The theme song for “Bonanza” was just as big of a hit as the show itself. The theme song was written by famous Hollywood writers Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. The song was so popular that it made the top 20 on the charts, in 1961. Many people did not realize that the theme song had lyrics, however, versions surfaced including the lead cast members singing the theme song!
If the theme songs success was any indication of the shows success, one would assume only the best shows get noticed for their theme songs, as well! Musicians constantly covered the song and released it on their albums.
The Show Turned Landon Into A Star
Not only was “Bonanza” a hit TV show, but it also launched the careers of its stars. Since “Bonanza” was the first television show to be filmed and aired in color, the production team did not want to use name actors, they wanted to create a new generation of color TV stars.
Michael Landon’s career was skyrocketed because of his success on “Bonanza”. Not only as an actor, but as a writer and producer as well. Landon also remains the only actor to appear in not one, but three television shows running consecutively. Over the course of five years, Landon was starring in Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven.
The Three Spin-off Movies
Since the TV show “Bonanza” was such a massive hit, airing for over 10 years and having over 400 episodes, of course the production team had to figure out more ways to monetize this success.
The show continued to get high ratings even once it began reruns. They started having reruns even when new episodes were still being released. They then started adding TV specials. They continued to add these specials years after Bonanza stopped airing! They had three television specials. In 1988, they aired ‘The Next Generation’. In 1993, they aired ‘Bonanza: The Return’ and finally, the last reunion movie aired in 1995, titled ‘Bonanza: Under Attack’.
Show Reruns Were Titled 'Ponderosa'
“Bonanza” started out in the Saturday evening time slot. This time slot did not do well for them, and their ratings tanked. Eventually, they got moved to Sunday night, at 9 p.m., which proved to be a great time slot for the show. It was there that they skyrocketed to the top of the charts.
By the year 1972, “Bonanza” was still airing in that Sunday night time slot. Production decided it was time to start airing reruns. They began putting the reruns on TV, but in a different time slot. They were airing them on Tuesday nights at 7:30 pm. They also did not air the reruns under the name Bonanza, they were titled Ponderosa. When the ratings began to fall, the new episodes moved to the Tuesday time slot.
They Didn't Want Famous Actors
“Bonanza” was the first television show to be filmed and broadcast in color! The producers of “Bonanza” had an inkling that this new medium of entertainment was going to produce a new group of TV stars.
Because of this, the production team avoided casting TV stars from black and white television. They wanted to create a new generation. They ended up casting virtually unknown actors for the lead roles, and sprinkling the cast with well known names coming in as guest stars and one- off roles. This seemed to be a good decision on their part, because the stars of “Bonanza” ended up skyrocketing to fame.