'King of the Hill' Climbs to New Timeslot

Zap2It.com | December 19, 2006

Hank, 'King of the Hill'

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FOX puts show after 'Simpsons,' moves 'War' to Thursday

FOX has moved the premiere of "King of the Hill" back one week. More important, though, it's moved the show back one hour.

After several seasons in the 7 or 7:30 p.m. Sunday timeslot -- where few shows not called "60 Minutes" have ever done well -- "King of the Hill" will move back into the thick of primetime for its 11th season. FOX has placed the show in the post-"Simpsons" spot at 8:30 p.m. ET starting Sunday, Jan. 28.

That's a switch from the network's original plan, which had the show premiering a week earlier and airing at 7:30 p.m. The switch will bounce "American Dad" back to its old 9:30 p.m. spot, following "Family Guy," and set up an all-animation block from 8 to 10 on Sundays.

Meanwhile, "The War at Home," which had been the lone live-action comedy on FOX's Sunday schedule, is moving to Thursday nights, where it will be paired with "'Til Death." The network gave "War" a trial run on Thursday last week, and it drew about 4.2 million viewers. That's down from its season average of 6.3 million but in line with the 4.6 million "'Til Death" averaged as its lead-in.

The pickup of "King of the Hill" was something of a surprise last spring. FOX had allowed a renewal deadline to expire in 2005, but after its ratings improved last season, producer 20th Century Fox TV locked in new deals with showrunners John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky and co-creator Mike Judge, who also voices Hank Hill and Boomhauer.

With the later start time and "The Simpsons" as its lead-in, the show's ratings are likely to improve again in 2007.