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In the early 1960s, Ed Graham Productions [[option (filmmaking)|optioned]] the television rights to the [[comic strip]] ''[[Batman (comics)|Batman]]'' and planned a straightforward juvenile adventure show, much like ''[[Adventures of Superman (TV series)|Adventures of Superman]]'' and ''[[The Lone Ranger (TV series)|The Lone Ranger]],'' to air on [[CBS]] on Saturday mornings.
Former American football linebacker and actor [[Mike Henry (American football)|Mike Henry]] was originally set to star as Batman in a more dramatic interpretation of the character. Henry reportedly posed for publicity photographs in costume, but he was not signed for the role.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} Around this same time, the [[Playboy Club]] in Chicago was screening the ''Batman'' serials (1943's ''[[Batman (serial)|Batman]]'' and 1949's ''[[Batman and Robin (serial)|Batman and Robin]]'') on Saturday nights. It became very popular. East coast ABC executive Yale Udoff, a Batman fan in his childhood,
In turn, 20th Century Fox handed the project to [[William Dozier]] and his production company, Greenway Productions. ABC and Fox were expecting a hip and fun—yet still serious—adventure show. However, Dozier, who had never before read comic books, concluded, after reading several Batman comics for research, that the only way to make the show work was to do it as a [[pop art]] [[camp (style)|camp]] comedy.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Gabilliet|first= Jean-Paul|authorlink=|others=Bart Beaty and Nick Nguyen (translators)|title=Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|date=2005/2010|location=|page=59|isbn=978-1-60473-267-2}}</ref> Originally, espionage novelist [[Eric Ambler]] was to have scripted a TV-movie that would launch the television series, but he dropped out after learning of Dozier's camp comedy approach. Eventually, two sets of screen tests were filmed, one with [[Adam West]] and [[Burt Ward]] and the other with [[Lyle Waggoner]] and Peter Deyell, with West and Ward winning the roles.
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