TV1 Blog

You read that right people.  The Ewings are back.  And not via some reunion special or tricky remake, but the actual series with the original characters and original stars picking up the story some 21 years later.  Think of it as season 14 (the original series had a run of 13 seasons from 1978 to 1991).

“The cameras left 21 years ago”, the producers say. “All the Ewings’ lives went on. Now the cameras have returned.”

So Larry Hagman (who turns 81 this year) is back as the devious oil baron J.R.  Patrick Duffy is back as JR's brother Bobby.  And Linda Gray is back too as JR's long-suffering wife.

The show will also introduce us to the next generation of Ewings, with Josh Henderson as J.R.'s scheming son John and Jesse Metcalfe as Bobby's more level-headed son Christopher.

Ken Kercheval, who played J.R.'s nemesis Cliff Barnes, is also set to return. Other familiar characters from the series expected to return include Charlene Tilton as Lucy Ewing (J.R. and Bobby's niece) and Steve Kanaly as Ray Krebbs (J.R. and Bobby's half brother).

Time will tell whether they can make a fourteenth season work, however, they must be sitting on something pretty good to convince everyone to jump on board.

And luckily for TV1 viewers, we'll be able to catch our first glimpse of the new Dallas crew at the SAG Awards on Monday 30 January, with Hagman, Duffy and Gray all scheduled to present an award.