Karen MacKenzie record for an actress on American primetime television. Karen's storylines focus on family troubles, addiction and kidnapping. In her early years on the serial, the character had much more of an "edge" in order to test the audience on who would be the most like J. R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), the primary character of its parent series "Dallas". (The bad girl role would later be taken on by Abby Cunningham, Karen's sister-in-law.) Over time, she became much more of a wholesome character. Series creator David Jacobs said "Karen is the tent pole. She says the things I want to say.
Dallas (1978 TV series) (season 12) main character Pamela Barnes Ewing, and Jenna Pangburn appears in two episodes as Pamela Rebecca Cooper, a character played by Deborah Kellner in the 1996 television film "" and Julie Gonzalo in the 2012 "Dallas" revival series. Returning writers include showrunner Leonard Katzman, Mitchell Wayne Katzman, Arthur Bernard Lewis, and Louella Lee Caraway, and they are joined by Howard Lakin, who wrote several episodes for seasons 4-6 plus newcomers Simon Masters and Jonathan Hales. Series star Larry Hagman (J.R.) is billed alongside Leonard Katzman as executive producer, while Howard Lakin is the show's new producer. Cliff Fenneman, having served as