Take a trip to the George W. Bush Presidential Center in ‘King of the Hill’
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North Texas references for ‘King of the Hill’ Season 14 by episode
Dadgum tell ya hwhat man, “King of the Hill” is back for a new season after 15 years, and the show is still as Texas as ever. Here’s a list of all the North Texas references in the show, episode-by-episode.
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Animated sitcom “King of the Hill” is back, and it’s got more Texas references than you can kick an illicit soccer ball at. All 10 episodes of season 14 of the Texas-centric show are now available on Hulu. These are the first new episodes of “King of the Hill” since it went off the air in 2010. It originally ran for 13 seasons on FOX from 1997-2009, with one final episode in 2010.
This new season centers around Hank Hill (voiced by show creator Mike Judge) and his wife Peggy (Kathy Najimy) returning home to the fictional DFW-area suburb of Arlen after a stint working in Saudi Arabia selling propane and gas. As they get settled into their new life back home, they start to realize Arlen — and Texas — has changed.
Arlen could be a stand-in for any Texas suburb, but Judge has said he specifically referenced North Texas’ Richardson for the original run of the show. He always made a lot of Texas references that went above and beyond its setting, and season 14 is no different. Episode 1 featured references to DFW International Airport and SMU, while Episode 2 referenced Texas beer culture and the Kennedy assassination.
Here’s a breakdown of all the North Texas references we spotted in Episodes 3, 4 and 5.
George W. Bush Presidential Center
In Episode 3, “Bobby Gets Grilled,” Hank, Peggy, Dale Gribble (Toby Huss) and Dale’s wife Nancy (Ashley Gardner) take a trip to the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on their way to see Bobby (Pamela Adlon) at his restaurant.
While there, the Hills and Gribbles get to experience all that the museum has to offer, including the baseball President Bush threw in the opening pitch of the Game 3 of the 2001 World Series “providing hope to a grieving nation,” Hank says. They also see the pen Bush used to sign an order lifting the ban on offshore drilling.
The meat of the episode comes from the “situation room,” where Hank gets to experience what it’s like to be the Commander-In-Chief while his Cabinet’s opposition is led by conspiracy theorist Dale (who, of course, has a Substack). Like Bush, Hank also gets a shoe thrown at him.
‘How Do I Live’
In Episode 4, “Chore Money, Chore Problems,” Bobby and old flame/current crush Connie (Lauren Tom) perform a karaoke duet of their song, “How Do I Live.” The 1997 song was originally written by Diane Warren and originally performed by country singer LeAnn Rimes, who is from Garland. A second version of the song was recorded by Trisha Yearwood for the film “Con Air” that same year.
Bronco Barry
There is no real “Bronco Barry,” but North Texas is home to several larger-than-life car salesmen like the one who fleeces Bobby in Episode 5, “New Ref in Town.” Bronco Barry’s car ad jingle for his car dealership off of 635 in Dallas calls to mind Clay Cooley (”Shop me first, shop me last, either way, come see Clay”) or David McDavid.
Arlen vs. Plano South soccer
Hank’s time in the Middle East has changed him. He’s gone from hating soccer to becoming a devoted student of the rules of the Beautiful Game — so much so that he gets called upon to referee a youth league soccer match when Boomhauer (Judge) quits in Episode 5.
His refereeing prowess gets him a ticket to ref a big match in Plano against Plano South, where the Arlen mayor will be in attendance.
Other Texas references
There aren’t a lot, but the karaoke bar Bobby and Connie go to is called A Lone Star Is Born.
Stray observations
- Of course Hank’s love of soccer starts from his admiration at how well-maintained the pitch is. Of course.
- John Redcorn is finally back!
- Bobby’s chef Emilio (Anthony “Citric” Campos) is quickly becoming my new favorite character. “You’re a good man, Bobby Hill. Dumb, but good.”
This story was originally published August 13, 2025 at 3:58 PM.
