Smokey and the Bandit episodes of the series. Needham saw an advertisement for the soon-to-be-released 1977 Pontiac Trans Am and knew right away that would be the Bandit's car, or, as Needham referred to it, a character in the movie. He contacted Pontiac and an agreement was made that four 1977 Trans Ams and two Pontiac LeMans 4-door sedans would be provided for the movie. The Trans Ams were actually 1976-model cars with 1977 front ends. (From 1970 to 1976, both the Firebird/Trans Am and Chevrolet Camaro had two round headlights, and in 1977, the Firebird/Trans Am was changed to four rectangular headlights, while
Smokey and the Bandit Dukes of Hazzard" (1979-1985), from the same creator and with many identical settings and concepts, the popularity of "Smokey and the Bandit" and similar films helped get the "Dukes" series on the air. Three actors from the main cast of "The Dukes of Hazzard" appear in small uncredited roles in "Smokey and the Bandit": Ben Jones, John Schneider and Sonny Shroyer (who played a police officer in both). In return, Reynolds portrayed the "Dukes" character Boss Hogg (originally portrayed by Sorrell Booke) in the film adaptation "The Dukes of Hazzard" (2005). Reynolds is also referenced by name in several early