About
About the TV Series Dallas
Background, history, filming, famous cliffhangers and DVD releases — fan-made guide.
Dallas became one of television’s defining dramas — a global phenomenon built on family conflict, oil wealth, betrayal, romance, and some of the most unforgettable cliffhangers in TV history.
Introduction to the TV Series Dallas
It was on Sunday night, April 2, 1978, that television history changed forever when a new five-part miniseries made its debut on CBS. That show was Dallas, created by David Jacobs, and it went on to become one of the most successful shows in television history.
Dallas was not initially produced as a serial. It was conceived as a non-continuing drama. “I had hoped we’d be able to serialize after we got a hold,” said David Jacobs, the show’s creator. Indeed, the series changed into its now-famous serialized form after about ten episodes of its first official season in the autumn of 1978.
“We move a lot faster than a daytime soap,” said Philip Capice. “In the course of twenty-five or twenty-six shows a season, we did the same amount of material that a daytime serial does in two hundred and fifty shows.”
Dallas was not an instant hit and gradually built its audience. It was not until the 1979–1980 season cliffhanger, when J.R. was shot, that the show was catapulted into a worldwide phenomenon.
Dallas 2012
TNT brought Dallas back in 2012 as a continuation of the classic CBS soap, with Cynthia Cidre developing the series and Warner Horizon Television producing it.
The TNT revival ran for three seasons and 40 episodes, premiering on June 13, 2012, and ending on September 22, 2014.
Website History
The Story of This Website
Back in 1997, when the internet still felt like the Wild West, a group of Dallas fans chatting on the newsgroup alt.tv.dallas decided to create something special. What started as a fan project quickly grew into one of the best-known online homes for Dallas fans anywhere in the world.
For most of its life, the site was known as UltimateDallas.com, a name that became familiar to fans across the globe. In 2026, it was rebranded as DallasTVshow.com, but its heart has always stayed the same: fans celebrating Dallas and keeping its legacy alive.
From the beginning, this site was built by fans, for fans. It became much more than just a website. It sparked a hugely popular international fan community, bringing together people from all over the world to discuss the show, share memories, debate storylines, and celebrate the characters and cast we all love.
It also broke new ground. This was the first fan website to really take a deep dive into a TV series on this scale, creating an archive, community, and resource unlike anything that had come before. It was also the first fan site to bring fans into direct contact with the actors themselves — something that felt groundbreaking at the time. In many ways, the site helped stars like Larry Hagman navigate this brand-new digital world right alongside the fans.
As the site grew, so did its reputation. It gained worldwide attention, won awards, and was featured in newspapers and on the BBC. In the early 2000s, its popularity helped inspire documentary projects, major fan events, and media coverage that showed just how powerful and passionate the Dallas fanbase really was.
When Dallas returned to television in 2012, showrunner Cynthia Cidre told us that the attention
and passion generated by this website had played a part in inspiring the show’s return. For a fan site that began on a
newsgroup in 1997, that’s a pretty incredible legacy.
Today, DallasTVshow.com stands as both an archive and a tribute — not just to one of the world’s most popular TV shows, but to the cast, creators, and fans who kept its spirit alive for decades.
This site has always been about love for Dallas. And it still is.
Acknowledgements
A Special Thanks
We would like to thank those who have supported us over the years, in particular cast members Steve Kanaly, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Charlene Tilton and Josh Henderson.
We would also like to thank the dedicated people who helped make the site possible: Colin Hunter, Josh Eilberg, James Holmes, Karin Schill and Sarah Wilson.
This website has always been a labour of love, and it would not have been possible without the generosity,
encouragement and enthusiasm of so many wonderful people over the years.
