Fox's long-running 'King of the Hill' canceled

[TJ Phaserman 2]

LOS ANGELES – "King of the Hill" is over the hill at Fox, which is canceling the long-running animated comedy.

 

Final episodes of the half-hour series, now in its 13th year, likely will air during the 2009-10 season, Fox said Friday. The network recently ordered 13 new episodes, and animated series have a long production schedule.

 

"King of the Hill" chronicles the life of blue-collar family man Hank Hill of Texas and his family and friends. Hank is voiced by series co-creator and executive producer Mike Judge. Others in the cast include Kathy Najimy, Brittany Murphy and Stephen Root.

 

The picture is brighter for another Sunday night animated show on Fox, "American Dad," which was renewed for its fifth season. It has posted single-digit ratings gains among advertiser-favored young adult viewers and total viewers.

 

Ratings for "King of the Hill" have been relatively flat early this season.

 

"American Dad" is about Stan Smith, a dedicated conservative, and his oddball family in Langley, Va. Series co-creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane voices Stan in the series, which also features the voices of Wendy Schaal, Rachael MacFarlane and Scott Grimes.

[Kor37 9]

Thats a shame. I liked this show.

[TJ Phaserman 2]

i liked the first 5 seasons....then after a while it just didn't make any sense to me

[A l t e r E g o 9]

i liked the first 5 seasons....then after a while it just didn't make any sense to me

 

Yeah, it jumped the shark a while ago.

[Ian Wood 1]

It's always sad to see something like that go though.....Well, I suppose they'll always live on emblazoned on DVD.

[4456456 0]

wow that really sucks!!!!

 

the cancellation i mean, not king of the hill

[Takara_Soong 4]

"King of the Hill" could reign at ABC

Mon Nov 3, 2008 10:16pm EST

By James Hibberd

 

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox's canceled veteran animated series "King of the Hill" could reign again at ABC.

 

Sources said the network is eyeing "King" as a companion for its upcoming animated comedy "The Goode Family," which comes from "King" co-creator Mike Judge.

 

A spokesman for "King of the Hill" producer 20th Century Fox TV would only confirm "another network" is interested in the show. ABC had no comment.

 

At a time when shows are being renewed while earning modest ratings, "King of the Hill" is doing nearly as well as CBS' breakout freshman show "The Mentalist." Sunday's outing, boosted by "The Simpsons" Halloween episode, hit a season high of 8.6 million viewers.

 

While a possible pairing of "King" and "Goode" would make a lot of sense for ABC, creating such an animated block would be difficult logistically.

 

It takes nine months to produce new "King" episodes. So while "Goode" is slated for midseason, "King" won't be ready until next fall. If ABC orders "King" and "Goode" flops, it's left with an expensive cartoon next fall with no partner.

 

Another option for "Hill" is to move to cable. But between the animation and voice talent, "King" is considered pricey and probably too rich for a cable network, such as Adult Swim.

 

If ABC were to pick up the show, it would mark the second series to change broadcast networks in the past year -- the first being "Scrubs'" move from NBC to ABC. ABC also expressed interest in CBS' "The New Adventures of Old Christine" when the show was on the bubble last year. All three titles are half-hour shows, a format the network has had some difficulty programing.

 

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[Kor37 9]

Does anyone know when Scrubs will debut on ABC?

[TJ Phaserman 2]

i think in the spring