The Dukes of Hazzard is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of 147 episodes. It was consistently among the top-rated television series in the late 1970s and early 1980s (at one point, ranking second only to Dallas, which immediately followed the show on CBS's Friday night schedule).

The show is about two young male cousins, Bo and Luke Duke, who live in rural Georgia and are on probation for moonshine-running. Probation prevents the "Duke Boys" from owning guns, and they are armed with bows and arrows and clever plans to outwit a corrupt sheriff and greedy rich "city slickers." They and their family (cousin Daisy Duke and patriarch Uncle Jesse Duke) live on a small farm on the outskirts of town, where they plan various escapades to expose and evade county commissioner Boss Hogg and law officer Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. The "Duke Boys" drive a customized 1969 Dodge Charger nicknamed the General Lee, which became a symbol of the show.

The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, about a bootlegger family, which Waldron wrote and directed and had many identical or similar character names and concepts. Before joining the cast, Ben Jones, Sonny Shroyer, and John Schneider appeared in the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit. Sonny had the most screen time in the movie, he was a motorcycle cop who ended up in a pond after chasing the Bandit. In the following year, James Best appeared as Cully in the 1978 film Hooper.

The show was followed by four films, Reunion! (1997), Hazzard in Hollywood (2000), the 2005 film of the same name, and The Beginning (2007).