TNT’s Dallas is taking a page from the original series’ playbook to explain J.R. Ewing’s sudden exit.
According to TV Guide Magazine, the iconic villain — played by the late Larry Hagman — will be murdered by an unknown assailant toward the middle of the show’s upcoming second season. The plot, of course, recalls the original program’s classic 1980 “Who Shot J.R.” cliffhanger.
“We all felt having J.R. die of natural causes would have been completely inappropriate, not only to the character, but also to Larry Hagman,” exec producer Cynthia Cidre told the mag.
As TVLine previously reported, J.R. will be laid to rest Season 2′s eighth episode, slated to air on March 11. The new season kicks off on Jan. 28.
Hagman completed work on a handful of Season 2 episodes prior to his death on Nov. 23 from cancer complications.
Thoughts? Do you agree with Cidre that killing off J.R. is the best way to honor both the character and Hagman? Any early theories as to who pulled the proverbial trigger this time around? Sound off below!
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