'King of the Hill' set in Richardson? (Dallas, Garland: transplants, house)

[L3XVS]

I was reading up on the popular cartoon-sitcom King of the Hill. I was curious exactly what town it was based off of, and was shocked to find out it was Richardson.

Pardon me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that Richardson is a largely educated, middle/upper-middle class city with strong ties to the University of Texas at Dallas?

It is not, from what I gathered, hill-billy central, with heavy accented, blue collar, working class men standing around in their back yard with beer in hand, as portrayed on the show.

Yes, I know, it's just a cartoon but Richardson of all places seems like completely the wrong city for this show to be set!

Who agrees?

[azriverfan.]

I don't think it has anything to do with wealth or education. That show exemplifies the CULTURE of North Texas. There is a certain unique culture that describes North Texas/Oklahoma people. I'm a Southern California native and a physician who spent some years training in Dallas and many of the doctors I worked with shared that good ole boy, cocksure perspective and attitude regardless of their wealth and educational status. These physicians were brilliant with regard to medicine but in regards to their social and personal life, they were good ole boys. The white native Texan doctors in Dallas had a sophisticated side but also had a good ole boy side to them that embraced racial jokes, male chauvinist attitudes, you don't worship Jesus you are going to hell, football is god, huntin' fishin' and gun totin. think people in Texas but particularly Dallas residents are in denial about this aspect to their culture. For example, Dallas residents think they have no accent when they clearly do or they will deny that they are a Southern city when it's clear Dallas is very much southern relative to cities outside of the South. King of the Hill obviously exaggerates this aspect as it is a comedy and it's meant to generate laughs but there is truth to it even if people in Dallas are in denial about it.

[BigDGeek]

The show does not seem to accurately portray Richardson to me. I would say it is more like Garland or Mesquite.

[L3XVS]

Interesting perspective. I'm not a Texas native, and from what I gather, Dallas is a very cosmopolitan city that has a large number of transpants itself - but I can see what you mean about the overriding "culture" of the city being shaped by its obviously Southern roots.

While Dallas may be a wealthy, progressive, and educated city, it still is the product of Southern culture (historically which has been everything you described), and so naturally, the attitudes and life outlooks of native residents would reflect that.

I agree, that there certainly is an accent evident amongst Texans, even in its large metro areas. Dallas, however, benefits from the fact that it also has many residents from other parts of the country and world living there.

[kacvb1974]

L3, I live in Richardson and have never heard the rumor about Richardson being the setting for KOTH. Agree that it doesn't exactly fit. Very interesting! I'd always thought Garland was the inspiration and this seems to back it up... King of the Hill: Frequently Asked Questions

But personally I don't see Garland as exactly hillbilly central either, lol. Slightly more countrified, in parts, than Richardson tho. And much bigger. But either way it's a great show and the satire would really work in just about any town 'round these parts since Texans don't usually mind laughing at/with themselves. And now that I think of it, my next door neighbor DOES walk around with a beer in his hand. But he uses a super classy koozie.

[L3XVS]

According to Wikipedia's article on King of the Hill:

King of the Hill is set in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas in 1998. In a 1995 interview prior to the show's debut, Judge described the setting as "a town like Humble." In a more recent interview, Judge has cited Richardson, Texas, a Dallas suburb, as the specific inspiration for Arlen.

Despite the fictitious locale, the show strives to portray the region accurately, going so far as to have annual research trips to Texas for the writing staff. Time magazine praised the authentic portrayal as the "most acutely observed, realistic sitcom about regional American life bar none".

[BigDGeek]

I think the show portrays Texas pretty accurately but I do not agree that Arlen resembles Richardson. Arlen is too country, and Richardson is right next to Dallas. It is an "inner ring suburb" and the way Hank Hill reacts when he has to go to Dallas is unrealistic, people from Richardson would not be wary of Dallas at all. In many parts of Richardson Dallas is across the street!

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by L3XVS

I agree, that there certainly is an accent evident amongst Texans, even in its large metro areas. Dallas, however, benefits from the fact that it also has many residents from other parts of the country and world living there.

What I often found is many of these transplants adopted the local culture in Dallas. I can't tell you how many East Indian doctors I met that spoke with a Southern-Indian hybrid accent. It was hilarious. I feel like a lot of people who move to Texas like and adopt this culture. I live in a transplant city too (Phoenix). The difference between Phoenix and Dallas is Phoenix has no unique culture like Dallas has with regard to its southern culture. Therefore, the transplants moving to Phoenix bring a piece of their home with them and it's very noticeable. It's not like someone from LA moves here and starts speaking with a Phoenix accent but people moving to Dallas soon pick up the drawl and mannerisms. We are a blank canvass whereas Dallas still has it's own culture and history regardless of the number of transplants who move there.

[azriverfan.]

I can relate to the Asian neighbors in that show. I'm Hispanic but I suppose I could be mistaken for another race. In California and Arizona, no one asks me about my race or where I'm from. In Dallas, it was a key point of interest for the majority of people I met. I would get on a daily basis why do I speak such great English or why I don't have an accent because according to them I suppose my I spoke too "white" for my appearance. They always struggled to pronounce name because it wasn't a traditional sounding name like John or David even though it's a short name and people in Phoenix and LA have no trouble pronouncing it. In Dallas, people just wanted to give me a nickname. And many of these people were educated people such as physicians, nurses, finance executives etc. So yes, I can assure you there is some truth to that show. Like I said, it has nothing to do with education or wealth status but rather the culture of the area.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

I can relate to the Asian neighbors in that show. I'm Hispanic but I suppose I could be mistaken for another race. In California and Arizona, no one asks me about my race or where I'm from. In Dallas, it was a key point of interest for the majority of people I met. I would get on a daily basis why do I speak such great English or why I don't have an accent because according to them I suppose my I spoke too "white" for my appearance. They always struggled to pronounce name because it wasn't a traditional sounding name like John or David even though it's a short name and people in Phoenix and LA have no trouble pronouncing it. In Dallas, people just wanted to give me a nickname. And many of these people were educated people such as physicians, nurses, finance executives etc. So yes, I can assure you there is some truth to that show. Like I said, it has nothing to do with education or wealth status but rather the culture of the area.

Strange, my experience growing up in Dallas was very different! All four of my grandparents were immigrants and came to the US as adults so when my family got together at my house you heard a din of different languages; German and French from my father's parents, Polish from my mother's parents, and the constant string of Yiddish that bound them all together. None of my grandparents ever adopted a southern accent, ever wore boots, or ate barbecue (most of it is not kosher).

However people in north Dallas never seemed to have trouble understanding my grandparents, pronouncing our name, realizing why my family did not attend crawfish boils, etc. Nobody ever asked what a mezuzah was when they came to our house, they already knew. Nobody ever gave us nicknames either even though my mother's first name is difficult even for me to pronounce correctly!