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TNT has decided to cancel the remake of classic 1980s Dallas after three seasons.
The network said: “TNT has decided not to renew Dallas”, adding it “defied expectations by standing as a worthy continuation of the Ewing saga”.
TNT thanked “everyone involved in the show” and the people of Dallas “for their warm and generous hospitality”.
The series followed the fortunes of Texan oil family the Ewings.
The original Dallas aired from 1978 to 1991 and centered on a long and bitter rivalry between brothers JR Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, and Bobby Ewing, played by Patrick Duffy.
TNT has decided to cancel the remake of classic 1980s Dallas after three seasons (photo TNT)
It began as a mini series in 1978 and went on to become one of the most-watched television shows around the world for 13 years.
The 356 episodes were seen by an estimated 300 million people in 57 countries.
The new version followed the power struggles within two feuding Texan oil and cattle-ranching families, focusing on John Ross and Christopher Ewing as they clashed over the future of the family dynasty.
Josh Henderson, who appeared as a child in the original series, played John Ross, son of JR Ewing, while Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe was Christopher, son of Bobby Ewing.
Original cast members Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray also returned to Southfork ranch as JR, Bobby and Sue Ellen.
In November 2012 Larry Hagman died at the age of 81 from cancer and cirrhosis of the liver.
The series was rewritten to reflect this, incorporating his death into the storyline.
The new series of TV drama Dallas will be rewritten to reflect the death of actor Larry Hagman, who played scheming oil tycoon JR Ewing.
Larry Hagman, whose role as the stetson-wearing villain made him a global star in the 1980s, died on Friday aged 81.
He was on board when a new version of the show appeared earlier this year.
A statement from UK broadcaster Channel 5 said: “Dallas is midway in production on season two and this sad news will be incorporated into the storyline.”
Larry Hagman featured in a promotional video shot on the first day of filming for the new series and posted last month. The next season makes its premiere in the US on the TNT network on January 28th.
Dallas was resurrected in the summer, more than 20 years after the original ended, with Larry Hagman starring alongside other original actors including Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray.
Linda Gray was at Larry Hagman’s side when he passed away on Friday and described him as “my best friend for 35 years”.
“He was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented and I will miss him enormously,” she said.
“He was an original and lived life to the full.”
Ken Kercheval, who played Cliff Barnes, said the pair had “a great deal of fun” acting out their on-screen rivalry in the 1980s.
“That sparring back and forth, I think that’s what kept the show going for as long as it did because everybody had to wait and see who was going to win and who was going to lose,” he said on Sunday.
“JR was not a nice man. He was terrible. He was quite the opposite of Larry. Those characters are always fun to play and he played it to the hilt. Larry was one of a kind, he really was.”
The new series of TV drama Dallas will be rewritten to reflect the death of Larry Hagman
Michael Preece, who directed more than 60 episodes of Dallas and was a friend of Larry Hagman, said the actor was always a pleasure to work with.
“Well, he was perfect,” he said.
“Between Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray… they were all like directors.
“Larry did direct a lot of episodes, and you’d stage a scene, they would just stage it for you, he was terrific. And you try to get most of his work before lunch, because he was better in the morning – but he was great to be around, it was like a family.”
Another original cast member, Victoria Principal, who played Pam Ewing, said Larry Hagman had been “bigger than life, on-screen and off”.
“He is unforgettable, and irreplaceable, to millions of fans around the world, and in the hearts of each of us, who was lucky enough to know and love him,” she said.
During its original incarnation between 1978-91, Dallas was one of the CBS network’s top-rated programmes and was watched by an estimated 300 million people in 57 countries.
Larry Hagman’s forthright biography Hello Darlin’ detailed his youthful drug-taking exploits and revealed the extent of his 50-year battle with alcoholism.
Even on the hardworking set of Dallas, he consumed five bottles of champagne a day for years and was finally diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver in 1992.
Three years later he had a liver transplant and kept a photo of the organ donor above his mirror.
Despite this, Larry Hagman continued to drink secretly until a further life-saving operation in 2003 forced him to stop.
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Larry Hagman, who played for more than a decade TV villain JR Ewing, has died at the age of 81, his family says.
Larry Hagman, who had suffered from cancer and cirrhosis of the liver, died in hospital on Friday afternoon, according to a family statement.
“Larry was back in his beloved Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved most,” said the family.
“He was surrounded by loved ones.”
Long-time friend Linda Gray, who played Sue Ellen, was by his bedside.
“Larry Hagman was my best friend for 35 years,” said Linda Gray in a statement released by her agent Jeffrey Lane.
“He was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented and I will miss him enormously.
“He was an original and lived life to the full.”
Jeffrey Lane added that Patrick Duffy, who played his brother Bobby in Dallas, was also at Larry Hagman’s bedside at Medical City Dallas Hospital.
“They had been friends for 35 years and they had worked together for many years, so obviously it is devastating,” Jeffrey Lane told The Sun.
During 13 years as the most scheming oil tycoon in Dallas, JR in his Stetson became one of the most distinctive faces on television screens across the world.
It quickly became one of the network’s top-rated programmes – with its 356 episodes being seen by an estimated 300 million people in 57 countries – and was revived this year.
Larry Hagman, who played for more than a decade TV villain JR Ewing, has died at the age of 81
Born in Texas, Larry Hagman later moved to Los Angeles where he was cared for mainly by his grandmother.
After a brief period spent working in the fields, Larry Hagman followed his mother into showbusiness and even toured and played in musicals with her.
Moving into television, he played astronaut Tony Nelson in the 1960s television comedy I Dream of Jeannie.
He first performed as JR Ewing in 1978 and became its highest-paid star, as the programme came to define 1980s excess.
The actor himself owned more than 2,000 cowboy hats.
When Dallas finally finished in 1991, Larry Hagman went on to appear in hit films Nixon and Primary Colors.
His forthright biography, Hello Darlin’, detailed his youthful drug-taking exploits and revealed the extent of his 50-year battle with alcoholism.
Even on the hardworking set of Dallas, he consumed five bottles of champagne a day for years and was finally diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver in 1992.
Three years later he had a liver transplant and kept a photo of the organ donor above his mirror.
“I say a prayer for him every morning,” he said.
Despite this, Larry Hagman continued to drink secretly until a further life-saving operation in 2003 forced him to stop.
Larry Hagman announced in October 2011 that he had a “treatable” form of throat cancer and would receive treatment while filming the Dallas reboot.
At the time the star said: “As J.R. I could get away with anything – bribery, blackmail and adultery. But I got caught by cancer. I do want everyone to know that it is a very common and treatable form of cancer.
“I will be receiving treatment while working on the new Dallas series. I could not think of a better place to be than working on a show I love, with people I love.”
The late actor added: “Besides, as we all know, you can’t keep J.R. down!”
Larry Hagman is survived by wife Maj, who he married in 1952. In 2008, Maj was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.
The actor was last seen in public on November 15, when he attended the White Bridle Society’s Da Vinci, Wine and Roses benefit at held at the Lisa Blue Baron Mansion in Dallas.
He always refused to let his wife’s illness get him down and said: “She’s not very well. But those were the cards we were dealt, so we’ll play with them. More than half a century of happy years is a lot to draw on.”
The couple have two children: Heidi Kristina, born in 1958, and Preston, born in 1962.
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TNT’s Dallas reboot has proved a hit in the US, with an average of 6.8 million viewers tuning in for its debut episode.
Wednesday’s show secured the highest ratings for the premiere of a scripted series on a cable channel this year.
Shown on TNT, the reboot reunites former Dallas stars Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray as JR, Bobby and Sue Ellen Ewing.
A new generation of Ewings includes former Desperate Housewives actor Jesse Metcalfe.
TNT’s Dallas reboot has proved a hit in the US, with an average of 6.8 million viewers tuning in for its debut episode
Jesse Metcalfe plays Christopher Ewing who, along with cousin John Ross Ewing (Josh Henderson), continues the legendary family rivalry on Southfork ranch.
The original Dallas, which aired from 1978 to 1991, centred around Ewing brothers JR and Bobby’s long and bitter battle over the family fortune.
US critics gave it mixed reviews, with some accusing the show of “cashing in” on the original, and the actors of turning in “wooden” performances.
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Dallas is back and the new series are set to premiere tonight at 08:00 p.m. on TNT.
Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy are joined by newcomers Brenda Strong (Desperate Housewives), Josh Henderson (Desperate Housewives), Jordana Brewster (The Fast and the Furious) and Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives).
The cast has been everywhere over the past month promoting the premiere Wednesday at 08:00 p.m. on TNT. The youngsters even rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
But controversy is already swirling around the production. Dallas original creator, David Jacobs, was cut out of the new show.
David Jacobs read the new scripts and thought that they were not up to snuff. The new Dallas producers didn’t want David Jacobs involved and tried to list themselves as the creators of the show.
Dallas is back and the new series are set to premiere tonight on TNT
David Jacobs got a lawyer and the Writers Guild to step in and iron out the problems. According to ShowBiz411.com, David Jacobs, creator of Dallas and Knots Landing, said he has been excluded entirely from the coming reboot of the famous series on TNT. He will get to keep his “created by” credit, but nothing else, no money, and no participation.
“I’ll get the $714 Writers Guild fee for a sequel,” David Jacobs says.
He found out that Dallas was being restarted second hand. When he inquired about it, he says he told everyone – including new head writer Cynthia Cidre – that he was essentially retired and didn’t want to write the show.
“I didn’t want any authority,” he told her at their one lunch. But he did think a consultancy wouldn’t be out of the question since basically, Dallas relies on all the characters he created in the 1970s – JR Ewing, Bobby Ewing, Sue Ellen, and their family, even the same Southfork Ranch set.
Tonight will see the debut of the hotly anticipated Dallas reboot, 21 years after the original show ended.
So the cast of the new version yesterday got the opportunity to quite literally ring in their show at the New York Stock Exchange.
Josh Henderson, Jordana Brewster, Julie Gonzalo and Jesse Metcalfe were given the prestigious honor of ringing the bell to open up trading on Wall Street.
Jordana Brewster and Julie Gonzalo looked glamorous as they posed up together before heading to the podium where they joined their male co-stars Josh Henderson, 30, and Jesse Metcalfe, 33, to ring the opening bell.
Jordana Brewster, 32, opted for a color block outfit, tucking a red blouse into coral shorts and topping off her look with a white blazer and tan wedges.
The cast of the new version of Dallas yesterday got the opportunity to quite literally ring in their show at the New York Stock Exchange
Meanwhile, Julie Gonzalo, 30, chose a monochrome ensemble and sported a white shirt dress which boasted a black belt and collar with a pair of black peep toe shoe boots.
As the younger generation drummed up excitement for their new series, the original cast-members of the hit show were appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray, who also star in the new series, all took to Jay Leno’s sofa to promote the return of the Texan-set TV drama.
It seems that the surviving original cast are just as excited about the return of the show as the younger set are to join the ranks.
Although the new edition is regularly described as a reboot, Patrick Duffy, 63, has said that the correct term for the new series should be a “continuation”.
The plot will still centre on the Ewing family, in particular John Ross Ewing III who is the son of JR and Sue Ellen, and Christopher Ewing, the adopted son of Bobby and Pam.
Dallas premieres in the US on TNT on June 13.
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Linda Gray outshone her younger new female co-stars during an appearance on The Today Show yesterday to promote the new Dallas reboot.
Linda Gray, 71, who will reprise her iconic Sue Ellen role in the forthcoming U.S. TNT series of the show, looked stunning in a floaty cream dress which showed off her toned legs.
Her skin looked flawless, with smoky eye make-up accentuating her bone structure.
Linda Gray joined fellow Dallas old-timers Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing) and Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing) on the morning TV show to promote the series, which debuts this Wednesday in the U.S.
They were joined by five new cast members including Jesse Metcalfe who plays Bobby Ewing’s son Christopher and Josh Henderson who stars as J.R.’s offspring John Ross Ewing III.
According to Linda Gray, her character has “changed a lot” in the reboot, not least her fashion sense, since the original Dallas ended back in 1991.
“I love her right now,” she said of her character.
“I loved her then and I love her now. No shoulder pads for one, and her hair’s not looking as wild and crazy.”
Linda Gray outshone her younger new female co-stars during an appearance on The Today Show yesterday to promote the new Dallas reboot
Linda Gray revealed that the trio of old timers had all consulted each other before deciding to reprise their characters for the new show, which will focus on the younger members of the family.
“We all called each other,” said Linda Gray, after being asked if it was a group decision to make the comeback.
“People don’t remember that we’ve been friends for 35 years and we see each other all the time.
“So it wasn’t like we hadn’t seen each other for 20 years. This was friendships reigniting and we could work together again. That was the great part.”
Larry Hagman admitted Linda Gray had to persuade him to take part in the show, but “money” certainly played its part in his decision.
“It doesn’t last long, I’ll tell you that,” he laughed.
“It was strange getting back into the swing of things, but we all fitted into our characters in the end so it was nothing to worry about.”
Although the new series has largely been described as a “reboot”, Patrick Duffy, 63, said that the correct term for the new series should be a “continuation”.
Patrick Duffy said: “It’s like you didn’t tune in for 20 years and you were on the wrong channel. And if you turned to the right channel here we are. And everything is as it would be 20 years later. It’s a perfect continuation. We consider this year 14 of the show.”
The actor revealed that his first scene with Larry Hagman, whose character J.R starts out in a nursing home, was particularly meaningful for him.
“It was the first scene I did after not worked with him for 20 years – to go back into that room and to have that scene with Larry – It was a little poignant for me.
“Plus we had to do it about 20 times. We’ve got a little old. It really was the beginning of the new Dallas for me – to do that scene with him.”
And as for TV’s most famous oil magnate – apparently he’s even nastier than viewers remember him.
“He’s gotten meaner and he teaches his son to be mean too,” said Larry Hagman when asked by Today host Ann Curry if his character had “evolved”.
Josh Henderson, who plays J.R’s son John Ross Jr., said he had been so intimidated at filming his first scene with Larry Hagman, that he forgot his lines.
“They are big shoes to fill,” he said.
“I was a little nervous and intimidated to come into this show as it was a big deal around the world.
“The first scene was electrifying. His energy – when he steps on set – he literally consumes the room.”
Meanwhile, Jesse Metcalf admitted that he had initially been “skeptical” at the idea of bringing back “such an iconic” show.
“But once Larry and Linda and Patrick gave it their stamp of approval, I knew the script was probably on par,” he added.
“And after reading it, I thought, <<Wow this is such good storytelling>>.”
The actors were also joined today by Jordanna Brewster whose character Elena Ramos finds herself in the middle of a “love triangle” in the show, while Julie Gonzalo plays Rebecca Sutter who is engaged to Christopher.
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