If you spent any time in front of a wood-paneled television set in 1983, you probably remember the General Lee jumping over barns in Hazzard County. But there’s a weird, fever-dream version of that show that most people have completely scrubbed from their memory. I’m talking about The Dukes, the animated spin-off that took the Duke boys out of the South and dropped them into places like Uzbekistan and Hong Kong.
It sounds fake. Honestly, it sounds like something a modern AI would hallucinate if you asked for "Dukes of Hazzard but make it a Saturday morning cartoon." But it was very real. Produced by Hanna-Barbera, the legendary studio behind The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, this series ran for two seasons on CBS and featured a globe-trotting race that makes the original show look grounded in reality.
The Weirdest Race in Television History
The premise of The Dukes tv series was basically a 20-episode car race. Boss Hogg, ever the greedy villain, wanted to foreclose on the Duke family farm. To save their home, Bo, Luke, and Daisy entered a race around the world to win the prize money.
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Instead of outrunning Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on dusty backroads, they were dodging Soviet satellites in the Arctic Circle and running away from pirates in Hong Kong. It was wild. Each episode started with Uncle Jesse back at the farm reading a postcard from the road, voiced by the actual Denver Pyle.
The Case of the Missing Cousins
One of the most confusing things about the show—and the reason some fans were totally lost—was the cast change halfway through. If you watched season one, you didn’t see Bo and Luke. Instead, you got Coy and Vance Duke, played by Byron Cherry and Christopher Mayer.
This happened because John Schneider and Tom Wopat were famously on strike from the live-action show over royalty disputes. When the actors settled their beef with the network and returned to the primetime series in 1983, they also took over the voice roles for season two of the cartoon.
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Imagine being a kid in the 80s, tuning in one Saturday, and suddenly the main characters just... changed. No explanation. No goodbye to Coy and Vance. Just Bo and Luke, back behind the wheel of the General Lee as if they’d been there the whole time.
Behind the Scenes at Hanna-Barbera
The production was a total "who's who" of voice acting royalty. While the live-action stars like Catherine Bach (Daisy) and James Best (Rosco) did their own voices, the show brought in the heavy hitters for everything else.
- Frank Welker: The man who voiced Fred Jones and Megatron played Flash the dog, Smokey the raccoon, and—get this—the sound effects for the General Lee.
- Ray Patterson and Oscar Dufau: These directors were the backbone of Hanna-Barbera's 80s output.
- Hoyt Curtin: The musical director who gave us the iconic Flintstones theme wrote the music here too.
It’s actually kinda impressive how much effort went into the voice cast. Most live-action spin-offs would’ve just hired cheap sound-alikes. But The Dukes tv series kept the soul of the original show intact, even when the plot involved leprechauns in Ireland. Yes, there was an actual episode called "Boss O'Hogg and the Little People."
Why Did It Disappear?
Despite the star power, the show didn't last. It debuted as a mid-season replacement in February 1983 and was gone by October.
The ratings weren't exactly spectacular, and the live-action show was starting to lose its "top ten" status around the same time. By the time the second season rolled around with Bo and Luke, the novelty had sort of worn off. It was replaced by reruns of Plastic Man, which is a pretty unceremonious way for the Duke family to go out.
Another reason it feels like a lost relic? The "world race" never actually ended. The show was canceled before the Dukes could cross the finish line and officially save the farm.
A Dickens of a Hazzard Christmas
If you only watch one episode of this show, make it "A Dickens of a Christmas." It’s basically A Christmas Carol, but Boss Hogg is Ebenezer Scrooge. He gets visited by the ghost of his former mentor, Boss Jake Marley, and sees visions of a future where Bo and Luke are working for him in humiliating jobs.
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It’s arguably the most bizarre crossover of 19th-century literature and Southern car-culture ever created.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you're feeling nostalgic for this specific brand of 80s chaos, you can actually still find it.
- Check Streaming: While it's rarely on the big platforms like Netflix, Apple TV and Amazon often have the episodes available for purchase under the title The Dukes.
- Physical Media: There was a "Complete Series" DVD release back in the mid-2000s. It’s a bit of a collector's item now, but you can find it on eBay for a decent price.
- YouTube Deep Dives: There are several archivists who have uploaded the original commercials and bumpers from the 1983 CBS Saturday morning lineup, which really helps set the mood.
The The Dukes tv series might not have the legacy of the live-action original, but it’s a fascinating snapshot of an era when TV executives thought every hit show needed a cartoon version. It’s weird, it’s loud, and it features a car that can apparently drive across the ocean. What's not to love?
Key Takeaway: The animated Dukes wasn't just a cheap cash-in; it was a bizarre, high-effort experiment that reunited the original cast during one of the most turbulent times in the franchise's history. Whether you remember Coy and Vance or prefer Bo and Luke, it remains one of the most unique artifacts of 80s animation.
To get the full experience, track down the episode "The Dukes in London"—it features a plot where Rosco’s dog Flash is accidentally swapped with the Queen’s basset hound. It is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds.