King of the Hill is back for its 15th season in Arlen, Texas! And with this latest batch of hilarious and heartwarming episodes came a number of surprise cameos from familiar faces not seen since the show’s original run. Here are all the characters we saw return in King of the Hill season 15.
Reverend Stroup
First appearing in the season three episode, “Revenge of the Lutefisk”, Reverend Karen Stroup is the minister at Arlen First Methodist. The character would appear pretty regularly throughout the show’s original run, with prominent roles in episodes like season 10’s “Church Hopping” and the season 11 episode “Passion of the Dauterive”– where she briefly dated Bill. While absent from season 14, “Best Little Marriage in Texas” saw the character return in all her Minnesota nice glory.
John Redcorn
While he appeared in season 14 as well, it’s worth highlighting that fans were treated to a brief John Redcorn cameo at the end of “Best Little Marriage in Texas.” Sadly, this is likely the last episode Jonathan Joss recorded before his tragic death, leaving the character’s future on the show uncertain.
Principal Moss
One of the more surprising returns this season was Tom Landry Middle School’s Principal Carl Moss. First introduced in the season two episode, “Hilloween”, Principal Moss was a mainstay of the series throughout its run, including classic episodes like “Little Horrors of Shop” and “Bobby Goes Nuts.” With the show aging out of the middle school setting in the revival, it felt unlikely we’d be seeing the ethically questionable principal again.
Not to mention that Principal Moss’ former voice actor, Dennis Burkley, sadly passed away in 2013. However, season 15 saw the series return to TLMS through Boomhauer’s unofficial stepson, Luke Jr. in the episode “Hank Ruffles Some Feathers.” Turns out Carl Moss is still there holding parent-teacher meetings, and looking just as miserable as ever.
Joe Jack
The season 15 trailer revealed we’d be seeing a return of the old Strickland Propane crew this season. Most notably, the fan favorite character, Joe Jack, honey! Hank’s alcoholic coworker first appeared all the way back in season two’s, “Snow Job”, and was a fixture of the show throughout the original run. He even featured heavily in classic episodes like “Meet the Propaniacs,” “The Miseducation of Bobby Hill,” and “That’s What She Said.” Without spoiling too much, it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing much more of the former Propaniac in the future.
Enrique
Like Joe Jack, Enrique was another fan favorite ensemble member of the Strickland Propane crew that Hank worked with during the original series run. Making his appearance even earlier than Joe Jack in the season one episode “Keeping Up With Our Joneses,” Enrique was a prominent figure in several episodes throughout the show like “Enrique-cilable Differences” and “Lady and Gentrification.” Notably, Danny Trejo voiced the character starting in season 7, and appears to have returned to reprise his role for the revival.
Roger
While not featured as heavily throughout the series as Joe Jack or Enrique, Roger “Booda” Sack is another member of the Strickland team who originally appeared in the iconic season 2 episode “Traffic Jam.” Voiced by Chris Rock in the episode, Roger is introduced as a stand up comedian/teacher in Hank’s traffic school.
The episode sees the two initially butt heads before Roger ultimately becomes a member of the Strickland Propane crew by episode’s end. Phil LaMarr would take over the character when Roger returned to the show starting in season 3, but his presence at Strickland was a bit more sporadic. Hopefully his return in season 15 is the sign of a more consistent role for the character moving forward.
Ray Roy Strickland
Originally mentioned as a throwaway joke in the season five episode “The Buck Stops Here,” Buck Strickland’s estranged son, Jody “Ray Roy” Strickland, didn’t make his on screen debut until the season 13 episode “What Happens at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis Stays at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis.” In his memorable one episode appearance, Ray Roy quickly established himself as the spitting image of his father… in all the worst ways possible. Although there was no mention of him in season 14, fans had long assumed Ray Roy may be at the heart of Hank’s departure from Strickland Propane, and his return in season 15 could prove a good foil for the show’s future.
Thatherton
Speaking of foils, Strickland isn’t the only propane game in town making a return in season 15! That’s right, Buck’s sworn enemy Thatherton, of Thatherton Fuels, also makes a surprise appearance in the season finale, “Propane Recall.” First voiced by the late, great Burt Reynolds in his introduction during season two’s “The Company Man,” M.F. Thatherton is the mustachioed former employee turned sworn enemy to Strickland Propane.
Buck and Thatherton’s rivalry is a long running fixture of the original series, fueling classic episodes like “Take Me Out of the Ball Game” and “The Miseducation of Bobby Hill.” With the cutthroat world of Arlen propane coming back into play for the revival, here’s hoping Thatherton will be around to keep the rivalry going strong.
Jimmy Wichard
However, more surprising than Thatherton’s return in “Propane Recall” was the reveal of his unexpected new employee, Jimmy Wichard. One of the more eccentric and memorable side characters on the show, Jimmy first appeared in the season two episode, “Life in the Fast Lane, Bobby’s Saga.” Jimmy is introduced as Bobby’s boss at the race track, and is quickly established as an irritable, not too bright, mad man.
He’d appear occasionally in other episodes like “Substitute Spanish Prisoner” and “Ceci N’est Pas Une King of the Hill,” but was not a prominent figure on the show by any means. Needless to say, of all the characters we expected to turn up in the King of the Hill revival, Jimmy was not one of them.
Luanne, Lucky & Gracie
Okay, maybe not a full on return (yet), but the season 15 finale “Propane Recall” did at least give fans the first verbal mention of the family so far in the revival. Which we think is worth highlighting and celebrating as hopefully a meaningful step toward the show eventually addressing the beloved characters properly. It’s certainly a sad and difficult situation for the revival to navigate, with both Brittany Murphy and Tom Petty having passed away since the end of the show’s original run.
However, many fans have hoped that the spirit of these characters might live on through their daughter Gracie– much in the way we saw with Good Hank in season 14. And even if we can’t see Luanne and Lucky, it would be nice to get an update on where their characters ended up all these years later. So let’s hope this is a sign of things to come when the series returns for more in season 16 and 17.
But for now, those are all the major returning characters in King of the Hill season 15. As the show continues to settle into the new normal and find new ways to grow, it’ll be exciting to see what familiar faces from Arlen’s past may pop up next!
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