After 16 years away, the beloved 1997-2009 Fox animated series King of the Hill has returned, in streaming form, on Hulu. The recent comeback of show creator Mike Judge’s other classic cartoon, Beavis and Butt-head, was a minor hit for Paramount+, so why not?
(Note to Mike: Do not attempt a remake of Idiocracy—you can’t top our current reality.)
There are plenty of other Fox and Fox-adjacent animated series worth reviving; here are but a few.
Axe Cop (2013-2015; Prime Video, YouTube): Comic-book writer/artist Ethan Nicolle took the out-there ideas of his 5-year-old brother Malachai and turned them into cartoon gold with Axe Cop. (Catch phrase: “I’ll chop your head off!”) In the eventual Fox/FXX TV series, Axe Cop was brought to hilarious life with the voice of Nick Offerman, who delivers both unhinged murderous gusto and childlike whimsy over 22 11-minute episodes. Fox should cancel the craptacular Krapopolis and reinstate Axe Cop ASAP.
Bordertown (2016; Hulu): It didn’t get a fair shake during its original Fox run, but we need Bordertown now more than ever in these ICE-y times. The co-creation of cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz (La Cucuracha) and writer Mark Hentemann (Family Guy) follows Mexifornia Border Patrol officer Bud (voiced by Hank Azaria) and his next-door frenemy, Ernesto (Nicholas Gonzalez), as they navigate an increasingly brown America. Fox & Friends would hate Bordertown—which is all the more reason to bring it back.
High School USA! (2013-2015; Prime Video, YouTube): Writer Dino Stamatopoulos was already a fringe hero thanks to his work on Mr. Show, Late Night With Conan O’Brien and the darkest Adult Swim series of all time, Moral Orel, but his short-lived High School USA! pushed the taste limits of Fox and FXX. On the surface, it’s Archie Comics with the sex, drugs, and more sex quotient cranked to overdrive, but underneath … yeah, it’s just horndog Archie + Betty + Veronica fan fiction. For discerning sickos only.
Major Lazer (2015; Prime Video, Fandango at Home): Speaking of drugs, Major Lazer was designed with altered states in mind. The single-season series is based on DJ/producer Diplo’s EDM collective of the same name, animated in the style of ’80s G.I. Joe cartoons, and headlined by Jamaican superhero Major Lazer (voiced by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje of Oz and Lost). Each 10-minute episode features slam-bang action and killer music, as well as guest voices like Charli XCX (nine whole years before Brat Summer).
Little Demon (2022; Prime Video, YouTube): The TV morality police really, really, really hated Little Demon, which inadvertently amplified the show more than FXX ever did. The series stars Danny DeVito as the voice of Satan, Lucy DeVito (the IRL daughter of Danny and Rhea Perlman) as the teen Antichrist, and Aubrey Plaza as her human mom, years after her regretful one-night stand with Belzeebub. Despite the demonic overtones and frequent gore, Little Demon is a sweet-ish family story that deserves another season.
Dicktown (2020-2022; Hulu): It’s not officially canceled, but Dicktown hasn’t dropped a new episode since 2022, so it’s ripe for a comeback. John Hunchman (voiced by John Hodgman) is an ex-child actor who starred in an Encyclopedia Brown-esque TV show, but now he solves local crimes as an adult in his hometown of Richardsville (aka “Dicktown”). Even sadder, his detective partner is his former childhood bully (David Rees, Hodgman’s co-writer). Think of Dicktown as the cartoon flipside of Poker Face.
Lucas Bros. Moving Co. (2013-2015; Prime Video, YouTube): The stoner-core comedy of twins Keith and Kenny Lucas usually only works in small doses (or tokes) in live-action fare, but their semi-autobiographical Lucas Bros. Moving Co. animated series may be their ultimate vehicle. The pair summarizes their show as “Bill & Ted plus Workaholics plus The Wire,” but the lackadaisical pacing has more in common with another of their influences, The Life & Times of Tim. (If you know, you know.)
The Great North (2021-2025; Hulu): Like Dicktown and Little Demon, Fox Animation Domination staple The Great North hasn’t been technically canceled, but it’s nowhere to be found on the network’s upcoming 2025-2026 schedule—almost always a sign to expect the worst. The series wasn’t worth such concern at first, when it came across as just a Bob’s Burgers in Alaska knockoff, but The Great North has since evolved into a quirky series equal to its cartoon cousin. Again, take Krapopolous first, Fox.
