What appears to be the first ever look at adult Bobby Hill has emerged on social media, in the process revealing how Hank Hill's son grew up to be a professional chef.
An image of a grown-up Bobby, now sporting stubble but otherwise looking much the same as he did as a child, was posted by voice actress Grey DeLisle on their Instagram. DeLisle was seemingly in attendance at a King of the Hill event but didn't offer additional context.
Here's the first look of Adult Bobby for the upcoming Hulu revival of King of the Hill. Posted by Grey Delisle pic.twitter.com/VpxkYSPqlW
— Out of Context 20th Century Fox (@OOC20thFox) October 25, 2024
[Update: The original photo has since been removed but it can still be found on various accounts around X/Twitter and other platforms.]
The art includes a description entitled "About the Chef" that shares more info along with various winking nods to classic King of the Hill episodes.
Chef Bobby Hill has loved food his whole life. From weeknights around the dinner table eating his mom's "Spa-Peggy and Meatballs," to overindulging in lutefisk at church potlucks, to celebrations with family and friends at Luly's Cafeteria, food and the people it's enjoyed with are the foundation for his best memories. In fact, his career as a robata chef was inspired by his most cherished memory of all—weekends spent grilling with his dad.
A self-taught chef and one of the youngest contestants on King of the Grill, Chef Hill believes "good food can solve any problem." He draws on the influences of his childhood by combining classic Texas dishes with flavors from around the world. With Robata Chane, Chef Hill hopes to honor the art of Japanese robata and the German heritage of the Texas Hill Country while pushing culinary boundaries through his innovative fusion dishes.
Dedicated King of the Hill fans will recall that the final episode shows Bobby discovering a talent for distinguishing the quality of beef cuts, which allows him to finally bond with Hank. It seems that Bobby has managed to turn that talent into a lucrative career by the time of the revival. The update has been confirmed to include a time jump, with most of the original cast and crew returning outside of late Dale Gribble actor Johnny Hardwick, who was nevertheless able to record a "couple" new episodes before his death in 2023.
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Actress Pamela Adlon revealed Bobby's status back in May and offered a hint of what to expect in an interview with MovieWeb, “We're in the second season [creating] the reboot, and Bobby is 21. He's a chef in a fusion restaurant in Dallas. And it's been incredible. It's just been really fun. I think it's been freakier for Mike and Greg to think about Bobby going from 12 to being 21 and having a relationship and being a person. But don't we all go through that with our kids and our friends' kids? It is shocking when I see my friends' kids and they're all grown up. And I'm like, ‘Wait a second, what just happened?’ So, it’s just a little bit of a mess.”
The King of the Hill revival is set for a 2025 release on Hulu, joining the latest revival of Futurama. Its release date has not yet been revealed.
Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.