Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American adult animated television sitcom created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. The first season of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is the first adult animated production to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios. A spin-off of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, the series revolves around Harvey Birdman, originally a superhero from Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, and his new career as an attorney, defending characters who had originally been featured in past Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoons. The pilot first aired as a sneak peek on Cartoon Network on the 30th of December 2000. The series officially premiered on Adult Swim on the 2nd of September 2001, the night the block launched. It ended on the 22nd of July 2007, with a total of 39 episodes, over the course of four seasons. The entire series has been made available on DVD, and other forms of home media, including on-demand streaming. A special, entitled Harvey Birdman: Attorney General, premiered on the 15th of October 2018, and a spin-off, Birdgirl, premiered on the 4th of April 2021.
From Hero To Courtroom
Gary Cole as Harvey Birdman, Judge Hiram Mightor. Stephen Colbert as Phil Ken Sebben, Myron Reducto. Thomas Michael Allen as Peanut. Paget Brewster as Judy Ken Sebben/Birdgirl. Chris Edgerly as Peter Potamus. John Michael Higgins as Mentok the Mindtaker. Peter MacNicol as X the Eliminator. The voice cast brought a unique energy to the show, with Stephen Colbert lending his voice to both Phil Ken Sebben and Myron Reducto, creating a dual role that added layers to the character dynamics. The show's production involved a mix of talent from various backgrounds, contributing to its distinct comedic style. The series was Adult Swim's most expensive original series at the time due to its use of digital ink and paint. After the first episode of the second season, both studios were replaced by Turner Studios, who animated episodes using Adobe After Effects. The reason for the switch was that the animation studio was having difficulty maintaining the fast pace of the show, and thus the production of episodes slowed down due to constant retakes. International broadcast in Canada, Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law previously aired on Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and later G4's Adult Digital Distraction block. The series currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim.
In 2009, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law was named the 91st-best animated series by IGN. They called the concept of the show wonderful and the show as a whole especially clever. The review summarized that Harvey Birdman worked as both a parody and homage to these animated characters we know and love, with plenty of funny, surreal jokes along the way. Home media