In a somewhat surprising move, the FOX network has decided to cancel one of the staples of its Sunday night line-up. On the eve of Halloween, the King of the Hill TV show has been cancelled after 13 seasons on the air.
King of the Hill follows the animated adventures of the Hill family from the small town of Arlen, Texas. The family’s patriarch, Hank (Mike Judge), is a propane salesman who’s obsessed with his lawn and the Dallas Cowboys. His well-meaning wife Peggy (Kathy Najimy) holds several part-time jobs and together, they raise their husky teenage son, Bobby (Pamela Adlon). Other characters include niece Luanne (Brittany Murphy), neighbor Bill (Stephen Root), and conspiracy-lover Dale (Johnny Hardwick).
The series debuted on January 12, 1997 on FOX and quickly became a staple of the network’s animation line-up. Having survived to produce over 240 episodes, King has become the second longest-running animated series, following The Simpsons. It’s become very popular in syndication, both in the US and internationally.
In recent years, King has been on the verge of cancellation several times. Earlier this month, Gary Newman, the co-chair of 20th Century Fox TV, hinted to TV Week that it may be time to pull the plug. He said, “I don’t know if the network will be ordering more seasons or not. That show has had its last rites read to it several times, and keeps rearing its head again.”
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This season, King has been averaging seven million viewers and a 3.4/8 rating/share in the 18-49 demographic, a far cry from the series’ heyday. Simpsons and Family Guy, the shows that air before and after, both attract better numbers.
Back in early April, FOX ordered 13 episodes for the show’s 13th season. Production is nearly completed on those and the network has decided that they will be the series’ last. The episodes that are currently airing are actually from the show’s 12th season. FOX won’t begin showing King’s final batch of episodes until February 2009 which means that, though cancelled, the series could end up on the network’s 2009-10 schedule.
King isn’t scheduled to have any kind of series-closing finale. Executive producer John Altschuler says that this is by design. If there’d been a series finale when the show ceased production in the past, it would have been difficult to revive it.
If this is truly the end of King, Altschuler feels good about the run but ultimately isn’t totally convinced it’s over. He told Variety, We’ve been here before… When it’s time for King of the Hill to go, it will go. But I think with the ratings this good, and with quality that doesn’t seem to be diminishing, it would be very odd for King of the Hill not to keep going.”
Influencing the network’s decision to cancel King, aside from the declining ratings, is the fact that FOX is hot to introduce two new animated series in midseason; Sit Down, Shut Up, from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz, and The Cleveland Show, a spin-off of Family Guy. Stay tuned! 
Image courtesy FOX.
btw i said breeder to prove a point. i have nothing against straight people whatsoever. so dont say im a hypocrite.
wow friendofhank. its real nice that you defend my favorite show by calling someone a homo. you biggoted *******. i really think you should rethink the things you say before just spouting off a bunch of closeminded, out of bounds, egotstical, airheaded, slow witted BS. thanks. ****** breeder
No Mikey you’re the idiot here king of the hill is garbage and the sooner it burns the better.
hey sky soldier i just read you comment, you sir, are an idiot. family guy is funny i will not lie, but it is dumb humor. its punch line after punch line. god i hate people like you.
Wow what their doing to futurama is enough! Fox, your full of yourself.
I had no idea that fox might cancel king of the hill, thats crazy! i like family guy and south park but king of the hill is the only cartoon on fox that i can watch without having to send my kids to another room! i hope fox gets it together and doesn’t make a HUGE mistake by canceling this show.
If you rather want your kids to watch a show that jokes a about beastiality, child abuse, extreme acts of violence and other absurd stuff, you just did a very good move 🙂 If not, bring back KoTH
Look , friendof hank I’ve got a nice job and life and as far as me defending shows like the Simpsons,Family Guy and American Dad it’s worth it because they’re funny and KOTH wasn’t on either side of hell.You’re as big a sanctamonious buzzard as Hank Hill is and you’re head is further up your butt than Hank’s is so if you’re not “down with that”I would suggest you go F-yourself JERKOFF.
i find it funny that a supposed 34 yr old has nothing better to do with his time then defend awful programs over and over again on a bad network.skysoldier you should get a life or a job ,heck maby even a girlfriend prioviding your not some homo(but you probbly are) so good luck with that.. .. seriously.its pathetic.
yea the cleveland show ..a spin off woooooooohooooooo. i crap better cartoons.real original.koth was a probbly the best show fox ever had besides the simpsons as for those other pieces of garbage like family guy,american dad,and cleveland brown show there as about as funny as a heart attack.
Listen friend of hank if thers anyhting that comes close to a crying shame it’s the fact that we have to wait for this show to kick the bucket the one good bit of news is we have the Cleveland Brown show to watch until KOTH(a show that was never brillant at all)goes up in flames.
Its a cryin’ shame I’ll tell you what.. that show should be on and all these shows with pointless (and often “seen that comin'”)wanna be shock humor should go back to the drawing board in hell from which they came. King of the Hill was a brilliant and tasteful show ,compared to those other shows like family guy and sit down shut up ( which is probbly the worst show ive ever seen..ever) that only appeal to 5 year olds and kids with out pubic hair.Now fox you should all pull you heads out of you fat ,lazy,do nothing ass’s… Read more »
This is in response to the comments by ******. While I do enjoy watching KOTH, I am also a fan of Family Guy. I have a HS diploma and am in the process of getting a college degree. If you are going to take the time to post a comment calling fans of an animated TV series a bunch of “dumb asses” you might want to learn to spell first so that you don’t look like a dumb ass yourself. I am a 39 year-old mother of four. Where does this fit into your viewpoints of certain fan bases?
hey everyone i was so hyped and pissed during the typeing of my first comment i made some mistakes here read this one. first off screw all u whitetrash wearin the same cheesepuff stained stewie shirt for 5 years straight heres some advice get your fat ass off the couch and and drop about 200 pounds move out of your moms house and go out and get a girlfriend or at least an education. if your a fan of family guy your pretty much tellling your a dumbass that that doesnt understand real humor that deals with real world everyday… Read more »
Save Hank!!!!! I am definately in love with Hank Hill. Thats my favorite show.