Bonanza (Seasons 1–14)

Bonanza (1959) is the classic American TV Western you can watch online on iFILM. The action centers on the Ponderosa, a sprawling ranch near Lake Tahoe where widower Ben Cartwright raises three grown sons.

Each son came from a different mother, and none of those mothers is still living. Thoughtful Adam, gentle giant Hoss and hot-headed youngest Little Joe could not be more different, yet they hold the family together. Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon built episodes less around gunfights than around questions of loyalty, land and conscience. Neighbors in trouble come to the Cartwrights, and they rarely turn anyone away.

The show ran on NBC from 1959 to 1973, lasting fourteen seasons, and was among the first Westerns shot in color — partly to help sell color TV sets. Michael Landon eventually stepped behind the camera to direct. It's a fit for anyone who likes patient, warm-hearted frontier stories over cynicism. Stream every season of Bonanza online on iFILM.