This CBS Western Sitcom Paired Lloyd and Beau Bridges Together

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Harts of the West

Sometimes, the Western is a family affair, and that's exactly the case with Harts of the West. The comedy-western series followed Beau Bridges as David Hart, a Chicago-based salesman who, after a massive heart attack and a midlife crisis, wants to live out his life-long dream of becoming a cowboy. To that end, he packs up his family and moves them across the country to the Flying Tumbleweed Ranch, where they meet an old foreman named Jake Tyrell, played by Bridges' own father, Lloyd Bridges. If you're looking for a fun Western-themed binge to dive into, enjoy the time with the Bridges father-son duo as they fight for family, friends, and the open range.

'Harts of the West' Is a Fun Premise, and a Love-Letter to All Things Western

Lloyd Bridges and Beau Bridges as Jake Tyrell and David Hart in 'Harts of the West'

Nowadays, Western comedies are pretty rare to come by, but back in the early '90s, Harts of the West easily won folks over. "Don’t make the mistake of ignoring Harts of the West," one reviewer wrote for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The show was ernest, endearing, and had enough heart (pun intended) to turn a slab of desert land in Nevada into a working dude ranch. The chemistry between Dave Hart and his foreman Jake Tyrell (who appears in seven episodes total) is delightful, and kicks off this series with a bang. Dave's obsession with the Western rings true throughout the series, as most episodes echo plots reminiscent of classic TV Westerns such as Gunsmoke and Bonanza.

Even funnier, Harts of the West introduces instantly likable characters with quippy dialogue, distinct personality traits, and Western-inspired names that'll have longtime horse opera fans laughing from the couch. Dave and his wife Alison (Harley Jane Kozak) move to the middle-of-nowhere Sholo, Nevada with their three children, Zane (Sean Murray), L'Amour (Meghann Haldeman), and John Wayne (Nathan Watt), who everyone calls "Duke." Now, obviously Duke is named after John Wayne himself, but Zane and L'Amour are each named for famed Western authors Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour, each of whom had a massive impact on Dave's love for the Western.

As for the show itself, it was a good time. Though it's possible that the Hart family is over-indulging a bit in Dave's midlife crisis, the whole thing makes for a wild adventure that features plenty of quirky characters who contribute to the more classical myths associated with the American West. Harts of the West had loads of potential, and that was in no small part due to the perfect casting of the series and the chemistry between its characters. Episodes like "Dead Man's Leap" dive into Weird Western territory, while "Jake and Duke's Excellent Adventure" is a fun bonding experience between Duke and the Flying Tumbleweed's resident foreman.

Kenny Rogers flanked by two other Western stars and a playing card background

'Harts of the West' Didn't Run More than a Season

Frankly, Harts of the West should have been a sure-fire hit. The series aired Saturday nights on CBS, where it was sandwiched between popular neo-Western programs, Walker, Texas Ranger and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. By all accounts, this was the right show released at the right time. The Arizona Republic even noted that the series was, "One of the fall season's more appealing new series." But for whatever reason, audiences weren't as invested, and the networked pulled the series in January 1994 after only a single season. The show's final batch of episodes aired on CBS the following June, and, with that, audiences moved on from the Flying Tumbleweed.

It was a shame though, as this would be the last Western that Lloyd Bridges and Beau Bridges would work on together (though they'd reunited on the screen one final time for a 1995 episode of Outer Limits). The pair had previously appeared in a television Western before, back in the '60s when the elder Bridges was the leading man on the short-lived The Loner. In the 1966 episode, "The Mourners for Johnny Sharp," the younger Bridges played the titular gunslinger Johnny Sharp, who finds himself in a heap of trouble when Lloyd Bridges' William Colton steps in. It took thirty years for the father and son to appear in a Western again together, and even though it didn't last, it was one heck of a ride.

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Release Date September 25, 1993

Cast Beau Bridges , Lloyd Bridges , Stephen Root , Sean Murray , Harley Jane Kozak , Dennis Fimple , Talisa Soto , O-Lan Jones , Meghann Haldeman , Saginaw Grant , Nathan Watt , Sterling Macer Jr. , Dale Robertson , Ethan Embry , Mark Harmon , Katie Wright , Anndi McAfee , Frank Welker , David Charvet , Stephen Tobolowsky , Tantoo Cardinal

Seasons 1

Harts of the West can be streamed on Prime Video.

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