The Cowboys is a short-lived Western television series based on the 1972 motion picture of the same name starring John Wayne. 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 . David Dortort, best known for Bonanza and The High Chaparral, produced the series. The television show, like the movie, followed the exploits of seven boys who worked on a ranch in 1870s New Mexico. The Cowboys began as an hour-long series, but ABC decided to reduce running time to a half-hour format.