The King Of The Hill Revival Needs To Fix Peggy’s ‘Bad Mom’ Problem

The confirmed King of the Hill revival needs to address the problem of Peggy’s “bad mom” persona which has plagued the show since its 2010 series finale. Fox’s longtime Sunday night staple followed propane sales manager Hank Hill (voiced by co-creator Mike Judge), his wife Peggy (Kathy Najimy), their 13-year-old son Bobby (Pamela Adlon), and Peggy’s live-in teenage niece, Luanne Platter (the late Brittany Murphy). Peggy’s penchant for self-serving behavior was a consistent storyline and her narcissism did not exclude Bobby or Luanne.

Peggy is depicted in King of the Hill as a woman with gusto for her accomplishments, however minuscule or imaginary. Peggy’s efforts to further her own agenda come at the expense of strangers, coworkers, friends, and her family. Fans looking to binge Peggy’s lackluster choices can watch King of the Hill on Hulu, where the series is available in its entirety. Bobby is not shielded from his mom’s toxic habits and her inability to save even him from her ego earns Peggy points on the “bad mom” board. One of Peggy’s most-visited shortcomings in the series is her delusion that she is an adept substitute Spanish teacher. When Peggy manipulates her way into the Spanish Club’s field trip to Mexico, she hands Bobby a piece of paper with lines for him to speak aloud during the trip that will make a case for the school board chairman that Mrs. Hill is a beloved educator (season 6, episode 3 “Lupe’s Revenge). Peggy’s need for validation from her superior outweighs any maternal instinct to teach her son the value of honesty.

Most single-family animated comedies showcase each family member’s strong personality (the King of the Hill cast of characters is not short on personality), but they also emphasize the support and love each member feels for one another. Peggy’s selfishness at the expense of her young son and niece is polarizing and diminishes her ability to provide viewers an admirable matriarch in King of the Hill. Peggy’s rehabilitated narcissism would strengthen the show’s reboot by nixing her overused toxicity.

The moms in animated families, for all their laughable personality flaws and shortcomings, usually harbor a conscious duty to teach their children how to uphold ethical principles in their own lives. As the primary mother in King of the Hill, this responsibility rests on Peggy. Modern family-oriented series like Bob’s Burgers showcase moms like Linda Belcher who aren’t perfect, but they put their children first, and if they slight their kids in any way, they circle back to right the wrong. This is not Peggy’s M.O.

King of the Hill is noted for its lowkey, straightforward humor, so when the writers bestow Peggy’s character with narcissistic storylines, it is difficult to separate her selfishness from her duty as the sitcom’s maternal figure. When Peggy enters the Mrs. Heimlich County Pageant in season 3, episode 6, her obsession over winning leads her to unceremoniously fire Luanne as her pageant stylist and hire an experienced stylist who Peggy is convinced will transform her into a winner. The series’ running gag of Peggy feeding her ego emphasizes her pettiness and trading off her niece to guarantee a crown is one of many plots original King of the Hill fans could do without in the reboot.

The King of the Hill revival is said to take place 15 years following the series’ 2010 sendoff, providing an updated feel in many aspects of the show. During this time, Peggy could have conceivably worked towards setting her narcissism aside for the sake of her family. Doubling down on Peggy’s toxic “bad mom” behavior is a surefire way to breed resentment towards a character that has had time for redemption. If King of the Hill leaves Peggy as she was, it will be a missed opportunity to keep viewers tuned in.

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