The Dukes of Hazzard: Back to Hazzard, Way Back!

The Dukes of Hazzard was a very popular primetime show that ran on CBS for seven seasons, from 1979 until 1985. The series inspired a slew of merchandising sporting the faces of series stars John Schneider, Tom Wopat and Catherine Bach and of course their car, the high-jumping General Lee. There was also a Saturday morning animated series, a short-lived spin-off (which focused on Deputy Enos Strate), and two reunion movies in 1997 and 2000.

Over 25 years after the original series debuted, a feature film based on the series was released in 2005. The film starred Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds and Willie Nelson. Though there was no relation to the TV show beyond the title and premise, the film did moderately well, taking in $110 million worldwide. It was named the worst picture of the year by several critics but that’s not stopping the studio from going back to the till one more time.

The Dukes of Hazzard – The BeginningThe Beginning will detail Bo and Luke’s arrival in Hazzard County as well as their introduction to the General Lee and their first clash with Boss Hogg.

The story goes like this: Mischievous teenage cousins Bo (Jonathan Bennett) and Luke Duke (Randy Wayne) have been arrested for speeding once again. As a result, they’re paroled to the care of their Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson) in Hazzard County for a summer of hard farm work. Before long, the Duke Boys learn that Boss Hogg (Christopher McDonald) plans to foreclose on their Uncle Jesse’s Farm. With help from their sexy cousin Daisy (April Scott), Bo and Luke vow to save the family’s property and moonshine business. Driving the General Lee, the Duke boys make Boss Hogg’s life miserable, concocting one crazy scheme after another. The film features many other Dukes of Hazzard characters including Rosco P. Coltrane (Harland Williams), Cooter (Joel Moore), Enos Strate (Adam Shulman), Hughie Hogg (Todd Grinnell) and Lulu Hogg (Sherilyn Fenn).

This direct-to-DVD film seems to be more closely tied with the feature film (Willie Nelson plays Uncle Jessie in both versions), than the TV series. Like the 2005 film, the DVD will be released in both a rated R and an ‘unrated’ version. I guess some people can’t get enough of those Daisy Duke shorts. Stay tuned!