Summary

• King of the Hill offers a blend of humor, relatable characters, and poignant moments that explore everyday situations with depth.
• The best episodes showcase the show's ability to balance comedy and emotional resonance in exploring themes like self-acceptance and family dynamics.
• The show's reboot on Hulu will revisit Hank, Peggy, and Bobby while the original episodes are still valued for their timeless humor.

The best King of the Hill episodes are hilarious, heartfelt, and at the same time a biting satire of some of the stranger values of American culture. Created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, King of the Hill takes place in the fictional city of Arlen, Texas, and revolves around mild-mannered all-American propane salesman Hank Hill, his wife Peggy, and his son Bobby. Unlike similar adult-oriented animated series like The Simpsons and Family Guy, King of the Hill was noteworthy for being grounded in reality.

King of the Hill told stories about everyday situations that audiences could relate to. Hulu's reboot will see an older Hank, Peggy, and Bobby adapting to the modern world, but while a few decades have ed since, the best King of the Hill episodes from the original 1997-2010 run are still just as funny. King of the Hill has always found humor in the mundane aspects of daily life, and the most memorable episodes from its 13 seasons showcase the show's uncanny ability to turn the ordinary into the hilarious.

30 "Hank's Bad Hair Day"

Season 4, Episode 19

"Hank's Bad Hair Day" is an exemplary episode of King of the Hill that delightfully encapsulates the show's unique blend of humor, relatable characters, and life's simple truths. In the episode, Hank experiences a disastrous haircut after his barber loses his mind, leading to an amusing yet poignant exploration of vanity and self-image.

"Hanks Bad Hair Day" stands out among the best King of the Hill episodes for its ability to entertain while subtly addressing the importance of self-acceptance

Hank's journey to cope with the unwanted change, alongside looking for a new barber, showcases King of the Hill's strength in finding humor in everyday situations. The episode also has some brilliant low-key lines, such as when Buck tells Hank he looks like "that fella that killed the other fella." "Hanks Bad Hair Day" stands out among the best King of the Hill episodes for its ability to entertain while subtly addressing the importance of self-acceptance and the value of looking beyond appearances.

29 "Pilot"

Season 1, Episode 1

Most TV shows take a while to find their feet, but King of the Hill had figured out its characters and its comedic sensibility from the get-go. The pilot episode immediately introduces Hank and Bobby's relationship as Hank desperately wants Bobby to do well in his baseball team but finds he's completely hopeless. When Bobby gets a black eye in a sporting accident, rumors start to spread, and social services get involved.

King of the Hill's pilot established the show's penchant for setting up a comical situation and escalating it to its most absurd extreme. The episode takes off running from the start, with Hank's friends getting plenty of time onscreen as they work on Hank's truck, and Luanne makes her big debut as she moves in with the Hills after her parents go to jail.

28 "Jumpin' Crack Bass"

Season 2, Episode 5

Many of the best King of the Hill episodes come from Hank being placed in situations that make him uncomfortable (of which there are many), though few are as funny as when he makes a significant error when fishing. After Hank unwittingly buys crack cocaine as fishing bait, he's arrested for drug possession in the season 2 episode "Jumpin' Crack Bass."

Hank is so aggressively averse to drugs that any episode where he accidentally gets himself involved in the world of drugs is guaranteed to be a classic. As far as Hank's drug-related storylines go, mistakenly buying crack as fishing bait is second only to inadvertently smoking a t. There are some arguments that the episode goes off the rails with the plot, as it makes almost no sense, but the entire situation is so funny that King of the Hill can be forgiven for going a little absurd once in a while.

27 "Soldier Of Misfortune"

Season 6, Episode 2

When Dale accidentally shoots a cash in "Soldier of Misfortune," his chances of being re-elected as the president of his gun club become extremely slim, so his friends rally around him to cheer him up. Gary Busey gives a typically unpredictable turn as Dale's aptly named rival, Mad Dog. Dale is the wildcard of Hank's group — he's the most eccentric but arguably the most sensitive and vulnerable — so it's always a delight when he takes center stage in his own episode.

The entire episode is a nice showcase for Dale, as, despite his kindness, he really lays into the idea that he is a CIA agent (which was a lie set up to protect his role as the president of the gun club) and even when Dale its he isn't, he still saves everyone and just continues to lay into the lies he built up. Between Dale's character work and the always-fantastic Gary Busey, this is an episode every King of the Hill fan should enjoy.

26 "Jon Vitti Presents: Return To La Grunta"

Season 3, Episode 16

In a very special King of the Hill episode tackling the issue of sexual harassment, Luanne faces constant harassment at her new job at a country club, and Hank is assaulted by a dolphin who tries to mate with him. The Hank storyline is a fun send-up of When Animals Attack, but the Luanne storyline is a real meditation on the struggle of dealing with workplace harassment.

"Jon Vitti Presents: 'Return to La Grunta'" uses an absurd storyline about a dolphin trying to mate with Hank to explore the dark world of corporate enablers and scandalous cover-ups. On the other hand, Luanne's storyline really goes deeper into the idea of women's struggles in the workplace, and in a show that takes place in a rural location like King of the Hill, it is a nice look at a very real problem.

25 "Pretty, Pretty Dresses"

Season 3, Episode 9

"Pretty, Pretty Dresses" is a standout King of the Hill episode that ranks among the best thanks to the way it brilliantly melds dark humor with genuine emotion. It follows Bill Dauterive as he spirals into depression around Christmas, unable to cope with his ex-wife Lenore's absence. The episode deftly handles themes of loneliness and mental health, with Hank stepping in to help Bill through his toughest time.

This season 3 King of the Hill episode is so memorable thanks to its blend of heartfelt moments, coupled with the show's characteristic humor

This season 3 King of the Hill episode is so memorable thanks to its blend of heartfelt moments, coupled with the show's characteristic humor — like Bill's eccentric decision to wear one of Lenore's dresses — makes this episode a good exploration of friendship and the importance of during low points in life. The guys always give each other a hard time, but episodes like this show that they are always there for each other.

24 "Hilloween"

Season 2, Episode 4

In King of the Hill's first of two Halloween episodes, appropriately titled "Hilloween," a busybody from the church tries to get Halloween celebrations banned from Arlen for the holiday's supposed roots in witchcraft and Devil worship. Sally Field gives an unforgettable guest performance as Junie Harper, the villain of the episode. In no surprise, Hank Hill is the one who gets angry that someone is making ridiculous demands and rallies his family to help him stand up to her.

Hank usually represents authority in King of the Hill episodes, making up senseless rules for Bobby and Luanne to follow, so it's great to see an episode in which he's the one standing up to authority and its senseless rules. Seeing Hank in a devil costume yelling "trick or treat" as he walks down the street is just icing on the cake.

23 "Chasing Bobby"

Season 5, Episode 9

Hank refuses to give up his old truck in the season 5 episode "Chasing Bobby," even when a mechanic tells him it's on its last legs and will soon die. Like many of the best King of the Hill episodes, Hank's unfathomable stubbornness makes for a truly unforgettable story in "Chasing Bobby." A suburban dad's love for his trusty old truck is hysterically relatable, as is Hank's steadfast refusal to let go of an aging truck that holds a dear place in his heart.

This is one of several surprising sentimental King of the Hill episodes that unexpectedly bring Hank and Bobby closer together.

The entire episode is a touching one as Hank's refusal to let go of his truck strains his relationship with Bobby, who is only trying to help his dad, to the point where Hank blames Bobby when his truck finally dies. Chasing Bobby is one of several surprising sentimental King of the Hill episodes that unexpectedly bring Hank and Bobby closer together.

22 "A Firefighting We Will Go"

Season 3, Episode 10

The work of volunteer firefighters has been satirized in everything from The Simpsons to I Love Lucy. There's something inherently funny about such a dangerous and important job being done by amateurs. In King of the Hill's season 3 episode "A Firefighting We Will Go," Hank and his friends become volunteer firefighters, and hilarity ensues.

Their firefighting career kicks off just about as horrendously as it possibly could: they burn down the firehouse. This King of the Hill episode is also a fun take on the Rashomon effect, as Hank, Bill, Dale, and Boomhauer each have their own version of what happened. The editing and design of this episode offer something new for King of the Hill fans, and they work perfectly to show the inner workings of Hank and his friends' minds as they reveal how they see the world.

21 "How To Fire A Rifle Without Really Trying"

Season 2, Episode 1

Bobby finds that he has a knack for shooting and wants to take part in a shooting tournament in season 2's "How to Fire a Rifle Without Really Trying." Hank is torn between his pride in Bobby for finally finding an athletic activity he's good at and the past trauma he suffered at his father's hands as a child.

This episode is an important one for Hank and Bobby. While Hank has always been hard on Bobby and never seems to understand his son, he shows one big problem here. Hank had a tough relationship with his own dad, and this is an important episode that shows how he at least tries to be better. The unmistakable voice of Wallace Shawn appears in this episode, and the animators designed his character, Phillip Ny, to look just like the iconic actor playing him.