The Will is an American reality television series on CBS that lasted only one episode, shown on Saturday, January 8, 2005. It centered on the "Benefactor", a multi-millionaire from Arizona named Bill Long. Ten of his friends and relatives competed in a series of challenges to win the right to inherit his "prized possession", a huge Kansas ranch.
The show was created by Mike Fleiss, who produced The Bachelor for ABC. The Will is one of only a handful of series in American history to be pulled after one episode.
In the case of The Will, cancellation was due to very low ratings. Despite receiving a heavy promotional push from CBS, the program averaged only 4.2 million viewers during its 8:00-9:30PM ET/PT time slot, which made it CBS's lowest-ranked show of the week. The following Saturday, the network replaced it with a re-run of Cold Case, a crime drama.
The quick cancellation of The Will was lampooned on an episode of the ABC late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a montage of clips from the show, and the message "Will Miss You--January 8, 2005 - January 8, 2005."
Although it was initially reported that the five remaining episodes could appear on an American cable network, they eventually did air on the Fox Reality Channel not long afterwards, and all six episodes aired in New Zealand beginning in December 2005. In the final episode, Long's wife Penny became the overall winner.
Is The Will on Netflix? Unfortunately this serie is not yet available on Netflix.
Title | Air Date | Duration | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | Episode 1 | Ride the Long Trail | 1967-09-08 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 2 | A Bell for Jeff Sonnett | 1967-09-15 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 3 | A Grave for James Sonnett | 1967-09-22 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 4 | The Natural Way | 1967-09-29 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 5 | Of Lasting Summers and Jim Sonnett | 1967-10-06 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 6 | Message at Noon | 1967-10-13 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 7 | A Son for a Son | 1967-10-20 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 8 | Meeting at Devil's Fork | 1967-10-27 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 9 | First Love | 1967-11-03 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 10 | The Favor | 1967-11-10 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 11 | Ride the Man Down | 1967-11-17 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 12 | The Turkey Shoot | 1967-11-24 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 13 | And a Killing Rode Into Town | 1967-12-01 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 14 | Find a Sonnett, Kill a Sonnett | 1967-12-08 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 15 | Sunday in Paradise | 1967-12-15 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 16 | The Secret of Hangtown Mine | 1967-12-22 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 17 | The Hero | 1967-12-29 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 18 | What's in a Name? | 1968-01-05 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 19 | End of the Rope | 1968-01-12 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 20 | And He Shall Lead the Children | 1968-01-19 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 21 | Look for the Hound Dog | 1968-01-26 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 22 | Stopover in a Troubled Town | 1968-02-02 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 23 | Alone | 1968-02-09 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 24 | The Sins of the Father | 1968-02-23 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 25 | The Warriors | 1968-03-01 | 30 min |
Season 1 | Episode 26 | A Fool and His Money | 1968-03-08 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 1 | Reunion | 1968-09-27 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 2 | The Trap | 1968-10-04 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 3 | Chapter and Verse | 1968-10-11 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 4 | Pariah | 1968-10-18 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 5 | Joby | 1968-11-01 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 6 | The Straw Man | 1968-11-08 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 7 | A Difference of Opinion | 1968-11-15 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 8 | Home Free | 1968-11-22 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 9 | Guilt | 1968-11-29 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 10 | Meeting in a Small Town | 1968-12-06 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 11 | The Fearless Man | 1968-12-13 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 12 | Where There's Hope | 1968-12-20 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 13 | Join the Army | 1969-01-03 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 14 | Time Is the Rider | 1969-01-10 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 15 | Robber's Roost | 1969-01-17 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 16 | Trail's End | 1969-01-31 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 17 | A Town in Terror (1) | 1969-02-07 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 18 | A Town in Terror (2) | 1969-02-14 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 19 | Jim Sonnett's Lady | 1969-02-21 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 20 | The Trial | 1969-02-28 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 21 | One Angry Juror | 1969-03-07 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 22 | The Sodbuster | 1969-03-14 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 23 | The Man Who Killed James Sonnett | 1969-03-21 | 30 min |
Season 2 | Episode 24 | Three Stand Together | 1969-09-16 | 30 min |