Bonanza
Following Canary's departure, Frizzell's character accompanied Jamie Hunter to the Ponderosa and became the Cartwright's foreman.Initially, "Bonanza" aired on Saturday evenings opposite "Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show" and "John Gunther's High Road" on ABC, and "Perry Mason" on CBS. "Bonanza"s initial ratings were respectable, often coming in behind Mason but ahead of the ABC line-up. Ironically, executives considered canceling the show before its premiere because of its high cost. NBC kept it because "Bonanza" was one of the first series to be filmed and broadcast in color, including scenes of picturesque Lake Tahoe, Nevada, although most of the episodes were obviously filmed on soundstages until the seasons near the end of the series. NBC's corporate parent, Radio Corporation of America (RCA), used the show to spur sales of RCA-manufactured color television sets (RCA was also the primary sponsor of the series during its first two seasons).
Bonanza
NBC moved "Bonanza" to Sundays at 9:00 pm Eastern with new sponsor Chevrolet (replacing "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show"). The new time slot caused "Bonanza" to soar in the ratings, and it eventually reached number one by 1964, an honor it would keep until 1967 when it was seriously challenged by the socially daring variety show, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" on CBS. By 1970, "Bonanza" was the first series to appear in the Top Five list for nine consecutive seasons (a record that would stand for many years) and thus established itself as the most consistent strong-performing hit television series of the 1960s. "Bonanza" remained high on the Nielsen ratings until 1971, when it finally fell out of the Top Ten.