King of the Hill canceled

Fox Television has announced that King of the Hill, now in its thirteenth season, will air its final episodes next year. The network says that the two-time Emmy award-winning program’s demise has been a long time coming.

“It’s probably time (for Fox to make a decision),” Gary Newman, co-chairman of 20th Century Fox TV, said in an interview with TVWEEK earlier this month. “I don’t know if the network will be ordering more seasons or not. That show has had its last rites read to it several times, and keeps rearing its head again.”

The cancellation was made in order to make room for new animated shows. The new lineup will include The Cleveland Show, which is scheduled to debut in April, and Sit Down, Shut Up.

King of the Hill co-creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels have already moved on to other projects. Judge is working on a new series called THE GOODE FAMILY and Daniels is employed at the NBC hit show The Office.

ABC may be interested in picking up King of the Hill, but no deal has been made.