Ever since King of the Hill fans learned that Mike Judge and Greg Daniels were considering the idea of a revival, they’ve been asking what will happen to Luanne Platter. Luanne, Peggy Hill’s sweet and bubbly niece, was voiced by actress Brittany Murphy — who passed away in 2009, just months after the series finished its run on Fox. Further complicating matters, Luanne’s husband Lucky Kleinschmidt was portrayed by iconic musician Tom Petty, who died in 2017. While the revival is still just an idea, figuring out what to do with Luanne and Lucky is one of the biggest hurdles any return would have to clear.
As unfortunate as it is that Murphy and Petty won’t be able to reprise their roles, the characters’ absence doesn’t have to be a sad thing. It can be utilized constructively to pay tribute to the actors and characters alike. In the case of Luanne, one of the most-suggested explanations for her not being back in the Hill household could actually give the character the story she always deserved — even if it happens off-screen.
One huge upside to any King of the Hill revival is that it would have the opportunity to improve upon aspects of the original series that didn’t quite work out, such as taking the character of Kahn Souphanousinphone and revisiting his mental health storyline. Luanne’s character arc changed quite a few times over the course of the show, as if the writers didn’t know exactly where she was going. She went to beauty school, then enrolled in community college, then dropped out of college to become a hairdresser again. She experienced some fame with the Manger Babies, too, but her biggest plotline — and main storyline for most of the final seasons — was settling down with Lucky and having their first child Gracie.
That was its own kind of happy ending for Luanne, who finally met someone who genuinely loved and supported her after King of the Hill had given her so many love interests who were usually terrible. She got to start a family after having a drunk mom and an absent father. But that wasn’t the best ending for her, as it didn’t fulfill the potential Luanne showed earlier in the series. She could’ve been genuinely successful in several different careers while also being Lucky’s wife and Gracie’s mom. For example, a King of the Hill revival could go back to the idea of Luanne being a gifted mechanic who fixed several vehicles, including Hank’s beloved truck in the pilot.
Fans have suggested that Luanne and Lucky may have moved out of Arlen before the revival, thus explaining why they’re not seen, and that’s a brilliant way to open up Luanne’s world. She ended the series working at Jack’s Barber Shop but could have kept fixing cars in her spare time and gotten a job offer as a mechanic in a bigger city — or even moved to open up her own garage, with Lucky (and maybe even Elvin and Mud Dobber) helping out. While audiences wouldn’t get to see any of this, they could hear about it through Peggy or Gracie, and it would be great to hear that Luanne was running her own family business and essentially had it all — a complete turnaround from how rough things were for her when King of the Hill began.
It’d also be a wonderful way to honor both Luanne and Brittany Murphy. Both brought so much joy to people and had such good hearts that any sendoff deserves to be a positive one. What better way to pay tribute than to tell the story of Luanne overcoming so much hard luck and all those “dumb blonde” or “trailer trash” stereotypes to find success and happiness? After so many episodes revolved around Luanne and a guy, she’d have a great career that she built for herself, in addition to a happy marriage and healthy family. King of the Hill has always prized hard-working, blue-collar heroes and with the revival, it can make Luanne Platter the hero of her own story at long last.
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