And while King of the Hill features a bunch of right wing characters, I don’t think I’d consider the show itself right-leaning. It respected its characters but also constantly made fun of them regarding their beliefs. Like when Hank would say Bobby isn’t alright, I didn’t get the impression that’s what the show wanted to say; the show respected Bobby as much as it did Hank. And Peggy and Luanne.
True, but there were plenty of episodes where Hank Hill is shown being in the right for combating “New-fangled Liberal Nonsense”, like the episode where they ban transfats to be more like NYC, or the episode where he finds it disrespectful to tone down the details of “The Alamo”… There are also plenty of episodes where the opposite happens and Hank realizes he is indeed stuck in the past and the ideals he holds close are not best for everyone, or maybe even anyone.(Like when he realizes an overly strict parent of boy scouts is overly strict for a reason, or when he realizes that growing roses is a legitimate sport that requires practice and discipline)
It’s because of Hank’s character. Take “The Alamo” episode. That is very much a Texas thing and he will die on that hill even if it’s wrong, but it also doesn’t really harm people to the extent that hating gay people harms people.
When it comes to the issues that causes society to turn on each other Hank often takes the approach of “you need to leave people alone and let them live even if you don’t like it” tactic, because that is what he wants for himself.
