Dallas: J.R. Returns Dallas: J.R. Returns Dallas: J.R. Returns is a 1996 American made-for-television drama film and is the first of two "Dallas" reunion films, produced after the series went off the air in 1991. It originally aired on CBS on November 15, 1996, and was rerun as part of TV Land's salute to 50 years of Warner Bros. Television. The cliffhanger ending of the 1991 "Dallas" series finale is resolved. The gunshot J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) fired was at the mirror, not himself (despite there being no sound of shattered glass when he pulled the trigger). Several years later, J.R. is in
Dallas (1978 TV series) during season 5. Actor Jim Davis, who played Jock, had died just after production had completed on season 4 in 1981. Bobby Ewing's death in the season 8 finale, alongside his subsequent absence during the following season, was explained away at the beginning of season 10 as a dream of Pamela Barnes Ewing, thus effectively erasing everything that had happened during season 9. Actor Patrick Duffy had left the series to pursue other opportunities, but due to declining ratings, he was convinced to return to the series by production company Lorimar as well as series star Larry Hagman. Jack Ewing