Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse under the Metromedia Restaurant Group. The names of the restaurants were derived from the classic TV series "Bonanza", which was set at a place called Ponderosa Ranch. In 1963, Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on "Bonanza", started the Bonanza Steakhouse chain. The first Bonanza opened in Westport, Connecticut. Sam Wyly and his brother Charles Wyly bought the small Bonanza restaurant chain three years later. The company grew to approximately 600 restaurants by 1989, when the Wylys sold it to Metromedia. In 1965, Dan Lasater, Norm Wiese and Charles Kleptz founded Ponderosa in Kokomo, Indiana, moving the headquarters to
The Jesters (TV series) The Jesters (TV series) The Jesters is an Australian comedy series produced for Movie Extra subscription television channel. The series is a satire about the day-to-day battles of a sketch comedy veteran turned producer. The Jesters is a slick, sick and darkly comic look behind-the-scenes of a TV comedy show that proves the old maxim that nobody likes a smartarse – unless, of course, they’re bringing in huge ratings. From the absurd antics of the TV writers’ room to the even more absurd network board meetings, The Jesters reveals the key ingredients of what goes into making the people of