"I Tell You What..." The Making of King of the Hill

Characters from Fox Television's KING OF THE HILL, designed by Mike Judge

FEBRUARY 14 – APRIL 6, 2014
"I TELL YOU WHAT..." The Making of KING OF THE HILL

ALKEK LIBRARY, FIRST FLOOR

The stars of King of the Hill are Hank, Peggy, and Bobby Hill who, along with their neighbors in Arlen, Texas, embody no-nonsense (but often hilarious) suburban Texas culture. The Wittliff is proud to house the complete production archive of the popular animated television show. Included are research notes, story pitches, outlines, and script drafts for every episode, as well as character sketches, style guides, marketing notebooks, and one-of-a-kind artifacts like a 4’ x 6’ whiteboard depicting the production process from concept to air date.

In all, over 125 boxes of material at the Wittliff Collections document the effort-intensive work behind creating this deceptively simple show—from character development and backstory to final cel animation and show promotion. An illuminating cross-section of the archive, including the whiteboard, is on display in the Alkek Library’s first-floor exhibit case. The Emmy® award-winning show ran for 13 seasons on FOX and it lives on in syndication. The King of the Hill Archive was donated to the Wittliff through the efforts of a native Texan: writer and executive producer, Jim Dauterive, who went on to help develop—and continues to contribute to—Bob’s Burgers.

Interested in delving deeper? Make an appointment and expert Wittliff staff will assist you—with King of the Hill materials or items from just about any of our archives—be it for research, inspiration, or pleasure.