KingOfTheHill-related stories
Posted Sep 14th 2009 2:10AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Cancellations, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

The one-hour, two-episode
King of the Hill finale should stand not just as the end of a great show that never got the attention it deserved, but as a finale that tried not to seek that attention.
The show came to a rather quiet end last Sunday during Fox's "Animation Domination" block that has done just that, thanks in part to brilliant shows like
King of the Hill. It featured two episodes that treated their audience to some of the characters' humorous and heartfelt changes before sending it off into the depths of the TV land vaults.
Then it slapped them back into cold, harsh reality by following it up with an all new episode of nature's cruel mistake
Family Guy, but that's hardly Mike Judge's fault.
Continue reading King of the Hill's finale ends the way all good comedies should
Posted Aug 6th 2009 2:41PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free, Dollhouse

Believe it or not, FOX execs Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice did field questions that didn't have the words "Idol" our "Paula" in them. But there weren't many. Here are the highlights:
- When Reilly was asked about the "Save Dollhouse" campaigns out there, he joked, "you mean the campaign that started before we starting making episodes?" He cited the solid cumulative numbers the show put up (which included DVR numbers) as to why it was brought back, and the fact that "the fans were there every week. We were there with Joss, and he delivered." While Whedon "wasn't having a lot of fun" in the first half of the season because of the struggles he and the network had to focus on what the vision of the show would be, in the "second half of year he found his voice on the show and had a lot of fun," according to Reilly.
- On Futurama and the option the show has to do a first run on the network level: The show will "do its run on Comedy Central first and we'll see what happens. If we see a renaissance of that show, sure. It's not out of the question." But right now, there are no talks to air it on Fox.
Continue reading More from Fox execs: Futurama, Glee, Dollhouse... but no more King of the Hill - TCA Report
Posted Jul 29th 2009 11:02AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Reality-Free, Comic-Con

Mike Judge doesn't strike anyone as the kind of guy who's created a legendary animated duo and a cult hit movie. And, you certainly wouldn't size him up as a creative mind with two active series on first-run network TV.
The native-Texan is just too unassuming, soft-spoken and self-deprecating to show up at Comic-Con International last week to discuss TV's
The Goode Family and
King of the Hill alongside his new feature film,
Extract.
But there he was in Press Room 28e, preparing for his panel and eyeing the
Mythbusters Comic-Con bag I'd just picked up on the convention floor.
"I've got to get me one of those bags before I go out there," Judge said.
On behalf of a grateful TV Squad nation, I offered him mine. He accepted the bag graciously. Then we begin the interview.
Continue reading Mike Judge: The TV Squad Interview
Posted May 28th 2009 3:03AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

Just one look at Mike Judge's
The Goode Family feels like Hank Hill and his clan are staring into a periscope that's peering into the Bizarro World. The only thing missing on the Goodes are goatees, including the dog.
It's just too parallel not to notice, and it's an unfair assumption to make. Even though they are from the pen of the same creators, they seem like two completely different shows on the surface. But the similarities end after the premiere episode.
The biggest difference is the first episode of
King of the Hill was a gaff-guzzling vehicle for FOX, and
The Goode Family's pilot felt more like a smart but bold-lacking hybrid for ABC.
Continue reading The good, the bad, and the ugly on the Goode Family
Posted May 18th 2009 12:59PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Programming, 24, House, The Simpsons, Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fringe, Dollhouse

Fox showed some surprising stability in its schedule (our network is growing up) for the 2009-2010 season. But they are bringing in four new comedies, two dramas and a late night Saturday show.
Returning Summer: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, Don't Forget the Lyrics!, So You Think You Can Dance Returning Fall/Winter: 24, American Dad, American Idol, Bones, Dollhouse,, Family Guy, Fringe, House, Kitchen Nightmares, Lie to Me, The Simpsons, 'Til Death (for some reason),
So You Think You Can Dance (yeah, two separate seasons summer and fall)
Gone: Do Not Disturb, King of the Hill (though there's still episodes in the can which will air sometime next year),
Prison Break (a 2-hour film is being produced that may air next year),
Sit Down Shut Up, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles New: Brothers, The Cleveland Show, Glee (sneak peek tomorrow),
Human Target, Past Life, Sons of Tucson, The Wanda Sykes Show (late night Saturdays)
The schedule and some details on the new shows after the jump.
Continue reading The Upfronts: Fox
Posted Apr 28th 2009 12:18PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Animation, Reality-Free

One of TV's most underrated animated shows reached a milestone that has been more ignored than the girl with face herpes at the high school prom.
Mike Judge's brilliant
King of the Hill surpassed 250 episodes this past week with barely a mention from the network that kept on the air for 13 seasons.
And it seems a little mean, even for Fox, a network so mean that they run their cars on the tears of crying babies.
Continue reading King of the Hill survives to 250 with barely a mention
Posted Apr 28th 2009 9:10AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, Reality-Free

In a move that should come as no surprise to anybody, Fox has
shifted the air time for the new Mitch Hurwitz animated comedy
Sit Down, Shut Up to 7PM, also known as the "Sunday Night Fox Animated Death Slot." Given the startlingly low ratings the series has gotten in its first two weeks, I can only wonder if anybody will even notice.
Seriously, I watched the premiere (which we
reviewed here on TV Squad) and honestly, the rumors are true. The show is cute and quirky (it would probably do well on Adult Swim), but it doesn't have the right kind of funny for Fox Sunday night animation.
In an even bigger insult, Fox is switching the cartoon with its timeslot predecessor
King of the Hill, which is now in its final season on the network. It says something when Fox offers greater support to a show that they know won't be back (which, at this stage, now includes
Sit Down, Shut Up).
Posted Feb 18th 2009 11:30AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, 24, American Idol, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, TV Squad Lists, TV Squad Ten

Bromances have been around, well, forever really, but you'd never use the term for say, Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte (
48 Hours) or Paul Newman and Robert Redford (
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). That just wouldn't be right! And besides that, when do "buddies" turn into "bromantic pals"? Would love to hear your thoughts on that.
At any rate, "bromance" is part of our language now, and it's even the title of
an MTV show starring Brody Jenner and his buds.
I'm not ashamed to say I have girl-crushes on a few TV babes (
True Blood's Sookie Stackhouse springs to mind), so it's not unfeasible for a guy to have a man-crush on another guy. I don't know if that's true for all these pairings, but since I'm writing this, we'll say it is. Take a look at my top ten bromances on TV right now:
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Top Bromances on TV right now
Posted Jan 18th 2009 3:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Programming, Desperate Housewives, Scrubs, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free

The network that brought you
Family Matters,
Cavemen and is still bringing you the parade of unfunny that is
According to Jim wants to bring the sitcom back to its rightful throne on the airwaves.
ABC made a solemn vow to bring back more hit, half-hour sitcoms to the airwaves starting with the new TV season, according to
Variety.
The network's heads made their announcement at last week's Television Critics Association gathering.
Continue reading ABC vows to bring funny back
Posted Nov 24th 2008 8:02PM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Animation, Adult Swim, Children, Reality-Free, Comic-Con, Life on Mars, The Big Bang Theory
It's that time of year again, isn't it? That brief period between the humongous holidays of Halloween and Christmas that television and retail outlets have forgotten about. I talk about Thanksgiving, of course. The holiday of football games, unbuttoned pants, family arguments, and giant Snoopy balloons. It is also the time to give thanks.
Thanks for what? Well, we aren't trading chickens for a gallon of gas yet, so that's something. And, we still have television, which we can eventually trade in for chickens in order to get a gallon of gas. But, since our television shows are more important than driving in many cases, we may just start riding our bikes and eat peanut butter sandwiches instead.
With those happy thoughts, here is what I am thankful for when it comes to the flat screen idiot box.
Continue reading What Rich is thankful for
Posted Nov 5th 2008 1:02PM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Animation, Adult Swim, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Geez, for a show that was recently canceled there is sure a lot of news about it. First, we heard that King of the Hill was being canceled by FOX at the end of this season (though it will probably remain on the schedule through 2010 because of long-term production of episodes). Then, the lovely and talented Bob Sassone reported that the show could be picked up by ABC, who seems to be in the market for other network programs as of late. Now comes word that repeats (is that term now taboo?) of the Mike Judge series will be heading to Adult Swim's lineup.
That's right. Cartoon Network's older brother will be picking up the 11-year-old program, making it the next-to-last FOX animated series to air on its program schedule (The Simpsons would be the last, and I have no idea if it will ever make it to Adult Swim).
Continue reading Still more King of the Hill news
Posted Oct 31st 2008 10:06AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free

It looks like the Fox "Animation Domination" lineup will be changing. It took FOX long enough to put together a solid two hour block of animated cartoons on Sunday, but now comes word that the tides are a-changing. After thirteen years on the air,
King of the Hill will wrap production at the end of this season. Of course, there will be new episodes in the can for airing even into next season. Not to mention that this isn't the first time
Hill has been canceled, and ratings now are better than they were then. In fact, executive producer John Altschuler said, "It would be very odd for
King of the Hill to not keep going."
At the same time, Seth MacFarlane's "other" show
American Dad, has just been picked up for a fifth season. It makes sense for FOX to let
King of the Hill go at this time, considering that
Family Guy spin-off
The Cleveland Show is waiting in the wings. On the other side, though, shouldn't they wait to see if that's going to work before they dump a solid perennial performer like
Hill? The way they're going, Seth MacFarlane is going to own Sunday nights.
Continue reading King of the Hill to end, American Dad renewed
Posted Sep 3rd 2008 9:21AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, King of the Hill, Celebrities, Retro Squad, Casting, Damages, Emmys, Reality-Free, Cheers
Ted Danson is one of those actors who just keeps chugging along through the years. He could have easily disappeared after
Cheers, but he's been working steadily in both movies and TV.
Becker sort of flew under the radar, but aired from 1998 to 2004. There was the short-lived
Help Me Help You in 2006. Danson even voiced a part on
King of the Hill (Tom Hammond in "The Accidental Tourist" episode).
But it's his stint as the sinister Arthur Frobisher in
Damages that's brought him into the forefront again. It also helped to
catapult him into his next gig -- a lead role in
HBO's comedy pilot
Bored to Death.
Continue reading Ted Danson in for HBO pilot
Posted Aug 3rd 2008 4:29PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Programming, Casting, Pushing Daisies, Reality-Free
Pushing Daisies, my favorite new show from last season, has just announced that
Stephen Root is set to guest star on its upcoming season, which premieres October 1st. Although Root is probably best known as the Swingline Stapler-loving Milton Waddams from
Office Space, he's no stranger to television. Root also played eccentric boss Jimmy James on the David Foley comedy
NewsRadio for four years and currently voices Bill on
King of the Hill.
Root is signed up for a four-episode arc on
Daisies. His character apparently has a connection to both Ned and Chuck's fathers. Series creator
Bryan Fuller says that "He stirs up a lot of hullabaloo for everyone, particularly Aunts Lily and Vivian."
Continue reading Stephen Root comes to Pushing Daisies
Posted May 21st 2008 1:08PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Animation, Awards, Reality-Free, TV Squad Awards

For many longtime TV Squad readers the name
Adam Finley could only be associated with one thing: the wide world of animation. Adam was passionate about animation, covering many shows for us here as well as reporting on anything and everything happening in the industry. So it's only right that the award for Excellence in Animation be named after him.
There's all kinds of possibilities for contenders here. I'd give a nod to both
Star Wars tributes --
Family Guy and
Robot Chicken -- and
South Park definitely stretched their animation style with '
Major Boobage,' but I didn't think the episode was all that good.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force had some good episodes this season (personal favorites include the
VeggieTales parody and that crazy trilogy that opened the season).
But I've by no means watched all the best in animation this year, so I call out to you, dear readers. Which episodes or shows do you think set the bar or even raised it in this past year? Are
The Simpsons out of their prime and not worthy of TVS recognition? How about
King of the Hill or
American Dad? The new
The Mr. Men Show is retro-tastic, simple, but still cleverly awesome! Too many to handle! Help me TVS Readers, you're my only hope!
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