Nashville Network (TNN) began airing reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard, which became successful in the ratings. By November 1996, there were plans for a reunion special. Schneider said a reunion special had been an idea for years but that prior attempts to create it were unsuccessful. Series creator Gy Waldron wrote the script and served as the film's executive producer. Waldron had written a version of the reunion script as early as 1988, three years after the original series had ended. For the reunion movie, this original pitch was then updated to reflect the passing of time, and to work around the death of Sorrell Booke in 1994. The film was shot in Los Angeles. When filming began, Denver Pyle had lost a significant amount of weight, had short hair and (save for a moustache) was clean shaven. He was given a "fat suit" to wear, similar to what Booke had worn when playing Boss Hogg. A scruffy white wig was placed under Pyle's trademark red cap, and a false white beard was applied to his face using spirit gum. Pyle's weight loss was attributed to the fact he was suffering from lung cancer at the time. The film was Pyle's final performance before his death on Christmas Day, 1997. Waylon Jennings did not reprise his role as "The Balladeer" in the film. Country singer Don Williams served as the narrator instead. Jennings' "Good Ol' Boys" opening theme song for the series was not used for the film. Instead, Wopat and Schneider created a new opening song for the film. The production used some of the original General Lee cars from the television series. Stunts were supervised by Paul Baxley. Cooter Davenport is portrayed in the film as a United States Congressman. This reflects how Ben Jones, who portrays Cooter, really was a Congressman (D-GA) from 1989 to 1993. The film was dedicated "In Loving Memory" to those members of the series cast and crew who had died: Phil Mandelker, Sorrell Booke (spelled incorrectly as "Sorrel"), Paul Picard and Jim Mohlmann. Release The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! aired on CBS on April 25, 1997. The movie was released on Region 1 DVD along with the second reunion film The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood on June 10, 2008. Both films were later released on DVD in Region 4 on June 4, 2014. Reception The film's premiere broadcast resulted