Hank is the upstanding citizen in his community, but everyone else is bound to misbehave. The characters' sometimes-questionable stances on issues are mined for laughs.
Diverse Representations
a little
King of the Hill subverts expectations across class, gender, and race, but not all characters stand the test of time. While it centers on a White family, some racial diversity arises through characters like a Laotian family, Native massage therapist John Redcorn, and Mexican truck driver/salesman Enrique. Depictions are generally respectful and treated similarly; all characters are flawed but written with affection. But by virtue of their relative scarcity, characters of color feel tokenized. And without more breadth, attributes like Kahn Souphanousinphone's generic "Asian" immigrant accent -- made more cringeworthy given that it's performed by a White voice actor -- feels awkward. John Redcorn is further flattened, never given an identity beyond being broadly "Native." Women of color, beyond Minh Souphanousinphone and her daughter Connie, are practically nonexistent.
Parents need to know that King of the Hill is long-running animated series about a family living in a lower-middle class Texas community where men drink beer, gossip, and watch TV. The humor satirizes and glorifies life in Texas and is geared toward adults. Hank does try to teach a moral lesson to Bobby whenever something goes awry, which could provide topics for discussion -- but there are better programs for kids to learn from. Teens with mature humor will enjoy and "get it."
Parents should know that they sould let their kids watch it, but not for kids under 14 and up like High school and up because this show has, Rootbeer
Floats and teenage voices in it.
Parents should know that they sound let their kids watch it but, not until your 14 year old in 9th grade for high school because it has things like rootbeer floats teenage voices in it.
For high school like ages 14 and up.
What's the Story?
Set in the small town of Arlen, Texas, KING OF THE HILL centers around propane salesman Hank Hill (voiced by Mike Judge) and his family: wife Peggy (Kathy Najimy), son Bobby (Pamela Adlon), and daughter Luanne (Brittany Murphy). Although the Hills are constantly bombarded with the realities of contemporary life -- trouble with the law, drug-addled hippies ruining a camping trip, discovering the lies behind enculturation, traffic school, money issues, and so on -- they nonetheless attempt to keep their home free of bad influences. Try as they might, the Hills just can't keep the big bad world from infecting their little Texas town, but it's their old-fashioned values creaking along that make for the laughs -- and the heart -- of this series.
Not everyone will "get" this show because it straddles the fence between good clean livin' and hedonism in a very interesting way. Troubles are hashed out by the community in a comic manner, though it's sometimes difficult to discern whether the moralistic views are real "American values" or a parody of them. This is where the conflict arises and the comedy comes through.
Keep in mind, however, that occasional mature topics are explored in funny but often crass ways. That said, King of the Hill can hit pretty close to home for families in its depiction of a loving but flawed family.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the notion of using sarcasm and humor to make a point in King of the Hill. Do teens and adults find humor in the same elements of the program?
What are the underlying themes of the series? Is the subtext clear despite what the characters might say or do?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Joly Herman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
