Cow and Chicken is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the third of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the surreal adventures of two talking animal siblings, Cow and Chicken. They are often antagonized by the Red Guy, a cartoon version of the Devil who poses as various characters to scam them.^[1]

The original pilot appeared as an episode of the animation showcase series What a Cartoon!. The popularity of the original short allowed Hanna-Barbera to give it the green light for a full series, which premiered on July 15, 1997. Originally, Cow and Chicken was attached to another segment called I Am Weasel, which was later spun-off into its own half-hour series on June 10, 1999. The series was produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. In fact, along with I Am Weasel, it is the last original Cartoon Network show to be entirely produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. It was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

The series focuses on the misadventures of two unlikely yet somehow biological siblings: the sweet-natured, dim, ecstatic, anthropomorphic Cow and her cynical older brother Chicken (both voiced by Charlie Adler). The two are often caught in escapades with their flamboyant enemy, the Red Guy (Adler), a comical version of the Devil himself who disguises himself under various personas, usually to either scam everyone around or just for fun. However, he once tried to take Chicken to Hell.^{[lower-alpha 2]}

Supporting characters include Chicken and Cow's delirious human parents Dad and Mom (Dee Bradley Baker and Candi Milo, respectively), only seen from the waist down and implied to have no torsos, heads, or arms; Chicken's best friends Flem (Howard Morris) and Earl (Dan Castellaneta); and their cousin, Boneless Chicken (Adler).^[2] Cow has her favorite dolls, Crabs the Warthog, Piles the Beaver, and Manure the Bear, who is a polar bear.

The series draws on eccentric, surreal, grotesque, and repulsive humor. For example, Cow and Chicken always order "pork butts and taters" in the cafeteria, the Red Guy always shows his butt, and characters often pepper their speech with malapropisms and sarcasm. The humor and storylines depicted are often based on traditional childhood worries, anxieties, or phobias such as cooties or venturing into the girls' restroom, but enhanced comically.

Many of the slapstick antics involve the main characters getting physically abused.

Cow and Chicken has a total of 52 episodes in 4 seasons that were produced from July 1997 to July 1999. Each half-hour contains 2 Cow and Chicken and 1 I Am Weasel segment.^[5] Cow and Chicken premiered as a full half-hour on July 15, 1997.^[6] The series ran for 52 episodes through 1999. As a supporting segment, the show included a cartoon called I Am Weasel; this segment was spun off as an independent series that premiered on June 10, 1999.^[7] Typically, an episode would consist of two seven-minute Cow and Chicken shorts playing back-to-back, then followed by a seven-minute I Am Weasel short before the end credits.^[6] The exception to this structure was episode 105 ("The Ugliest Weenie"), which had the Weasel short ("I Are Big Star") play in-between the two Cow and Chicken shorts, possibly because said shorts were one storyline.

KJ Dell'Antonia of Common Sense Media gave the show three stars out of five. Saying that it was merging, "If Ren & Stimpy starred in Monty Python..."^[9]

Cow makes a cameo in the beginning of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode "Herbicidal Maniac" giving General Skarr fertilizer.

During the Mad episode "Once Upon a Toon", Cow and Chicken are among the classic cartoon characters reunited in a spoof of ABC's Once Upon a Time.

The two main characters, Cow and Chicken, made cameo appearances as aliens in Ben 10: Omniverse. They were the second Cartoon Network characters to make cameo appearances in the Ben 10 franchise, Billy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy being the first. Adler reprised his roles for the cameo.

In the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Crossover Nexus", Chicken and I.M. Weasel (with Michael Dorn reprising his role as Weasel for a speaking cameo) made cameo appearances as two of the Cartoon Network heroes that were summoned by Strike, and also Cow (as SuperCow) appears as one of the Cartoon Network heroes that Ben Tennyson (Ben 10) shapeshifts into.

Red Guy briefly appears in the Jellystone! episode “Vote Raspberry”, where he is shown to reside in Hell once again. For this appearance he is voiced by Dana Snyder.

• I Am Weasel
• Cartoon Cartoons
• List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
• The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show
• The Ren & Stimpy Show
• Two Stupid Dogs