When Bonanza premiered in 1959, the cast and crew knew what they were up against. Television in the early ’60s was packed with well-rated and successful TV shows.
The Bonanza cast would have to fight for viewers.
When the series premiered, there were a variety of established shows already on-air across multiple networks. Some of these included: The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Leave It to Beaver, Highway Patrol and Perry Mason.
Many of these shows were entering their second, third and fourth seasons, including Perry Mason. By 1959, Perry Mason had become one of the most successful TV series, with a 27.5 rating and a rank of 19.
Lorne Greene, who played Ben Cartwright on Bonanza, had just come back from a much-needed vacation after the show’s first season wrapped. In a 1960 interview with The Charlotte News, Greene said Bonanza had struggled during its first season.
Greene felt as though they hadn’t found their rhythm yet. He admitted that the cast was a bit shaky, due to actors and writers not being familiar with their characters yet.
“Now we’re more cognizant of the characters and we’re a little more sure about the kind of people we want to be,” Greene said.
Once cast and crew on Bonanza got their rhythm down, the series rose in the ratings.
“We were only bucking Perry Mason,” he said. “It was like going into the ring with the champ every Saturday night. But we did pretty well. I hate to say this in terms of eating into Mason’s rating but that’s what we’ve done.”
When Bonanza first premiered it had a rating of 11, but soon the series soared to a rating of 27. So, what does that mean?
“I really don’t know,” Greene said. “But I think we were getting a little over a third of the total audience.”
Greene was born in Canada and became a TV Western star by way of the New York City stage. Over time, NBC became impressed with him and he became the obvious choice to play Ben Cartwright.
“I couldn’t even ride a horse,” he said. “By golly, I can now. Love it too.”
No spoilers here, but we all know what happens. Bonanza went on to be one of the longest-running Westerns on TV.