King of the Hill Revival Honors Johnny Hardwick, Jonathan Joss With Special Tributes

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The classic show “King of the Hill” has come back after a break of fifteen years, bringing new episodes and offering heartfelt on-screen tributes to its departed actors Johnny Hardwick and Jonathan Joss. In this fourteenth season, we catch up with Hank and the townsfolk of Arlen, TX around a decade since the original series concluded. However, it’s unfortunate that some voices behind the characters in the original series are no longer with us, as they passed away during the production of this revival, with two of them passing away specifically during the process.

In the course of producing fresh episodes for King of the Hill, both Johnny Bravo Hardwick, the voice behind Dale Gribble, and John Redcorn’s voice actor have sadly passed away. The series has paid tribute to their enduring impact by dedicating special moments to them. Fans can catch a tribute to Hardwick after Episode 7, “Any Given Hill-Day,” while a tribute to Joss is featured following Episode 10, “A Sounder Investment.” These dedications also coincide with significant milestones for their characters within the show.

How King of the Hill Honors Johnny Hardwick and Jonathan Joss

Tragically, Hardwick passed away during the production of the new King of the Hill season, yet managed to record dialogue for six episodes. The last episode featuring him is Episode 7, titled “Any Given Hill-Day,” where Dale joins forces with Peggy to conceal her accidental spread of bed bugs throughout the neighborhood as she attempted to initiate a community library. Dale discovered that Peggy’s books were the source of the infestation, but chose to keep the secret to earn money by exterminating the pests. As the episode concludes, they reconcile in front of a pile of burning books before a tribute appears on screen.

Regarding Joss, he managed to finish his work on Season 14 of “King of the Hill,” but tragically passed away a few weeks before its debut. The last episode of this new season, titled “A Sounder Investment,” introduces John Redcorn who’s launching a new business, Red Corns. After Hank and the others assist him in removing wild hogs from his land, it is disclosed at the end that both Hank and Peggy will be investing in his company moving forward. The episode concludes with a tribute to Joss, which serves as the final image of the revival series.

What’s Next for These King of the Hill Characters?

For these characters, their futures are both definite and unpredictable at this point. Dale Gribble in “King of the Hill” has been re-cast with Toby Huss for the remaining episodes of the revival season. Huss was a close friend of Hardwick and lent his voice to characters like Cotton Hill and Kahn Souphanousiphone in the original series. If the revival is renewed, Huss will continue as Dale’s voice moving forward.

It’s still undecided how John Redcorn will continue to be part of the series, as Joss had completed his roles for Season 14 and may have even worked on a potential Season 15 before passing away. In future seasons, it’s possible that they could choose to write off Redcorn like they did with Luanne and Lucky, or recast him similar to how they handled Victor Aaron’s death in the early days of the show.

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2025-08-04 19:22