Could 'King of the Hill' reign at ABC?

There's an outside chance that Fox's canceled veteran animated series "King of the Hill" could reign again.

Sources say ABC, which is rolling out midseason animated comedy “The Goode Family” -- from “King” co-creator Mike Judge -- is eyeing the veteran Fox toon.

A spokesman for producer 20th Century Fox TV would only confirm "another network is interested" in the show. ABC had no comment and, to be clear, this is still the discussion phase. 

At a time when shows are being renewed while earning modest 2.4 adult demo ratings, the current 13th season of “King” is averaging a 3.4 -- nearly as much as CBS’ breakout freshman drama “The Mentalist.” Sunday's edition, boosted by "The Simpsons" annual Halloween episode, hit a season high.

While a possible pairing of “King” and “Goode” would make a lot of sense for ABC as animated shows perform best when partnered with other animated shows, creating a Judge block could be logistically difficult.

“King” takes nine months to produce new episodes due to the animation work involved. So while “Goode” is slated for midseason, “King” wouldn't be ready until next fall. If ABC orders “King” and “Goode” flops … the network is left with an expensive half-hour animated show next fall with no partner. Plus, ABC wouldn't want its "King" to air at the same time as Fox's "King."

One source hinted the network might just opt for a script order -- which would getting the ball rolling on another "King" season, while leaving the network time to test "Goode" on the air.

Another option for "Hill" is to move to cable. But between cost of the show's animation and voice talent, “King” is considered pricey and likely too rich for a small network, such as Adult Swim.

If ABC were to pick up the show, it would mark the second series to change broadcast networks in the past year -- the first being "Scrubs" move from NBC to ABC. ABC also expressed interest in CBS' "The New Adventures of Old Christine" when the show was on the bubble last year. All three titles are half-hour shows, a format the network has had some difficulty programming.