Sheena, Queen of the Jungle is a syndicated American television adventure series that was broadcast in syndication from 1956 to 1957. The series was based on the Sheena, Queen of the Jungle comic book character. An initial attempt at a Sheena-based TV series occurred with the writing of a script proposal in 1952. A second attempt at such a series in 1955 resulted in a pilot with Anita Ekberg as Sheena, but the pilot was never broadcast. Ekberg "failed to show up for location shooting in the jungles of Mexico", and Irish McCalla replaced her in the title role of the series. The title character was "the female counterpart of Tarzan. An African chief discovered a young girl who survived a plane crash in which her parents were killed. As she grew up, she was taught to "respect good men and hate bad ones." The series featured activities of Sheena as a grown woman who fought evil. Bob, a white trader (portrayed by Christian Drake), and Chim, a chimpanzee, helped her. Sheena's ability to control animals was useful in her efforts. Bob was often captured, leading to his being rescued by Sheena.
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle was created by writer and artists Will Eisner and Jerry Iger. She began life as in 1938 in the forty-sixth issue of the British magazine series Wags, published by Joshua B. Power. She went on to highlight her own comic book series by Fiction House beginning in 1941, making her the first female lead to carry her own title, predating Wonder Woman 's first solo title in the Summer of 1942. The first Sheena: Queen of the Jungle television series, which starred Irish McCalla began airing in 1955 and ran for twenty-six episodes. In 1984, a Sheena feature film was produced by Columbia Pictures and starred Tanya Roberts in the title role. A syndicated Sheena live-action series began in 2000 and starred Gena Lee Nolin in the titular role. It ran for two seasons, spanning thirty-five episodes, ending in 2002.
Sheena was filmed in Mexico, and 26 half-hour episodes were produced. Don Sharpe was the producer. The show was a property of ABC Film Syndication Inc. The series was produced by Nassour Brothers.