Gil Favor is trail boss of a continuous cattle drive; he is assisted by Rowdy Yates. The crew runs into characters and adventures along the way. Rawhide was a television western series that aired on the U.S. network CBS from 1959 to 1966. The show starred Eric Fleming and launched the career of Clint Eastwood. The series ran for eight seasons on the CBS network from January 9, 1959 to January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 episodes, all filmed and broadcast in black and white. Rawhide was the fourth longest-running American TV western.