How the West Was Won ABC TV SHOW 1976-1979 How the West Was Won is an American western television series that starred James Arness, Eva Marie Saint, Fionnula Flanagan, Bruce Boxleitner, and Richard Kiley. Loosely based on the 1962 Cinerama film of the same name, it aired as a mini-series in 1977, and as a regular series in 1978 and 1979. PLOT: The Macahans, a family from Virginia, headed by Zeb Macahan, travel across the country to pioneer a new land and a new home in the American West. The show