Dallas is a highly popular, long-running American prime-time television soap opera that originally ran from 1978 to 1991. It revolved around the Ewing family, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching businesses. The show debuted in April 1978 as a five-part miniseries on the CBS network, then was broadcast on that network for 13 seasons, from Saturday, September 23, 1978, to Friday, May 3, 1991.
Dallas was one of the most successful drama series ever made, and also one of the longest-running shows in American prime-time television history.
The show's central character is John Ross "J.R." Ewing Jr., a greedy, scheming oil baron played by Fort Worth native Larry Hagman throughout the show's entire run. The series was a hybrid of Romeo and Juliet (Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes as star-crossed lovers whose families were sworn enemies) and Bonanza (an affluent western patriarch with three sons).
Creator David Jacobs originally created and came up with an idea for the series Knots Landing, but CBS wanted a glitzy "saga-like" show. Jacobs therefore created Dallas, a series about a wealthy family in the oil business. When Dallas proved to be a hit, CBS reconsidered Jacobs' original idea and turned Knots Landing into a spin-off of Dallas in late 1979.
The Dallas miniseries that started in April 1978 was shot entirely on location in Dallas, Texas. Later, most interiors for the show were shot at the MGM studios in Hollywood. Exteriors were shot at the Southfork Ranch in Plano, Texas, and other parts of Dallas, until 1989, when rising production costs led to all production being located in California.
Catherine Zeta-Jones was rumored to play a part in the movie.
Jennifer Lopez (I) was originally cast, but dropped out.
Popular evening 'soap-opera' style television drama. The show was set in Dallas and chronicled the exploits of wealthy Texas oil millionaires. Many of the plots revolved around shady business dealings and dysfunctional family dynamics. Written by Tad Dibbern
The saga of the wealthy Ewing family - patriarch Jock Ewing, who started Ewing Oil, the family corporation; Miss Ellie, his wife who properly managed Southfork Ranch, the family home; and their three sons - J.R., the ruthless CEO of Ewing Oil, married to former Miss Texas Sue Ellen Shepard; Bobby, the nice guy, who married Pamela Barnes, daughter of the Ewing's chief business rival; and Gary, considered an outcast by his father, who eventually moved to California with his wife Valene. Written by Phil Fernando
