New Footage Suggests That the ‘King of the Hill’ Reboot Might Address Texas Book Bans

Disney just released a sizzle reel containing “never-before-seen footage” from a number of upcoming Disney+ and Hulu projects, including Alien: Earth, the fifth season of Only Murders in the Building and The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, a narrative take on the famous true crime story with a title that sounds like a Roald Dahl book for some reason.

But most excitingly, the video contains yet another look at the upcoming King of the Hill reboot. And while it only lasts for around six seconds, one shot hints at a pretty dark turn of events in Arlen, Texas:

Before giving us glimpses of adult Bobby, Joseph going horseback riding with John Redcorn and Boomhauer giving Hank an awkward hug, the King of the Hill portion of the sizzle reel opens with a shot of what appears to be a book burning ceremony.

A crowd that includes Dale, Boomhauer and Bill are gathered around a large pile of flaming books in someone’s yard, while Peggy watches on from a short distance. Obviously we won’t know the full context of this scene until the episode drops, but it’s more than a little upsetting to see Hank’s buddies participating in this suppressive ceremony. And the image of a modern-day book burning in Texas is certainly a loaded one.

In 2023, the Texas State Board of Education passed a policy prohibiting “sexually explicit, pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable books in public schools.” And, incidentally, some of the “sexually explicit” works that were banned included Judy Blume novels and a picture book about a “naked” crayon that “lost its wrapper.” 

Some teachers actually lost their jobs for making banned books available to students. More recently, Republican State Representative Nate Schatzline introduced a bill that would fine bookstores for placing "obscene" works within the reach of minors. And keep in mind, their definition of “obscene” could include illustrations of an unclothed writing implement. Or the collected works of Steve Martin.

While this is a major problem across the U.S., according to the American Library Association, Texas now leads the country in “book ban attempts.” Experts have argued that book bans are “often an early sign of authoritarianism,” pointing to Nazi Germany’s mass book burnings as one of history’s “most infamous examples.” And some Texas libraries have already faced threats of book burning.

So seeing a modern book burning in a Texas town, albeit a cartoon one, is pretty alarming. And here we thought that the episode in which Hank visits the George W. Bush Museum would be the reboot’s most politically-charged episode.