King of the Hill Reboot Teases Heartfelt Luanne Tribute in Hulu Comeback

Hulu is firing up King of the Hill again this summer, and the new season looks like it might finally address the biggest question from the revival: what happened to Luanne (and Lucky, and their kid)? The clue is small but loud if you know where to look.

The short version

• King of the Hill Season 15 hits Hulu on July 20.
• The revival returned last year, about 15 years after the original series ended, and jumped the story forward roughly a decade after the finale.
• Luanne, Lucky, and their child were totally absent in that first revival season — a glaring hole, given how central they were at the end of the original run.
• The first Season 15 poster hides Big Tex in the trees — the oversized mascot from Season 8's 'Girl, You'll Be a Giant Soon.'
• That episode is a big Luanne touchstone: Brittany Murphy won an Annie Award for it, it features a sweet Hank/Luanne bonding stretch, and Luanne literally climbs into Big Tex's mouth.
• Big Tex also ties back to Luanne's history at that same festival in Season 5's 'The Perils of Polling,' where she decides to be a communist. So, yeah — very Luanne-coded imagery.
• Showrunner Saladin K. Patterson has said the team would honor Brittany Murphy (Luanne) and Tom Petty (Lucky) without recasting. Last season didn't deliver that tribute, but the poster feels like a deliberate setup.

About that poster sneaking in Big Tex

In the new Season 15 key art, Big Tex is tucked into the background among the trees. If you remember that deep cut from Season 8, it's not subtle. That episode is a Luanne milestone for a bunch of reasons — Brittany Murphy's Annie Award, the goofy/sincere Hank-and-Luanne bonding, the absolutely unhinged visual of Luanne climbing into the mascot's giant mouth. Bringing Big Tex back is basically the show winking at anyone who's been wondering where Luanne is.

It also points to a specific setting. Big Tex means that festival, which has popped up in multiple stories, including Season 5's 'The Perils of Polling' — another Luanne-forward episode. If Hank or Peggy ends up at that fair this season (maybe even with Luanne's daughter), not mentioning Luanne would be weird.

What the showrunner has actually promised

Before the revival premiered last year, showrunner Saladin K. Patterson made it clear they weren't going to simply recast Luanne and Lucky. The plan was to honor the characters — and the actors behind them — in-story. His words:

'We talked about the best way to honor [Brittany Murphy and Tom Petty], the show and the fans as well. I don't want to give any spoilers, but we found opportunities to let them be referenced, in a very respectful way that people are going to appreciate.'

'The analogy I use as a sports fan is, sometimes the best way to honor someone's work is to hang their jersey up in the rafters as a show of respect and what they meant to the organization.'

'It didn't seem right to recast certain characters... (we) figured out other ways in the storytelling to honor those characters.'

Fair to say, last season didn't cash that check. No real tribute, no clear status update on Luanne or Lucky. This new poster feels like the show circling back to finish that business.

So, are we actually going to get answers?

At the very least, Big Tex is back in the new episodes. That alone points toward a Luanne-focused nod, if not a full-on explanation. Given how pointed the imagery is — and the fact that the revival intentionally skipped recasting — the smart money is on a respectful, story-driven acknowledgement rather than a big recast reveal.

However they do it, a proper Luanne moment is overdue. We find out how overdue on July 20.