# Lee Majors Joins The Virginian Final Season

> Lee Majors joined The Virginian's final season as Roy Tate, helping NBC rebrand the show after ratings dropped.
- Title: Lee Majors Joins The Virginian Final Season · SlashFilm
- Summary: Lee Majors joined The Virginian's final season as Roy Tate, helping NBC rebrand the show after ratings dropped. Lee Majors appeared in seven episodes of The…
- Keywords: lee majors, the virginian, the men from shiloh, nbc, season 9, roy tate, james drury, doug mcclure, stewart granger, colonel alan mackenzie, entertainment, culture
- Source: SlashFilm — https://slashfilm.com/2279787/lee-majors-western-series-the-virginian-final-season
- Author: Joe Roberts
- Published: 2026-10-10T18:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: lee majors, the virginian, the men from shiloh, nbc, season 9, roy tate, james drury, doug mcclure, stewart granger, colonel alan mackenzie, entertainment, culture
## Lee Majors' TV Career
Lee Majors began his TV career in Westerns with Gunsmoke and The Big Valley before joining The Virginian's final season.
## The Virginian Show
The Virginian aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971, starring James Drury as the Shiloh Ranch foreman.
## Season 8 Ratings Drop
By 1970, The Virginian dropped out of the top 30 ratings after eight seasons on NBC.
## Rebrand to The Men from Shiloh
NBC renamed The Virginian to The Men from Shiloh and added a 10-year time jump for its final season.
## New Characters and Roy Tate
Lee Majors joined as Roy Tate, a ranch hand, in the fifth episode of Season 9, The Mysterious Mr. Tate.
## The Mysterious Mr. Tate Episode
Colonel Alan MacKenzie witnesses Roy Tate being lynched and brings him to Shiloh for a job.
## Season 9 Episodes
Majors appeared in seven episodes of Season 9, credited as a lead for all 24 episodes.
## Cancellation After 24 Episodes
NBC canceled The Men from Shiloh after 24 episodes due to the rural purge.
## Key takeaway

Lee Majors appeared in seven episodes of The Virginian's final season as Roy Tate after NBC rebranded the show to The Men from Shiloh.