King of the Hill has returned with a new season of episodes fifteen years after the original series ended its broadcast run, and unfortunately confirms that one character from the original show has died before the revival series. King of the Hill‘s new revival series takes place nearly a decade after the events of the original, and that means Hank and everyone else has changed a great deal as well. Each of the characters has gotten older, and are now at much different places in their lives compared to when we had seen them last. But not every character makes it to the new episodes.
While there are some notable absences in the new King of the Hill episodes that have yet to be explained, and some real life actors who have passed away since the original series aired, there’s only one character who has outright been confirmed to have died since the events of the original series. It comes out of nowhere, and fans might even not completely realize it at first as it’s only given away through a brief bit of dialogue where Kahn mentions his “late mother” in Episode 8, “Kahn-scious Uncoupling.”
King of the Hill Confirms Laoma’s Fate
Kahn Souphanousinphone’s mother, Laoma, famously made her debut in the King of the Hill Season 7 episode, “Maid in Arlen,” Although she had been referenced to before, this episode was the first and only time she actually appears on screen. A widow, she ended up dating Bill and sparked a surprising romance for the two as they were truly happy with one another. But because it was such a pain to Kahn, Bill and Laoma ultimately went their separate ways and we never really see the character again despite the fact that she really did open up a whole new avenue for stories for both Bill and Kahn.
But in King of the Hill Season 14 Episode 8, “Kahn-scious Uncoupling,” Kahn and Minh are planning a (fake) 30th anniversary celebration and force Hank and the others to keep it a secret from Bill. To which Kahn explains why, “I still haven’t forgiven him for dating my late mother, could you?” This is a small line to reference the famous Bill romance from Season 7, but also unfortunately confirms that Kahn’s mother has since died in the years leading to the revival series.
What Does This Mean for King of the Hill?
King of the Hill‘s creative team revealed that Hank is at least in his mid to late fifties as of the events of the new season, and that means it has been a good span of time since we’ve seen all of the characters last. While there have been a lot of surprising returns in the episodes released so far, there are also a few characters who have yet to reappear. With Laoma’s fate being confirmed, it also unfortunately raises real questions about the older characters from the original series that have yet to be mentioned.
Character like Buck Strickland have been revealed to be just fine, but others like Hank and Peggy’s own parents have yet to be revisited or mentioned. It’s likely not going to happen unless these characters are forced in because the new season just naturally continues each of their lives (and Hank himself would know what happened to his mother), so fans will likely have to continue questioning these absences until it’s confirmed one way or the other.
