Bonanza 'un 1 sezonu NBC 'da samedi 12 septembre 1959 'dan samedi 30 avril 1960'a kadar yayınlandı. 32 bölümlerinden oluşuyor, ilkinin adı "A Rose for Lotta" ve sonuncusunun adı "Death at Dawn".
The show chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, headed by the thrice-widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright. He had three sons, each by a different wife: the eldest was the urbane architect Adam who built the ranch house; the second was the warm and lovable giant Eric "Hoss"; and the youngest was the hotheaded and impetuous Joseph or "Little Joe". Via exposition and flashback episodes and each wife was accorded a different ethnicity. The family's cook was the Chinese immigrant Hop Sing.