After 14 Seasons, the Most Iconic TV Western of All Time Was Suddenly Cancelled Mid-Season

After 14 Seasons, the Most Iconic TV Western of All Time Was Suddenly Cancelled Mid-Season Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon as Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe Cartwright, riding horses and looking at the sky in Bonanza.Image via NBC By  Michael John Petty Published 25 minutes ago Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters. At Collider, he writes features and reviews, and has interviewed the cast and crew of Dark Winds. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own. His first work of self-published fiction – The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain – became a #1 Best Seller in "Religious Fiction Short Stories" on Amazon in 2023. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" from the Western Writers of America in 2025. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family. Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

When it comes to classic television Westerns, only one ever ran longer than Bonanza. The famed 14-season Western program was an NBC staple from 1959 until 1973, as many generations grew up with the famed series. But the Cartwright family had it tough throughout their extended television run. The show was nearly cancelled at the very beginning and lost cast members during its middling years, which could easily have been the end. Yet, Bonanza prevailed longer than perhaps anyone expected, with Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon faithfully leading the charge for the vast bulk of the series. So, what happened? How did Bonanza actually end, and what led to its abrupt conclusion? Here's what finally closed down the Ponderosa Ranch for good.

'Bonanza's Final Season Was Shorter Than the Rest

David Canary as "Candy" Canaday, Michael Landon as "Little" Joe Cartwright, Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright, Mitch Vogel as Jamie Hunter Cartwright, and Tim Matheson     as Griff King in 'Bonanza' Season 14Image via NBC

When Bonanza first began, it followed patriarch Ben Cartwright (Greene) and his three sons, Adam (Pernell Roberts), Hoss (Blocker), and "Little" Joe (Landon). Over time, these four men established the Ponderosa Ranch as one of the most respected around Virginia City, all while helping those who cross their paths and defending their land from intruders. According to Tim Brooks and Earl Marsh in The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, "For most of the 1960s, Bonanza ranked as one of the highest-rated programs on television, placing number-one for three seasons between 1964-1967." It wasn't long before Bonanza was a household name, and the drama quickly became one of the most popular shows in existence. Each season averaged around 30-something episodes, but as time went on, NBC dipped its episode count to 20-something adventures. By the time the fourteenth and final season came about, the show had only mustered 16 episodes total.

But what happened? Well, the infamous rural purge of 1971 had shifted the programs on the Big Three Network's respective schedules around to focus less on the open range and more on urban dramas and comedies. Because of its successful ratings, Bonanza survived the initial purge, but the fallout ultimately led to its demise two years later. What's worse was that Bonanza wasn't cancelled after completing Season 14, but rather smack in the middle of the show's final gallup on television. After the season began with the tragic two-part opener, "Forever," Joe (no longer so "Little" after 14 years on air) falls in love and marries, only to discover his new bride dead and his home burned to the ground. In some ways, this prophetically set the stage for the show's ultimate fate, giving audiences a false hope that Bonanza would continue to survive the purge due to its popularity, before removing the program entirely.

The final batch of Bonanza episodes largely followed Ben, Joe, and the newly adopted Cartwright brother Jamie (Mitch Vogel), as well as ranch hands "Candy" Canaday (David Canary) and Griff King (Tim Matheson), who continued to work the Ponderosa as they'd done for over a decade. It was the same old, same old, but for many, it was still quite comforting to reunite with the Cartwrights every week. However, the show's expanded cast wasn't enough to keep Bonanza around forever — or very much longer at all. After being in the Top 20 programs for its entire run, Bonanza's fourteenth season dipped all the way to the 50th spot on the 1972-73 schedule, falling from 20 million viewers weekly to around 17 million. While the program traditionally ran from September to April or May, Season 14 was ended early by NBC on January 16, 1973, with the show's impromptu series finale, "The Hunter."

"The Hunter" Was 'Bonanza's Impromptu Final Episode — and It Feels Quite Relevant to the Show's Cancellation

Joe Cartwright (Michael Landon) hides from his pursuer in the 'Bonanza' series finale "The Hunter"Image via NBC

Bonanza's shortest season ended quite abruptly with "The Hunter," an episode that, while solid on its own, fails to properly conclude the series — and, in some ways, maybe that's the point. As the series continued, Michael Landon got increasingly more involved in the behind-the-scenes of Bonanza, contributing not just on screen as Joe Cartwright, but also as a writer and director. It's only fitting that one of the show's only two surviving cast members from the show's beginning helmed the final episode, which likely prepared him for his next big NBC series, Little House on the Prairie. (Funny enough, plenty of Bonanza plots ended up being recycled by Landon on Little House.)

But what is "The Hunter" about? Well, after Ben and Jamie send Joe on a job, he encounters the crazed ex-Corporal Bill Tanner (Tom Skerritt), who initially seems harmless until Joe wakes up the next morning without a horse or supplies. It was as if his whole world was turned upside down at a moment's notice, further echoing Bonanza's unexpected fate. Tanner spends the whole episode stalking Joe, waiting for the opportune moment to lean in for the kill, believing that man is the most thrilling animal to hunt in the wild.

In some respects, "The Hunter" shows how far Joe has come from the early days of the show. Sure, Ben and the rest of the cast aren't featured here, but the emphasis on Joe still feels warranted. Back in Season 1, his youthful inexperience often got the best of him as he was teased by his older brothers. But here, we see a man who has spent the last decade and a half living up to the Cartwright name, pushing himself to the limits of survival. Just as Joe carries the entire episode, we see how Landon himself carried the series in its final season.

The Writing Had Been on the Wall for 'Bonanza' For Years

Dan Blocker as Hoss, Lorne Greene as Ben, and Michael Landon as Little Joe on Bonanza.Image via NBCMichael Landon and Dan Blocker as Little Joe and Hoss Cartwright, holding pistols while riding horses in BonanzaImage via NBCLittle Joe Cartwright (Michael Landon) treating his wound on the 'Bonanza' episode "A Matter of Circumstance."Image via NBCAdam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts) is tied up by Peter Kane (Lee Marvin) in the 'Bonanza' episode "The Crucible"Image via NBCLorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon as Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe Cartwright, riding horses and looking at the sky in Bonanza.Image via NBCClose

The unfortunate truth, however, is that the writing had been on the wall for Bonanza for quite some time. Ahead of its final year, the show was moved from its usual Sunday slot to Tuesdays, which certainly didn't offer the series' a helping hand in terms of its already declining ratings. But the real trouble was in its shifting cast. While the series managed to carry on well enough after Pernell Roberts' Adam Cartwright unexpectedly left the show following the sixth season, Dan Blocker's sudden and unfortunate death following Season 13 was a major blow to the series. Season 14 just wasn't the same without Hoss Cartwright, and the folks behind Bonanza — including the network — knew it.

"The cancellation of the television series Bonanza was so abrupt that the production team and co-stars didn't have time to put together a final episode," the Los Angeles Times wrote, and they were right. Like Rawhide's ending before it and Gunsmoke's poor conclusion soon after, no real ending to Bonanza was given. The sudden ending was a major blow to the cast. "If we had known this was coming," told Lorne Greene to the news outlet, "we would have gone out with a bang and not a whimper." While "The Hunter" is a strong episode on its own, it failed to live up to fourteen years of storytelling. Had Bonanza been given the chance to properly conclude, well, we can only imagine how satisfying that might've been.

In 1988, Bonanza creator David Dortort decided to revisit the Ponderosa with Bonanza: The Next Generation, which followed, well, the next generation of Cartwrights as they took over the Ponderosa. Tragically, Greene died before production began, so John Ireland was brought in to play Ben's long-lost brother, Aaron Cartwright, who had since taken over the ranch. Landon's son, Michael Landon, Jr., played Joe's son, Benjamin "Benj" Cartwright, while Joe himself was written off as working with Teddy Roosevelt. Additionally, Hoss' long-lost son, Josh (Brian A. Smith), arrives, hoping to take revenge on his father for abandoning him — not knowing that Hoss died before he could bring him to the Ponderosa. Two sequels followed, Bonanza: The Return and Bonanza: Under Attack, before Dortort and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman creator Beth Sullivan tackled the short-lived The Ponderosa prequel. Still, a real Bonanza finale would've been far more satisfying...

Bonanza

Like TV-PG Western Release Date 1959 - 1973-00-00

Cast

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• Lorne Greene
• Michael Landon

Genres Western Creator(s) David Dortort, Fred Hamilton Powered by Expand Collapse

• TV Features
• NBC
• Drama

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