Mike Judge always seemed to have secret geek sympathies. He co-created the HBO series Silicon Valley , as well as the movie Office Space ( [1]reviewed in 1999 by Slashdot contributor Jon Katz ).

Now comes the word that besides rebooting Buffy the Vampire Slayer — and an [2]animated [3]scifi/action/horror [4]film called [5] Predator: Killer of Killers — Hulu is also relaunching Judge's animated series King of the Hill on August 4th. And Cinemablend notes they took great pains to [6]ensure the inclusion of internet-loving neighbor Dale Gribble despite the [7]death of voice actor Johnny Hardwick :

> Co-creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels joined the cast of returning voice actors for a revealing Q&A at ATX Fest while also revealing longtime cast member Toby Huss took over the role of Dale Gribble... Hardwick passed away in August 2023 at 64, with [8]fans and co-stars paying tribute soon after. It was revealed at the time that he'd recorded some audio for the new season, but it was clear that another actor would be needed to fill those intimidating and conspiracy-obsessed shoes. Among other characters, Huss provided the voice of Cotton Hill and Kahn Sr. in the O.G. run, and feels to me like a natural fit to take over as Dale. And he sounds humbled to have been given the task, telling the ATX Fest crowd:

>

> "Johnny was one-of-a-kind and a wonderful fellow. I'm not trying to copy Johnny...I guess I'm trying to be Johnny. He laid down a really wonderful goofball character...he had a lot of weird heart to him and that's a credit to Johnny. So all I'm trying to do is hold on to his Dale-ness. We love our guy Johnny and it's so sad that he's not here...."

>

> I can already hear Dale himself questioning why he sounds different, and whether or not the government has replaced him with a lizard creature or some other sentient organism... In the immediate aftermath of Johnny Hardwick's death, the word was that the actor had filmed a couple of episodes' worth of material for the Hulu revival, but Mike Judge went on the record at ATX Fest to reveal that initial assessment undershot things entirely. From the voice of Hank Hill himself: "Johnny Hardwick is in six episodes. He's still going to be in the show."

Hulu [9]uploaded the new opening credits to YouTube eight days ago — and it's already been viewed 2.1 million times, attracting 55,000 upvotes and 7,952 comments...

Long-time Slashdot reader [10]theodp shared the official blurb describing the new show:

> After years working a propane job in Saudi Arabia to earn their retirement nest egg, Hank and Peggy Hill return to a changed Arlen, Texas to reconnect with old friends Dale, Boomhauer and Bill. Meanwhile, Bobby is living his dream as a chef in Dallas and enjoying his 20s with his former classmates Connie, Joseph and Chane.



[1] https://news.slashdot.org/story/99/02/21/1644235/movie-reviewoffice-space

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbddYji1F8s&pp=0gcJCbIJAYcqIYzv

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAyq2MLO5TY

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOr6ryoyHcg

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vmgmenuAhA

[6] https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/king-of-the-hill-star-toby-huss-talks-replacing-johnny-hardwick-dale-gribble-and-mike-judge--reveals-late-actor-episode-count

[7] https://www.cinemablend.com/television/johnny-hardwick-king-of-the-hill-dale-gribble-dead-at-64

[8] https://www.cinemablend.com/television/king-of-the-hill-cast-and-fans-pay-tribute-to-johnny-hardwick-after-his-death

[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R189-YSWvsY

[10] https://www.slashdot.org/~theodp