For a dozen years, the animated TV sitcom King of the Hill worked to shake Hollywood from its habit of depicting Texas as a fantasyland of cowboys and oilmen. Its original run ended in 2009, but now the show is back. Hank and Peggy Hill return to the fictional city of Arlen after years abroad, facing a modern Texas suburb full of scooters, Ubers, and delivery drones.

For the August issue of Texas Monthly , contributing writer Sean O’Neal interviewed the show’s cocreators , Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, along with new showrunner Saladin K. Patterson. And in an essay for the same issue, O’Neal explored how he related to the show after growing up in Arlington— King of the Hill gave him his first glimpse onscreen of a Texas he recognized. TM Audio subscribers can listen to this

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