On January 26, 1979, families and people gathered to watch the first episode ever of the iconic action-comedy show, “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
For 147 episodes the show detailed the adventures of Bo and Luke Duke. The two cousins live in rural Georgia and are on probation for their moonshine selling. Audiences watched as the whole crew tried to escape officers Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane.
The show premiered on CBS and was one of the most popular shows of the ’80s. In fact, it was even the second-ranking show at one point right behind “Dallas,” which followed the TV show on CBS.
The show was even made into an actual cartoon, which was also popular.
The theme song of the show was “Good Ol’ Boys.” Country music icon wrote and recorded the unforgettable tune.
‘The Dukes of Hazzard’: Dodge Charger
The main attraction of the show seemed to actually be the 1969 Dodge Charger that the cousins drove.
The car, called General Lee, had become a character of its own. According to Mental Floss, the show received 60,000 letters regarding the series every month in 1981. There were around 35,000 that wanted more information or pictures of the famous car.
The gang was always getting into trouble and taking General Lee on treacherous drives. However, fans had nothing to worry about for the safety of the car.
The show went through dozens of Chargers trying to make elaborate jumps and action-filled crashes. However, in the seventh season, the show decided to use miniature effects instead. They took a small toy-sized car to beat and scratch up. This saved money on production so a new Charger wasn’t purchased frequently.
Cancelation of Reruns
The show ended up pulling reruns. TV Land decided to do so because the famous car the cousins drove had a Confederate flag on the hood.
The network had pulled the show and did not make a public statement exactly as to why. The timing seemed to mirror increases in protesting in the U.S. over the use of Civil War emblems.
