20 years after it first went off the air, could the prime time soap “Dallas” be ready for a comeback? After the results of a pilot shot earlier this year, TNT certainly thinks so. The cable network has ordered 10 new episodes centered on the Ewing clan which they plan to air in the summer of 2012. Proving you can never start promoting your TV series reboot too early, TNT released a short preview based of the pilot and, surprisingly, not that much has changed on ol’ Southfork Ranch.
This isn’t a reboot or a reimagining. No, not only is the one and only J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) back, but so is his brother Bobby (“Step by Step’s” Patrick Duffy for those of you too young to remember) and Ewing’s ex-wife Sue Ellen (lookin’ good Linda Gray). Joining the trio is “Fast and Furious” franchise star Jordana Brewster, Jesse Metcalfe (as Bobby’s adoptive son Christopher Ewing), Josh Henderson (as J.R. and Sue Ellen’s son John Ross Ewing) And what’s up in the Ewing world? Well, we’ve got one son trying to follow in his dad’s footsteps, Christopher (“My whole life I’ve been trying to put the Ewing name back on top”); another son trying to escape his father’s shadow, John Ross (“I’ll always be J.R.’s son to them”) and a father, Bobby, trying to see his kin avoid the mistakes of the past (“I am sick to death of this family devouring itself over money!”). And where does J.R. fit into all of this? That’s the million (or is it billion dollar?) question. One things for sure, he has no interest in handing over the reins of Ewing Oil. Not while he’s still breathing, that is.
The preview is intriguing, if not just for Metclafe’s attempt at serious acting, but where’s Pam Ewing? You can’t bring “Dallas” back with Victoria Principal can you? They seem to have this magical shower in Bobby’s old house. Maybe the absence of “Dallas” the last two decades has just been one long dream…
Check out the preview below. Should TNT stick with “we know drama”? Or does “Dallas” need a “we know camp” tagline? Are you excited either way?