of the Hill鈥 leader
Saladin K. Patterson, the executive producer and showrunner for the new season 14, hopes the original fans will return to see how Hill copes in the modern day.
鈥淭hat乌鸦传媒 always key because you want that core fan base to validate what you鈥檝e done because they鈥檙e like the gatekeepers in a way,鈥 he says. 鈥淪o when they sign off and say, 鈥極K, they didn鈥檛 mess it up, it乌鸦传媒 still the same special show,鈥 I think other people who may be unfamiliar with it, or even on the fence, feel like, 鈥極K, well, now we want to like it.鈥欌
Viewers will learn that Hank and Peggy have been in Saudi Arabia all this time, where he served as 鈥渁ssistant manager in charge of Arabian propane and Arabian propane accessories.鈥 Their son Bobby, now 21, is the chef of a 鈥渄own home, German-Asian fusion鈥 restaurant. (Sample dish: Grilled mackerel with a side of mustard pretzel.)
Hank and Peggy have retired and he happily rejoins his line of friends drinking cans of beer in an alley. Boomhauer gives him a hug and Dale has grown even more paranoid, becoming 鈥渁n election-denier-denier.鈥
Bill has let himself go, staying indoors and living off Amazon deliveries. 鈥淚 finished Netflix, Hank. Did you know that when you get to the end of Netflix, you get something called 'a wellness check?'鈥 Viewers in the second episode hear Tom Petty's 鈥淩unnin' Down a Dream,鈥 a nice nod to the late rocker's embrace of the show when it first appeared.
鈥淭he writers have found that balance between the vintage 鈥楰ing of the Hill鈥 that we adore and the new 鈥 and letting them coexist,鈥 says Pamela Adlon, who voices Bobby.
Same gentle tone
Creators Mike Judge, the mastermind behind 鈥淏eavis and Butt-Head,鈥 and Greg Daniels, who would go on to co-create 鈥淭he Office,鈥 helped Patterson navigate this world, which they sheparded during its first 13 seasons, airing from 1997 to 2009.
The show's tone maintains its gentle mocking of modern life, from hipsters and their craft ales to bike lanes. Hill at one point shakes his head over modern outdoor grills having sensors and app connections: 鈥淚 shouldn鈥檛 have to call technical support to make a burger.鈥
Patterson says the humor is grounded in real life. 鈥淚 do have a barbecue grill that is Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-enabled. I have three devices to run it, but I鈥檓 calling tech support because I have guests coming over and the meat needs to be done,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nd I do think over the pandemic, my wife finished Netflix.鈥
While there are changes, some things are immutable. 鈥淗ank乌鸦传媒 still going to drink beer. Dale乌鸦传媒 still going to be a conspiracy theorist. Bill乌鸦传媒 still going to be a lovable sad sack,鈥 says Patterson. 鈥淭hose core character things had to be the same. I had a pastor who told me one time, 鈥楪rown folks don鈥檛 change.鈥欌
Viewers will see in upcoming episodes if Hank 鈥 a happy propane seller and garage tinkerer 鈥 can really ever retire and watch as Hank乌鸦传媒 friends navigate new chapters. They'll also explore the relationship between an adult Bobby and his parents.
鈥淗e乌鸦传媒 of age now and it乌鸦传媒 really kind of cool because you see the similarities and all the attributes that he took from his parents that he wasn鈥檛 even aware of when he was a boy 鈥 or didn鈥檛 want to have anything to do with 鈥 and now he乌鸦传媒 using them to keep his business going and move himself forward,鈥 says Adlon.
A politics-free zone
While debates have raged over where Hank Hill sits on the political spectrum, his creators argue he represents a sensible, common-sense middle. He follows the rules and does the best he can without hurting anyone.
鈥淚t's so not a Republican or a Democratic show or an independent show. It乌鸦传媒 all of that,鈥 says Adlon. 鈥淭here乌鸦传媒 space in the world for everybody. It乌鸦传媒 hard for us all to find a safe space in a common area anymore and that乌鸦传媒 what this show really is.鈥
And even though the new 鈥淜ing of the Hill鈥 episodes arrive during President Donald Trump's second term, don't expect any politics from Hank Hill.
鈥淲e want to tell relatable stories where people can see themselves in our characters or their family members in our characters,鈥 says Patterson.
鈥淭here are enough cultural things and relationship things that have shifted to where he can comment on that without us wading into tariffs and immigration policy and stuff like that.鈥