King of the Hill Season 15 arrives on Hulu
Hulu's second season of the King of the Hill revival, which serves as the 15th overall season of the animated series, has arrived on the streamer. The new installment includes what may be the final appearance of the fan-favorite John Redcorn character, though the door is being left open for a possible return in future seasons.
Showrunner addresses John Redcorn arc
Voice actor Jonathan Joss returned to voice John Redcorn in the revival, and his Season 15 appearance marks his final performance. Joss was fatally shot in 2025 after recording lines for the character. Showrunner Saladin Patterson confirmed to Polygon that John Redcorn was not written out of the series because of Joss's passing; the episode had already been broken and completed before Joss died. Patterson called Joss's death "tragic in so many different ways" and described him as "such a sweet, fragile soul."
The John Redcorn episode, "The Best Little Marriage in Texas," picks up after last season's reveal that John Redcorn and Nancy Gribble had resumed their affair. In it, Nancy tells John Redcorn her "headaches" have ended — her coded way of saying she can no longer continue seeing him — and the scene closes with John Redcorn's tears flowing.
Recasting possibilities and broader cast changes
Patterson explained that John Redcorn was phased out of Season 15 to allow the writers to further explore Dale and Nancy's complicated marriage at this stage of their lives, making it logical to "at least [put] a pause on the John Redcorn affair." Patterson indicated that if a future story strongly calls for the character, the team would recast John Redcorn.
"Jonathan Joss was not the original John Redcorn," Patterson noted. "He's the second John Redcorn, so there may not be as much preciousness to that decision, but it's still something that we don't take lightly." Longtime Dale voice actor Johnny Hardwick also died while the revival was in development; his role was recast with Toby Huss, who previously voiced Cotton Hill and Kahn on the original series. Luanne and Lucky — originally voiced by Brittany Murphy and Tom Petty, both of whom died after the original series ended — have not appeared in the revival, and their current timeline status has not been officially addressed.
Ryan Coogler's X-Files pilot status
Separately at Hulu, Ryan Coogler's X-Files reboot remains in pilot form, awaiting a decision from Disney. Hulu has ordered only the pilot, not a full series, and no premiere date has been announced. Coogler is writing, directing and executive producing through his Proximity Media company, with Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel leading the cast as two original FBI agents assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to unexplained phenomena.
Possible theatrical format for the X-Files pilot
A July 17 report from World of Reel stated the pilot was filmed on 65mm and runs approximately two hours, and that Coogler asked Disney to consider releasing it as a theatrical feature. Disney and Hulu have not publicly confirmed the reported format, runtime, or theatrical proposal. Filming began in Vancouver in May and has concluded. Jennifer Yale is attached as showrunner if the reboot moves forward as a series, with original X-Files creator Chris Carter involved as a non-writing executive producer alongside Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler.
The pilot could ultimately become a full television show, be reworked, be released as a feature, or remain an unaired pilot. Disney has not announced when it will make that decision.
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