King of the Hill fans are thrilled to see Rainey Street’s cast of familiar, aged-up faces in Hulu’s new Season 14 trailer, but the absence of Dale Gribble’s distinct vocal stylings left some fans wielding conspiracy theories of their own.
Though the teaser has garnered generally positive reviews — “It feels so good to hear Hank threatening to kick someone’s ass for the first time in 15 years, even if it’s over Zoom,” one Redditor wrote — several people had questions about Dale’s new sound. Does it emanate from the late Johnny Hardwick, who died during recording? Or did it come from his replacement, Toby Huss?
Hardwick, who had voiced Arlen’s resident conspiracy theorist throughout the show’s initial 13-season run, passed away in 2023, shortly after the series’ revival had been announced. He completed six episodes before his death, with the role ultimately going to Huss, who previously voiced Hank’s father, Cotton Hill, and neighbor Kahn Souphanousinphone during the show’s first iteration, per Variety.
Don’t Miss
We won’t have a concrete answer about which episodes feature Hardwick and which feature Huss until the entire season hits Hulu on August 4th — considering the sixth episode ends with a tribute to the late star, some theorized the actors may have recorded the season in order — but Redditors still offered their own ideas on Dale’s tightening Texas drawl.
“I can’t tell if Dale’s voice in the trailer is Johnny Hardwick or Toby Huss, but I don’t mind either way,” wrote one fan, arguing that a new cadence makes sense “given how Dale aged like everyone else.”
Some specifically praised Huss’ approach to the role — “Toby Huss is doing a great job as Dale,” wrote one fan — but others credited Hardwick with crafting Dale’s new sound, citing in-character videos the actor posted to YouTube while he was still alive.
“Dale’s voice is almost definitely Johnny,” one commenter asserted, linking to a 2020 clip of Hardwick reading the news as Dale’s alter ego, Rusty Shackleford. “For whatever reason, Johnny started drawing out his words and using a ‘lispy’ accent,” they continued, noting it “sounds just like the trailer.” “This happens sometimes when VOs fall out of practice with their characters. Even Hank sounds a little bit off, but IMO the characters’ aging will save it from feeling weird.”
As a different commenter pointed out, however, this confusion is probably a positive sign for the newly revived series. “I genuinely can’t tell if Dale’s ‘new voice’ is Toby or an aged Johnny,” they wrote. “So the transition between the two might not be so harsh after all.”
Source link
