Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
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| Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | |
|---|---|
 On-screen title card. | |
| Created by | Michael Ouweleen Erik Richter |
| Network | Adult Swim (Cartoon Network) |
| Production company | Williams Street Allie Art & Science |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television |
| Original release | December 30, 2000—July 22, 2007 |
| Run time | 11-12 minutes |
| Starring | Gary Cole Stephen Colbert Thomas Allen John Michael Higgins Peter MacNicol |
| Producer(s) | Matthew Charde Jeffrey Goldstein Fred Macdonald Franny Reynolds Brandi Young |
| Music composed by | Michael Kohler |
| Writer(s) | Michael Ouweleen Erik Richter |
| Director(s) | Vincent Waller Richard Ferguson-Hull |
| Series navigation | |
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Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American adult animated superhero/courtroom drama spoof television series created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter. It was produced by Williams Street and Allied Art & Science for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. It ran from 2000 to 2007, airing a total of 39 episodes that spanned four seasons.
The series is a spin-off spoof of the more kid-friendly Hanna-Barbera series from the 1950s-80s, with Birdman from the Birdman segments of Birdman and the Galaxy Trio as a starting point, who has gone from fighting crime as a superhero to serving justice in a courtroom, representing the law firm Sebben & Sebben, with the staff mostly comprised of the heroes of Birdman, while his rivals are made up of past villains. Birdman's clientele is made up of usually warped stars from Hanna-Barbera series that either predate or came after Birdman. The primary object of this is to poke fun at the adult innuendos in Hanna-Barbera's many shows that were usually aired in Saturday morning blocks for children.
The entire series has been released on DVD.
Production
Development
Music
The music was composed by Michael Kohler at Bluetube.
Episodes
| Episode | Original air date |
|---|---|
| 1x01 | December 30, 2000 (preview) September 2, 2001 |
| 1x02 | September 23, 2001 |
| 1x03 | July 7, 2002 |
| 1x04 | July 14, 2002 |
| 1x05 | July 21, 2002 |
| 1x06 | July 28, 2002 |
| 1x07 | May 25, 2003 |
| 1x08 | June 1, 2003 |
| 1x09 | June 8, 2003 |
2x01
|
January 1, 2004 |
| 2x02 | April 18, 2004 |
| 2x03 | April 25, 2004 |
| 2x04 | May 2, 2004 |
| 2x05 | May 9, 2004 |
| 2x06 | May 16, 2004 |
| 2x07 | May 30, 2004 |
| 2x08 | June 6, 2004 |
| 2x09 | June 13, 2004 |
| 2x10 | July 18, 2004 |
| 2x11 | November 2, 2004 |
| 3x01 | July 24, 2005 |
| 3x02 | July 31, 2005 |
| 3x03 | August 7, 2005 |
| 3x04 | August 14, 2005 |
| 3x05 | August 21, 2005 |
| 3x06 | August 28, 2005 |
| 3x07 | September 4, 2005 |
| 3x08 | September 11, 2005 |
| 3x09 | September 18, 2005 |
3x10
|
September 25, 2005 |
| 3x11 | October 16, 2005 |
| 3x12 | October 23, 2005 |
4x01
|
October 1, 2006 |
| 4x02 | October 8, 2006 |
| 4x03 | October 15, 2006 |
| 4x04 | October 22, 2006 |
4x05
|
October 29, 2006 |
| 4x06 | July 15, 2007 |
| 4x07 | July 22, 2007 |
Special
| Title | Original air date |
|---|---|
| 1 | October 15, 2018 |
Cast
- Gary Cole as Harvey Birdman and Judge Mightor
- Stephen Colbert as Phil Ken Sebben and Myron Reducto
- Thomas Allen as Peanut
- John Michael Higgins as Judge Mentok
- Peter MacNicol as X, the Eliminator
Legacy
A one-off "reunion special" called Harvey Birdman: Attorney General aired in 2018. Then, in 2019, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim commissioned a spin-off in the form of Birdgirl, which debuted in 2021.
For April Fools Day 2021, Adult Swim advertised they would be making regressed versions of their cartoons, such as Harvey Birdman, Junior Associate.
In popular culture
- In the Drawn Together episode "Wooldoor Sockbat's Giggle-Wiggle Funny Tickle Non-Traditional Progressive Multicultural Roundtable!," Clara appoints Harvey Birdman as her defense lawyer.
Merchandise
Home media
Toys
Palisades Toys released a two-pack of Phil and The Bear, and Reducto and Mentok. Kidrobot released statuettes of Avenger and Birdgirl. Cartoon Network released bobbleheads of Harvey, Phil, Mentok, and X.
In 2021, Carl's Jr. and Hardees released an Adult Swim meal containing a Harvey toy.
Video game
On January 8, 2008, High Voltage Software developed a console video game called Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, that was published by Capcom on the Wii, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable. It was heavily based on Capcom's previous Ace Attorney series.
