King of the Hill’s revival was one of the biggest arrivals to Hulu last year, dusting off Arlen, Texas, and aging up the Hill family and their animated friends. With multiple new seasons confirmed, one of which is slated to arrive this year, many animation enthusiasts might be surprised to learn that Hank Hill wasn’t the top animated character for the streaming service last year. In a twist of fate, another revived cartoon figure took the top spot on Hulu, defeating King of the Hill even though it is far different from the original Fox animated show.
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In a surprise twist, The Wonderfully World Weird of Gumball reigned supreme as the number one animated series on Hulu. This might come as a surprise considering the sheer numbers that King of the Hill’s fourteenth season garnered in 2025, especially taking into account the preliminary numbers that Hank and his clan brought in. In its first week, the King of the Hill revival brought in over 4.4 million viewers, though this seemingly wasn’t enough to defeat Gumball. While we don’t have the specific numbers to compare and contrast the two animated originals, it’s clear that the Cartoon Network fan-favorite character has earned its future seasons, making their way to Hulu.
The Wonderfully Weird World of Hank Hill
Even though King of the Hill’s fourteenth season wasn’t the biggest animated entry for Hulu last year, this isn’t stopping the streaming service from creating several new seasons of the popular revival. Last year, the platform confirmed that following the success of the latest season, the Mike Judge/Greg Daniels series would be returning for seasons fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen. While the fourteenth season focused on plenty of familiar characters returning to the screen, years after the original series finale, there are sure to be more classic Arlen residents that will appear in future seasons, as the sky is the limit for the revival. As of the writing of this article, the fifteenth season release date remains a mystery, though it is predicted to arrive this year.
As for The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball, Hulu also waited little time to confirm that the Cartoon Network character would return in the future. Following the revival’s successful first two seasons, the streaming service confirmed that two more seasons are on the way. This will make for forty additional episodes of Gumball, potentially leaving the door open for even more seasons in the future if it continues its hot streak.
While both animated series are quite different from one another, with King of the Hill being a more mundane, suburban affair, while The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball is anything but, the revivals did have plenty in common. Both animated comebacks saw the original creators and voice actors return to help forge new futures for their animated worlds. Ultimately, it will be interesting to see what other Cartoon Network series are given new leases on life as revivals are big business for Hulu.
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Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan -
Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme
