Forget Taylor Sheridan, NBC’s 14-Part Family Western Is Still The Best In TV History
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Though Taylor Sheridan has become the most prevalent name in the western genre, the greatest series of the genre overall is still NBC's 14-part family western, which originally debuted in 1959. After years of rejuvenating the genre with shows like Yellowstone and Landman, Sheridan has become the go-to for TV westerns. While there was a time when the genre was at the forefront of popularity, the past few decades haven't treated westerns well. Despite the streaming era allowing the success of Yellowstone to go far and beyond what it would've been in any other era, Sheridan's benefited from traditional conventions.
For years, viewers have shared fond memories of classic westerns that helped define the genre from the dawn of television. As one of the most consistently produced styles of TV show in the medium's early years, Sheridan and others have all taken from the classic western playbook, pulling conventions from older shows to develop their modern hits. One series that pre-dates the Yellowstone universe by more than six decades, Bonanza, was able to sustain itself through 14 seasons and over 400 episodes worth of TV, making history as NBC's longest-running western and most memorable contribution to the genre overall.
Following Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his sons as they managed the Ponderosa Ranch in Nevada, Bonanza blended frontier stories with family drama, creating the blueprint for other westerns that would come after it for generations. As one of the best of all time, Bonanza is still the greatest TV western.
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Bonanza Is Still The Best Family Western On Television
Bonanza's enduring success comes from the fact that it knew exactly how to tell a compelling family story from the jump. A series that seemed like it was fundamentally about ranching, gunfights, and frontier life, it became clear as the veil was pulled back that Bonanza was more about the Cartwright family than anything else. The relationships between Ben and his sons, Adam (Pernell Roberts), Hoss (Dan Blocker), and Little Joe (Michael Landon), were the core of the series, and that family-first approach distinguished the show from others in the genre, which gave it an overall sense of mass appeal.
Bonanza's legacy comes from a mix of longevity and consistency. The series ran for an epic 14 seasons between 1959 and 1973, with 431 episodes when it finally came to an end. Few scripted shows have reached such epic heights, and during its time on screen, it was one of TV's highest rated series, even ranking number one during a stretch of its run. The show was able to balance episodic stories of ranch life with great character development, making the Cartwright family feel like it truly was at the center of the story no matter what was happening elsewhere.
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Universe Has Been Hugely Influenced By Bonanza
While Sheridan didn't try to remake Bonanza with Yellowstone, the DNA of the long-running series feels like it's stretched through the modern western and its subsequent universe. Much like Bonanza, Yellowstone focuses on a powerful ranching family who's attempting to preserve their land through any means necessary. With legacy on the line, the Dutton's tend to be different morally in comparison to the Cartwright's, but there's enough of a similarity in the show's foundations that it's clear where Sheridan's inspiration came from. With conflicts stemming from business interests, outside threats, and family succession throughout both shows, the comparisons are clear.
That lasting influence is why Bonanza remains such an important benchmark in the western genre. While many westerns that came after Bonanza received critical acclaim and found their way into audience's hearts, the original series was always cited with inspiring those that came before it. With shows like Yellowstone capturing audience's attention in the streaming era, where there are more choices of what to watch than ever before, the fact that a western is captivating viewers isn't surprising. Even so, more than 50 years after its conclusion, Bonanza still reigns supreme as the gold standard of the genre.
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