Since King of the Hill first premiered in 1997, Pamela Adlon has been the voice of the lovable Bobby Hill. As a boy, he “just ain’t right,” but in Season 14 of the recently resurrected cartoon series, Bobby is a 21-year-old man who’s got a lot going for him, including his own fusion restaurant.
What’s it been like for Adlon to return to the role of Bobby Hill and see him all grown up? The accomplished writer/director/actor sat down with Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko for a Say More interview, where they touched on all that and more. They also chatted about how Adlon feels about the Oscar win of her Better Things co-star Mikey Madison, her upcoming auction of TV memorabilia to help her colleagues in the entertainment industry, and her thoughts on BobbyTok — TikTok videos centered on Bobby Hill, and particularly his very popular proclamation: “That’s my purse! I don’t know you!”
In the clip above, Adlon recounts how voicing Bobby over years on King of the Hill led to her feeling a deep connection with him. “I love Bobby so much. He’s my favorite character, so much so that when I see a picture of Bobby I think I’m looking at myself, because it’s me. It’s an extension of me. He’s one of my kids as well.”
As proud as Adlon is of Bobby, she had no idea how big he’d become on TikTok, where his self-defense class proclamation became a trending sound, inspiring lots of videos — many about standing up for yourself — and even a purse.
She asked us to show her some of these videos, and we obliged. “Oh my God!” Adlon shouted. “That’s amazing!” She then asked her publicist to download TikTok so they could look at more later.
King of the Hill Season 14 is now streaming on Hulu.
