How the West Was Won: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Family Macahan's is the story of the white man's conquest of the American West, which we follow through family Macahan valiant struggle for survival. It is the story of mountain men who went west to explore the world beyond the next river bend, the fur trappers who nearly extinct buffalo herds, the gold graves searching for El Dorado, about peasants who became wealthy landowners and the simple people who were on the run. There is also a story about the American Indians. Brave and fearless, but hopelessly outnumbered, these primitive people were the ultimate losers in the battle for land in the west.

Series details

• Title: How the West Was Won
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama, Western
• Premiere date: 1977-02-06
• Final broadcast date listed: 1979-04-23
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ABC
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 73 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 8/10
• TVMaze ID: 11511
• IMDb ID: tt0077027
• TVDB ID: 71214

Cast and credited roles

• Vicki Schreck — Jessie Macahan
• James Arness — Zeb Macahan
• Bruce Boxleitner — Luke Macahan
• Kathryn Holcomb — Laura Macahan
• William Kirby Cullen — Josh Macahan
• Fionnula Flanagan — Molly Culhane
• William Conrad — Narrator
• Eva Marie Saint — Kate Macahan

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1977-02-06; final listed air date 1977-02-20.
• Season 2: premiered 1978-02-12; final listed air date 1978-05-21.
• Season 3: premiered 1979-01-15; final listed air date 1979-04-23.

Source and licence

Adapted from How the West Was Won on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.