The Inaccessible Decadence of "King of the Hill"

What Gen X sought to escape, Gen Y can only dream of.

In a world where F*mily G*y is still somehow broadcast, it’s difficult to imagine a time when another show was maligned as the premier Simpsons ripoff. Yet in 1997 a beer-drinking, upper-lower-middle-class, husband & father in a white shirt and blue pants materialised on the Fox network out of thin air and the persistently underappreciated talents of Mike Judge. Hank swiftly muted the comparisons to Homer from the second he opened his mouth, and a new lane of realism was carved through the slate of animated sitcoms. See you later, Duckman. What was designed as a satirical yet respectful look at the humdrum life of the 90s American family, becomes a relic of the last remnants of a saner society.

Don’t let the setting fool you, Hank Hill lives in luxury. Hank’s literal blue-collar affords him the following:

• His own home.

• A wife who doesn’t need to work, she merely chooses to, poorly.

• A child with his needs over met.

• Disposable income.

• Time for his hobbies.

• A supportive social circle.

• A job he loves.

Sure, his dad is a gigantic prick, and he doesn’t drive a Tesla or wear designer clothes. He isn’t an influencer. But of course his life isn’t perfect, he’s written to be relatable. Hank Hill is what Frank Grimes believed he should have been. Consider the things Hank has, a nobody painted as charmingly banal, and ask yourself how much of that you have.

“But it’s a cartoon, it’s not ‘sposed to be realistic.”

Shut up. This cartoon is intended to be realistic.

Unlike Homer Simpson, there’s no need to suspend your disbelief at the presumptive monetary cost of Hank's various activities, because there’s little to cluck your tongue at like a mega-genius and say, “That wouldn’t happen.”

The average King of the Hill story is one of a man being placed in an environment he doesn’t like, and either being forced to reconsider his attitude or having his obstinance validated. The narrative lives within its character’s means, but the character’s means are far in excess of what’s within the grasp of a middle-class Millennial (or Gen Z 🤮) worker today.

In 1997, the median income in the United States of America was $37,005. Reddit & Thrillest come to the conclusion that Hank Hill earns around $42-43,000 a year. Given Hank Hill is an assistant manager at Strickland Propane, this affords him a salary about 13% higher than the then-median wage. A fair raise given the stresses of his position, and that wages were fairer back then, and a fair representation of the social caste Hank Hill enjoys. Adjusted for inflation this works out to about $76,000 a year, a thoroughly middle-class salary these days, I can attest.

Yet Hank owns land, Hank has free time, Hank has his interests and Hank has stuff. And none of that feels outlandish because at the time it absolutely wasn’t. For the average Millennial, having any one of those things means you likely won’t have any of the others. And you’ll still have to go to work.

“Hank Hill is a boomer. Ok boomer.”

He is, yes. And therein lies what makes King of the Hill ultimately bittersweet to watch.

King of the Hill is a show created and staffed by a bunch of Gen X’ers satirising the life that to them was so passe, so suffocating and such a cause for histrionics. A life that was handed to them on a plate which they discarded with little appreciation because it was always expected to be there.

Yet what was possible on a middle-class salary in 1997, is what’s possible on minimum $100k in 2023. Yet even then I know people making six figures who couldn’t even service a mortgage let alone get a deposit together.

The world of King of the Hill is one that was created through decades of effective social policy, strong union membership, heavy regulation of the financial sector, and a general basic consciousness, largely from the generation that preceded the rancid scourge that is the Baby Boomer.

Is that possible again? No. But I find it incredibly disheartening how close we came to a functional utopia only to treat it like a joke.