Hank Is Retired in the New Season of 'King of the Hill,' but What Happened to His Job?

After a long absence, Hank Hill is back. King of the Hill has returned for a 14th season, and while some fans of the original series might have been nervous that the show would fall prey to many of the bad instincts that reboots often have, most people seem to agree that the new season is excellent.

That doesn't mean that King of the Hill is the same show it was when it was originally airing. Instead, the new season allows for plenty to change in the small town of Arlen, Texas, including what Hank Hill does for work. Here's what we know about the fate of his former employer, Strickland Propane.

When the new season of King of the Hill starts, Hank and his wife Peggy are returning to Arlen after spending a decade living abroad in Saudi Arabia. Hank was there working for AramCo, a propane supplier, so while he hasn't gotten out of the propane business altogether, it does seem like Hank has left Strickland Propane behind. Fans of the original show are likely aware that Hank worked as the assistant manager for Strickland for much of the show's run and had an affinity for the fuel.

While we learn what Hank's been up to, and also that AramCo wants him back, we don't learn much about what happened to his former employer. It's possible that Strickland is still there, or they could have gone out of business. Hank clearly got a better job, but his moving to Saudi Arabia is also a perfect excuse for the Hills to experience some culture shocks as they return to a Texas that is quite different than the one they left.

Because this new season of King of the Hill acknowledges that time has passed and things have changed, the show ultimately finds itself existing in a moment when politics are very different than when the show last aired, and part of the joke of the opening episode is that the Hills return to find that Arlen is very different. Ultimately, though, instead of being furious at those changes, they decide to embrace them, as uncomfortable as some of them may be.

King of the Hill was always a show about a particular way of life, and its creators, Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, seem determined to remind us in this new season that that way of life doesn't have to come with intolerance. Strickland Propane might no longer be in business (we don't actually know for sure), but regardless, Hank is not necessarily nostalgic for the life he had before.

And so, King of the Hill has returned as a show all about the passage of time, and its inexorable weight upon the present. Strickland Propane or no, most fans seem to agree that it's good to have the Hills back on TV.