The Cowboys (TV series)

The Cowboys is a short-lived Western television series based on the 1972 motion picture of the same name. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network from February 6 to May 8, 1974. The television show starred Jim Davis, Diana Douglas, Moses Gunn, A Martinez, Robert Carradine, and Clay O'Brien. David Dortort, best known for Bonanza and The High Chaparral, produced the series. The television show followed the exploits of seven boys who worked on a ranch in 1870s New Mexico.

The Cowboys
Main cast screenshot
Genre	Western
Starring	Jim Davis Belinda Balaski Moses Gunn Walter Brooke Robert Carradine A Martinez
Theme music composer	John Williams
Opening theme	Open Prairies
Ending theme	Open Prairies (instrumental)
Composer	Harry Sukman
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	6 February (1974-02-06) – 8 May 1974 (1974-05-08)

The Cowboys was conceived as an hour-long series, but ABC decided to reduce the running time to a half-hour format. The format change did not lead to increased viewers, and the show was the victim of early cancellation. As a traditional television Western, it was an aberration compared to most television trends of the 1970s (as most had ended production several years prior and only Gunsmoke was still in production by then).

Guest stars included Cal Bellini as Wa-Cha-Ka in "The Indian Givers", Kevin Hagen as Josh Redding in "Death on a Fast Horse", and Lurene Tuttle as Grandma Jesse in "Many a Good Horse Died".