Reality television better watch its ratings back – one of the most popular drama series of all time, Dallas is making a comeback.
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Dallas was the quintessential small-screen drama that drew inspiration from the wealthy, excessive and oil hungry America of the 1980’s and continues to be the second most watched entertainment program in the US. The series spanned 14 seasons and aired from 1978 through to 1991.
The man who starred in all 357 episodes and continues to be renowned as TV's most hated man, Larry Hagman, is pleased to be reprising the role of oil baron J.R. Ewing for a new generation of audiences who will be given the chance to make his amoral acquaintance.
79-year-old Hagman will be joined by other members of the original cast, including his onscreen brother Bobby, played by Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray, who starred as his on-again, off-again wife Sue Ellen.
"We just finished the pilot three weeks ago, if it's commissioned, shooting will start at the end of October," Hagman, in Perth for the pop cultural expo Supanova, said.
The pilot, which is now in front of network executives, focuses on the new generation of magnates, J.R.'s son John Ross and Christopher, Bobby's adopted son, who still lives on the family’s original Texas ranch, 'South Fork'.
Desperate Housewives' Josh Henderson has been cast as John Ross while Jordana Brewster, of the Fast Five, also features in the new Ewing clan.
"The emphasis is going to be on the children. Bobby's boy and my boy and their two girls. It's all about them. I'm the grandfather/father figure like Jock Ewing [the patriarch of the Ewing family]."
Hagman, who directed, produced and starred in the pilot, didn't divulge much about its syndication but did let slip that a big advertising campaign is in the pipeline.
Dallas 2.0 follows a number of classic TV show remakes, the majority failing to resonate with modern audiences, including Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210.
However, none have Dallas' foundations. The finale of series two was watched by almost 400 million people around the world and even sparked the Queen Mother's curiosity when she asked Hagman who pulled the trigger when they met in the 80’s.
"It's got a great built in audience and a huge audience around the world. It depends on the writing. If the writing is there then it will be good," he said.
The fact that the original cast members including Hagman, Duffy and Gray are all close is also a rarity for modern day soaps.
"We were a real nice family. Everybody got along well and it was just great. Patrick Duffy and I see each other a couple of times a month. He lives up in Oregon, about 1000 miles away from where I live and we get together and go hunting and fishing quite a bit and I see Linda Gray at least twice a month, we have lunch and dinner."
Hagman is the walking, talking embodiment of the saying, "They do things bigger in Texas."
He recently featured on Desperate Housewives, but won't be taking any more guest star offers.
"I was the new kid on the block and they were all very kind to me, but let's face it I’m pretty famous," he said.
He is also passionate about energy conservation and has the largest solarised house in America.
Back in the Dallas days, his trademark was a wide brimmed cowboy hat.
The original JR Ewing signature hat is now displayed in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
These days he prefers to combine his passion for solar energy and head gear and wears a solar powered hat to shield him from the blistering Texan heat.
"I do have a hat, it’s kind of like a British Campaign Hat and it is solarised and it has a little fan on the top, on your forehead and you wear it out in the sun and it’ll cool you off. It has a little solar energy panel on it and it really works too."
Follow Jenna Clarke on Twitter @JennaMClarke