As of July 2026, Bonanza Season 1 aired in 1959 with 32 episodes — streaming now on Hoopla. Full episode guide and where to watch below.

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Bonanza Season 1

1959 32 Episodes Western · Action & Adventure ⭐ 8/10

Right now you can watch Bonanza Season 1 on and — and the writing holds up regardless of the format's reputation. A single, tightly-focused season means there is plenty to get through without ever feeling padded. 484 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. A harder one to justify skipping than to start. Start it whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Bonanza Season 1 earns its spot. Bonanza Season 1 treats animation as a medium, not a limitation. Season 1 of Bonanza includes 32 episodes. It aired from September 1959 to April 1960. This season stars Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts and Dan Blocker. Lorne Greene and Pernell Roberts lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was aired in 1959. Bonanza Season 1 uses the freedom of animation to tell stories live-action could not attempt. It rarely drops the ball, and when it does, it recovers fast.

Animation fans will appreciate the craft, but Bonanza Season 1 works for viewers who do not typically seek out animation too. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. A contained run means every episode is doing real work. Visually distinctive and narratively ambitious in ways that hold up regardless of format. Worth watching in order from the beginning.

📡 Where to Watch Bonanza Season 1

🇦🇺 Australia

🇺🇸 United States

Best Westerns Ever Amazon Channel

Great American Pure Flix Amazon Channel

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Best Westerns Ever Amazon Channel

🇨🇦 Canada

🇳🇿 New Zealand

🎬 Bonanza Season 1 — Episode Guide

A Rose for Lotta

Lotta Crabtree is hired by mining tycoon Alpheus Troy to lure one of the Cartwrights into town and hold him for ransom in exchange for Ponderosa timber rights.

Death on Sun Mountain

Greedy opportunist Mark Burdette and his accomplice Early Thorne stir up trouble between the Paiute tribe and the citizens of Virginia City. Ben discovers Burdette and Thorne are selling antelope beef to the miners and finds the price too high. He offers the miners beef at a more reasonable price....

John Pennington and his crew want to mine the Ponderosa land by hydraulic means. Ben is totally against this method and evicts them in short order. Hoss is given the task of telling Pennington's men to leave, but soon has a moral dilemma on his hands when he meets Pennington's beautiful sister, Emil...

Trader Mike Wilson attempts to escape punishment by the Paiute Indians after mistreating two of their women, by placing the blame on Adam. A fierce war between the Paiutes and the California militia follows, and the Paiutes seize Adam as hostage. Very impressive battle scenes in the this first min...

Enter Mark Twain

Samuel Clemens arrives in Virginia City to write for the Territorial Enterprise at the same time a crooked politician tries to lay claim on the Ponderosa.

The Julia Bulette Story

Little Joe is infatuated wih saloon owner Julia Bulette, whom he imagines is like his late mother. First episode to reveal backround details concerning Marie Cartwright, and inspired by the true story of a Virginia City madam. Also, the first episode to showcase Michael Landon.

The Saga of Annie O'Toole

Adam defends the mining claim of Annie O' Toole in a court presided over by Judge Ben Cartwright. Annie comes to the Washoe Diggings with a claim to a mine filed by her beau, Swede Lundberg. Swede has two claims and sold one to an acquaintance of theirs named Gregory Spain, creating confusion, tha...

The Phillip Diedesheimer Story

Adam and Hoss assist a German engineer in developing the concept of "square set timbering" in the mines. Based on fact, and the first episode not to include all four Cartwrights. Hoss refers to the character, Emily, with whom he was in love with in, "The Newcomers".

Mr. Henry Comstock

In a flashback, the legendary prospector arrives on the Ponderosa and participates in the founding of Virginia City. Coincidentally, guest star Jack Carson played a teller at the Comstock Bank and Trust in the 1942 film, "Gentleman Jim". This early classic was the second episode filmed.

The Magnificent Adah

Virginia City is visited by actress Adah Issacs Menken, who happens to be an old acquaintance of Ben's. Joe is badly beaten by Adah's jealous suitor, John C. Regan, who is bested in a fight with an enraged Hoss.

The Truckee Strip

Luther Bishop and Ben Cartwright have had an ongoing land dispute for a number of years, over a small tract called the Truckee Strip. One of Bishop's employee's has a grudge against the Cartwrights and wants to stir up the feud again, while also harboring designs on Bishop's pretty daughter, Amy. ...

The Hanging Posse

Adam and Joe reluctantly join a group of vengeful townsmen, who are out to lynch the three men who supposedly killed Vannie Johnson. The posse is run by Paiute Scroggs and Flint Johnson, the dead woman's husband. When Adam and Joe clash with them, they both separate and try to reach the three men ...

In a variation of "High Noon", Ben and Hoss must face a gang of outlaws practically all alone when most of Virginia City's citizens go into hiding. The most action-filled episode since "The Paiute War".

This episode begins with Adam defending the honor of Sue Ellen Terry in a duel. No one gets shot because the other man misses Adam and Adam generously shoots in the air to end the duel. Sue Ellen lives with her sister, who seems nice but turns out to be fairly evil, consumed with jealousy because ...

Hoss and Joe come across a pregnant Indian woman while hunting bighorn sheep and must deliver her baby. Despite touches of humor, including a scene in which Joe refers to a meal as "cattle fodder", the story does not have an altogether happy ending.

Ben sends Hoss and Joe to Monterey to purchase an expensive seed bull. The first of Blocker and Landon's many comic misadventures, although the casual use of violence, as in the rapier fight, is oddly uncharacteristic for the series. Hoss reveals his real name to be Eric for the first time.

Because she is related to criminals, a young woman is ostracized by everyone but the the Cartwrights. She unwisely seeks solace with an ex-con friend of Joe's, Clay Renton, and it's up to Ben to straighten everything out. First episode to have a chapter title after the cast credits.

A House Divided

As the Civil War approaches, Adam and Joe clash over which side to support. The situation is complicated by the arrival of Frederick Kyle, a Southern sympathizer. He was an old friend of Joe's mother and viewers also discover that Joe's middle name is Francis.

In the first all-out comic episode of the series, Hoss and Joe travel to Kiowa Flats, Texas, where they are mistaken for the notorious Slade Brothers, also played by Blocker and Landon.

The Fear Merchants

The Cartwrights encounter racial bigotry in Virginia City and end up protecting a Chinese boy from mob violence. Victor Sen Yung, in his largest role to date, speaks normally in the presence of his fellow countrymen, but reverts to broken English when with the Cartwrights.

🎭 Cast of Bonanza Season 1

Lorne Greene

Pernell Roberts

Pernell Roberts

Adam Cartwright

Dan Blocker

Hoss Cartwright

Michael Landon

📋 All Seasons of Bonanza

Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 9

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