Where is Arlen from "King of the Hill"?
3,983 Views | 38 Replies
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BonfireNerd04
5:38p, 4/19/24
Yeah, the town is fictional, but this guy put together a bunch of clips from the show referencing Texas geography that hint at Arlen's location (relative to Dallas, Houston, the Mexican border, etc.), and it's pretty consistent.

In short: Arlen = Waco/Killeen/Temple

3rd Platoon
5:56p, 4/19/24
In reply to BonfireNerd04
It's based off of Garland, TX.
C@LAg
6:13p, 4/19/24
King of the Hill is set in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas, an amalgamation of numerous DallasFort Worth suburbs including Garland, Richardson, Arlington and Allen. In addition to drawing inspiration from the Dallas region, Judge has described Arlen as "a town like Humble" (a suburb of Houston).

Though Arlen is inspired by various Texas suburban communities, its specific location in Texas is never specified in the series. Similar to the location of Springfield on The Simpsons, the location of Arlen within Texas is arbitrary based on the needs of a particular episode's plot, and multiple episodes give conflicting information as to Arlen's geographic location within the state. For example, one episode indicates that it is just north of the Brazos River in central Texas.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Hill#cite_note-kotharchives-4][4][/url] Other episodes place it near Houston or Dallas, while others feature trips to Mexico and back taking place within a matter of hours. In the episode "Harlottown", the location is revealed to be somewhere on the Chisholm Trail.
Bruce Almighty
7:29p, 4/19/24
Arlen has no location.
BartInLA
9:18p, 4/19/24
Nothings fits exactly but I'm going to say Waco.
lotsofhp
9:20p, 4/19/24
In one episode Hank tells Bobby that on clear nights they can get reception for the sports channel in San Antonio
maroon barchetta
10:23p, 4/19/24
In reply to lotsofhp
lotsofhp said:

In one episode Hank tells Bobby that on clear nights they can get reception for the sports channel in San Antonio


I used to pick up WWL from New Orleans in the houston area.

Radio signals skipping isn't a good indicator.
Smeghead4761
11:38p, 4/19/24
In reply to maroon barchetta
maroon barchetta said:

lotsofhp said:

In one episode Hank tells Bobby that on clear nights they can get reception for the sports channel in San Antonio


I used to pick up WWL from New Orleans in the houston area.

Radio signals skipping isn't a good indicator.
OT, but the most insane radio station I know of has to be KNBR, 680 AM out of San Franciscio. They're a clear channel AM station, so they don't have to reduce power at night.

On various occasions, I picked them up at far away as Salt Lake City and Tacoma.
Hehateme1
11:57p, 4/19/24
In reply to Smeghead4761
Smeghead4761 said:

maroon barchetta said:

lotsofhp said:

In one episode Hank tells Bobby that on clear nights they can get reception for the sports channel in San Antonio


I used to pick up WWL from New Orleans in the houston area.

Radio signals skipping isn't a good indicator.
OT, but the most insane radio station I know of has to be KNBR, 680 AM out of San Franciscio. They're a clear channel AM station, so they don't have to reduce power at night.

On various occasions, I picked them up at far away as Salt Lake City and Tacoma.
One time I killed a gopher with a sharp stick
C1NRB
8:14p, 4/20/24
Arlen played Belton in high school.
Their arch rival is McManorberry (McManorberry!).
It's pronounced Mc-May-nurh-berry.
East of Austin on 290, is a town called Manor, and it's pronounced May-nurh.
It takes a full day for Peggy to drive to Lubbock to get shoes.
Arlen has a TV station where Nancy works. Temple, TX has KCEN.
Therefore, I think it's somewhere near Holland or Salado.
NoahAg
8:42p, 4/20/24
Always seemed like a prototypical DFW suburb circa 1990s.
maroon barchetta
8:44p, 4/20/24
In reply to NoahAg
NoahAg said:

Always seemed like a prototypical DFW suburb circa 1990s.


This.

Bobby even attended Tom Landry Middle School.
Nagler
8:57p, 4/20/24
In reply to Hehateme1
Hehateme1 said:

Smeghead4761 said:

maroon barchetta said:

lotsofhp said:

In one episode Hank tells Bobby that on clear nights they can get reception for the sports channel in San Antonio


I used to pick up WWL from New Orleans in the houston area.

Radio signals skipping isn't a good indicator.
OT, but the most insane radio station I know of has to be KNBR, 680 AM out of San Franciscio. They're a clear channel AM station, so they don't have to reduce power at night.

On various occasions, I picked them up at far away as Salt Lake City and Tacoma.
One time I killed a gopher with a sharp stick


That's the hardest I've laughed at TexAgs in a good minute.
Decay
10:13p, 4/20/24
I always pictured it as Killeen or so. West of 35 and starting to get into the Hill Country. Not quite Austin or DFW.
THATS MY PURSE
12:28p, 4/21/24
KILL KILLEEN and DEATH TO DENTON
permabull
3:47p, 4/21/24
All of North Dallas, Plano, Richardson, Garland, etc have alleyways like they did in the show. From all the places I have been in Texas that seems to be the area that has the most of that type of layout
chick79
4:12p, 4/21/24
I believe Mike Judge indicated Garland one time. Arlen is essentially Garland without the G.
Bruce Almighty
4:17p, 4/21/24
In reply to chick79
chick79 said:

I believe Mike Judge indicated Garland one time. Arlen is essentially Garland without the G.


There are episodes that contradict this. Arlen is both everywhere and nowhere.
lotsofhp
5:28p, 4/21/24
I bet Texans from all over the state watch the show and pick of different queues and that make them think it's modeled off of the part of Texas they're from.

I think the ultimate answer is a suburb of Dallas Fort Worth
Independence H-D
5:33p, 4/21/24
In reply to Smeghead4761
Smeghead4761 said:

maroon barchetta said:

lotsofhp said:

In one episode Hank tells Bobby that on clear nights they can get reception for the sports channel in San Antonio


I used to pick up WWL from New Orleans in the houston area.

Radio signals skipping isn't a good indicator.
OT, but the most insane radio station I know of has to be KNBR, 680 AM out of San Franciscio. They're a clear channel AM station, so they don't have to reduce power at night.

On various occasions, I picked them up at far away as Salt Lake City and Tacoma.


When I was working radio in Little Rock one of our sister stations in the same building was the mighty 1090 KAAY. It too was a "clear channel" station. That's a designation not to be confused with the ownership group formerly known as clear channel. The top of the hour identifier was "The mighty 1090 KAAY. Canada to Venezuela, the armed forces radio network and all the ships at sea." It was a torch. For a time I was on the 7th largest FM signal in the US. 100,000 w FM on a thousand foot tower on top of a 2000 ft mountain between Fayetteville and fort Smith.
maroon barchetta
5:36p, 4/21/24
In reply to Independence H-D
I think I picked up that station when I was at summer camp with my son's scout troop at Camp Hale in Oklahoma.
Independence H-D
5:44p, 4/21/24
In reply to maroon barchetta
Which one? Both would have hit that location.
Buford T. Justice
6:21p, 4/21/24
I always thought that it was Haltom or North Tichland Hills.
"Gimme a diablo sandwhich and a dr. pepper...to go"
maroon barchetta
7:03p, 4/21/24
In reply to Independence H-D
It was a rock station.
The Fife
6:30a, 4/22/24
In reply to Hehateme1
Hehateme1 said:

Smeghead4761 said:

maroon barchetta said:

lotsofhp said:

In one episode Hank tells Bobby that on clear nights they can get reception for the sports channel in San Antonio


I used to pick up WWL from New Orleans in the houston area.

Radio signals skipping isn't a good indicator.
OT, but the most insane radio station I know of has to be KNBR, 680 AM out of San Franciscio. They're a clear channel AM station, so they don't have to reduce power at night.

On various occasions, I picked them up at far away as Salt Lake City and Tacoma.
One time I killed a gopher with a sharp stick
I got a snake, man!
jejdag
1:23p, 4/22/24
On a related note…sometimes they'll show an aerial shot if the town where Young Sheldon is set. What town is it that is shown (can't remember the name of the fictional town they use)?
jetch17
11:28a, 4/26/24
Watching this right now while eating lunch - Kahn gets a new job 'in Houston' and says they have to move. Minh says "you commute, it's only an hour away"
Hey Nav
11:53p, 4/26/24
Bill works at a nearby Army Post.
Baby Billy
1:21a, 4/30/24
Too many references to T.u. for it to be DFW. I've always thought Temple/Waco area
Baby Billy
1:22a, 4/30/24
In reply to Hey Nav
Hey Nav said:

Bill works at a nearby Army Post.

Ft Hood
AtticusMatlock
2:50a, 4/30/24
In reply to jejdag
jejdag said:

On a related note…sometimes they'll show an aerial shot if the town where Young Sheldon is set. What town is it that is shown (can't remember the name of the fictional town they use)?


Not sure about the town itself, but the overhead view of "East Texas Tech" and surrounding areas is actually the University of Maryland. The house, the church, and high school are all shot in California in the San Fernando Valley. I don't think any footage from the show is actually sourced from Texas, but I could be wrong.
Ogre09
8:29a, 4/30/24
Young Sheldon intro with a Holstein and desert canyons always bugs me.

Decay
12:11p, 4/30/24
In reply to Ogre09
Ogre09 said:

Young Sheldon intro with a Holstein and desert canyons always bugs me.



That's totally Houston. Right by uh, the shipping channel...
Ragnar Danneskjoldd
12:24p, 4/30/24
king of the hill gets better every watch through. Layers within layers. Like an onion.

Its been fun to watch my michigander wife slowly pick up on more jokes the longer she's lived in texas.
ThunderCougarFalconBird
12:25p, 4/30/24
Arlen is like Springfield on the Simpsons. Generic town in Oregon (has a gorge, nuclear power plant, river, etc.)
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