Still of Birdman via Adult Swim/YouTube; photo of Colbert by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Way back in the early 2000s, before Adult Swim became the bastion of absurdist comedy it is today, there was Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. The Space Ghost: Coast to Coast spinoff was one of the first Adult Swim masterpieces, taking Space Ghost's whole Hanna-Barbera-in-the-real-world conceit to even more brilliant levels. The Flinstones/Sopranos mash-up episode is still one of the best things Adult Swim has ever done, hands down.The show ended in 2007, but now, over a decade later, it looks like Harvey, Peanut, and the rest of the legal team at Sebben & Sebben are coming back to TV. On Monday, Adult Swim announced that it will revive Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law for a brand-new, one-off special called Harvey Birdman: Attorney General.
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That's right—Harvey has somehow made it all the way to the top of the Department of Justice, thanks to his former boss, apparent new leader of the free world, and "megalomaniac billionaire" Phil Ken Sebben."In his new role, it’s up to Harvey Birdman to find a way to remove President Phil Ken Sebben from office," Adult Swim wrote in a press release, "before everyone starts to worry it’s more than the ridiculous plot to an animated show."The upcoming half-hour special will be written by the show's creators, Erik Richter and Michael Ouweleen, and is set to bring back the full Harvey Birdman cast—including Gary Cole as Harvey and Stephen Colbert as Phil Ken Sebben, reprising his role from the original series."This is a great day for our country and for no one else," Richter said in the release."It's funny because it’s true," Ouweleen added." Wait, not funny because it’s true."The triumphant return of Harvey Birdman is set to hit Adult Swim this fall. As of now, the special is just a one-time thing, but if it manages to capture the brilliance of the original series, who knows—maybe we'll see a full-on revival in the near future.Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.Follow VICE on Twitter.