Dallas (1978 TV Series)

Dallas (1978 TV series)

Dallas is a long-running American prime time television soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. The show was famous for its cliffhangers, including the "Who shot J. R.?" mystery, and the "Dream Season", in which the entirety of the ninth season was revealed to have been a dream of one of the characters.

Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing. The show also starred stage/screen actress Barbara Bel Geddes as family matriarch Miss Ellie, and movie Western actor Jim Davis as Ewing patriarch Jock, his last role before his death in 1981. The series won four Emmy Awards, including a 1980 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series win for Bel Geddes.

With its 357 episodes, Dallas remains one of the longest lasting full-hour primetime dramas in American TV history, behind Bonanza (430 episodes), Law & Order (456 episodes), and Gunsmoke (635 episodes). The 1980 episode "Who Done It" remains the second highest rated prime-time telecast ever, with a 53.3 rating and share of 76. After 14 seasons, the series finale Conundrum aired in 1991, gaining a 22.0 rating, and a share of 38. In 2007 Dallas was included in TIME magazine's list of "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME".

Dallas' spinoff Knots Landing also lasted 14 seasons, and in 2010, TNT announced it had ordered a new, updated series of Dallas. The revival series, continuing the story of the Ewing family, premiered on TNT on June 13, 2012.