# Dallas (1978)

> A Texas oil dynasty's power struggles, romantic betrayals and family feuds made the world's first mega-soap a 1980s phenomenon.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/35

## Facts

- Seasons: 14
- Episodes: 357
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: David Jacobs
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Patrick Duffy, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jim Davis, Kimberly Foster, Larry Hagman, Ken Kercheval, Howard Keel, George Kennedy
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077000/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: glamorous, melodramatic, scheming, sardonic, escapist

## What critics say

Audiences broadly regard Dallas as a landmark mega-soap with addictive serialized storytelling, strongest in its early and middle seasons before quality dipped in the late 1980s.

## Synopsis

Dallas (1978-1991) is a American primetime soap opera created by David Jacobs for CBS, and it helped define the form as the world's first mega-soap. Larry Hagman plays scheming oilman J.R. Ewing, whose rivalry with neighbor Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) and his brothers, including Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), drives a long-running saga of business deals and personal betrayals. Barbara Bel Geddes as matriarch Miss Ellie and Jim Davis as patriarch Jock anchor the family at the sprawling Southfork ranch. Across fourteen seasons and 357 episodes, the story runs on long serialized storylines, romantic entanglements, boardroom maneuvering over oil leases and land, and a famous season-ending cliffhanger. Set in the oil-rich Texas of the 1980s, the show is glossy and melodramatic, with expensive cars and lavish parties, yet its tone turns on jealousy, greed and loyalty. Fans of Dynasty, Knots Landing and Falcon Crest will find the same appetite for family scheming and glamour.

## Shows like Dallas

- [One Life to Live (1968)](https://ember.film/tv/826)
- [Pasión de Gavilanes (2003)](https://ember.film/tv/10475)
- [The Waltons (1972)](https://ember.film/tv/4767)
- [Landman (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/119815)
- [Soap (1977)](https://ember.film/tv/3136)
- [Ransom Canyon (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/157406)
- [Another World (1964)](https://ember.film/tv/4326)
- [Melrose Place (1992)](https://ember.film/tv/4134)
- [Knots Landing (1979)](https://ember.film/tv/2467)
- [Yellowstone (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/64024)

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