Every summer, San Diego Comic-Con transforms city blocks into a multiverse of oddball delights. Giant pop-up towns, brand collaborations, cosplay stampedes—it’s Disneyland for the extremely online. Yet, among the perennial lightsabers and superhero surprises, a certain announcement this year radiates a peculiar kind of energy: a real-life King of the Hill backyard BBQ experience, inexplicably missing its most elemental ingredient. According to Dexerto, Hulu is recreating Arlen, Texas, for fans to celebrate the show’s revival—but Hank Hill’s temple of grilled meats arrives, bafflingly, propane-free.
Welcome to Arlen (Sort of)
Dexerto details how this pop-up promises a pilgrimage site for King of the Hill fans. Visitors can pose with 2D cutouts of the Hill family, commandeer the family lawn mower, and even take a simulated “drive” through Arlen. The Mega Lo Mart makes its appearance too, here transformed into a hat-customization station. Notably, Alamo-branded cans of water—yes, collectible water—will be handed out for the truly dedicated.
It’s the backyard BBQ, though, that sits at the heart of the experience. Attendees can expect Texas-style bites and a massive grill—except the grill is used not for food, but as a screen looping clips from both the classic series and the upcoming Hulu revival. Not a single tank, bottle, or whisper of propane powers the event. While Hulu hasn’t supplied an official explanation, the outlet suggests this could be a tongue-in-cheek nod to the infamous Mega Lo Mart explosion in season two, or simply a prudent move where insurance policies and teeming crowds are involved.
Does crafting a barbecue with no propane leave fans delightfully amused, or quietly bereft? Maybe a bit of both.
The Propane Paradox
Let’s be honest: organizing a King of the Hill BBQ without propane is a bit like running a Seinfeld cafe that only serves decaf. Hank Hill’s devotion to “taste the meat, not the heat” is basically the show’s second lead character. For years, his very identity has revolved around selling, defending, and waxing poetic about propane and its endless accessories. To hold the event without it is an irony both subtle and staggering.
Why leave out the grill fuel that binds the community of Arlen together? Is the sanitized nostalgia of today’s pop-ups to blame, where safety and spectacle outweigh iconography? Or are the event organizers simply leaning into the show’s lore, giving eagle-eyed fans a wry little puzzle to ponder while they munch on safely flame-free brisket? Perhaps it’s both—an inside joke and a commentary about how memory sometimes loses the smoky details.
Collector’s Cans and Branded Brews
Dexerto also notes that not everything at this homage to Arlen is strictly “propane light.” A collaboration between the Alamo Beer Company of San Antonio and Hulu is yielding a real-world King of the Hill beer for the occasion. For longtime fans, the idea of holding a can of Alamo—even if filled with water or beer—seems perfectly in step with the show’s low-key ambitions. If only Hank Hill could be there to judge the gas mileage on these newfangled cross-promotions.
With collector’s water, limited-edition trucker hats, and enough lawn mower selfies to fill the Hill family photo album, the experience is piling detail atop detail. You almost have to wonder: are these branded trappings enough to distract from a barbecue without propane? Or does the omission only drive home how strange—and oddly comforting—fandom can be?
Victory Laps and Missing Flames
In the end, Hulu’s King of the Hill event is shaping up as a crowd-pleaser: quirky, inviting, and built for photo ops. Yet, for the detail-obsessed among us, the propane-free grill will linger like the ghost of an unsold accessory, reminding us that even the best pop culture tributes end up negotiating with reality’s fire codes.
Is it really a King of the Hill BBQ if you never once hear the hiss of a tank? Or does that absence, acknowledged with a sly wink, deliver exactly the kind of inside joke that keeps fans coming back? Sometimes, what’s left out tells you just as much as what’s put on display. One wonders what detail Comic-Con will swerve around—or lean into—next.
