The beloved cartoon show from the early 2000’s will return in an all new special this fall that will see the character serving as the United States Attorney General. The special will reunite the majority of the original cast with Gary Cole reprising his role as Harvey Birdman.
Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law was a cartoon that ran from 2000 to 2007 on Adult Swim, Cartoon Network’s late night programming featuring mature cartoons not meant for younger audiences. Birdman was an attorney at the law firm of Sebbin and Sebbin working for Phil Ken Sebbin (voiced by Stephen Colbert), busily representing other cartoon characters in court.
The upcoming special will feature Birdman serving in President Sebbin’s cabinet as Attorney General as he tries to remove Sebbin from his position as President by order of Sebbin himself! If it sounds absurd, it is, but that has always been the charm of the cartoon – well regarded for some of its non-sequitur moments and convoluted plots and storylines.
You might be asking yourself, what does Harvey Birdman have to do with DC Comics? In reality, the stable of characters under the Hanna-Barbara banner have very strong ties to DC Comics with titles such as The Flintstones being published by DC Comics (you should really read that one). There have also been crossover titles such as one shots featuring Adam Strange with Johnny Quest and Space Ghost with Green Lantern.
Amongst the long list of great and lovable characters from Hanna-Barbara is Birdman, a traditional superhero with powers drawn from the sun that granted him the ability to fly (sound familiar?) alongside his sidekick, a large eagle named Avenger.
However, Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law was a complete reimagining of the character, portraying the once gregarious hero as a bumbling, buffoonish attorney representing various other Hanna-Barbara characters accused of hilarious crimes.
The special will feature a majority of the original cast returning to reprise their roles. Here’s the cast list that are confirmed for the show:
Gary Cole – Harvey Birdman
Stephen Colbert – Phil Ken Sebbin
John Michael Higgins – Mentok the Mindtaker
Paget Brewster – Birdgirl
Chris Edgerly – Peter Potamus
Peter MacNicol – X the Eliminator
Phil LaMarr – Black Vulcan
It looks like the show is shaping up to be a hit but the question still remains: “Did you ever get that thing I sent ya?”
