According to TVGuide's William Keck, the executive producer of TNT's Dallas, Cynthia Cidre, will be addressing Larry Hagman's and J.R.'s death in the second season with a multi-episode murder mystery. Here's an excerpt from the article, which gives some details regarding the decision to handle writing Larry Hagman's death into the show by having J.R. be murdered:
At a time when the cast and crew should have been celebrating the revived soap's success on TNT — Season 1 averaged 4.5 million viewers and was the top new cable drama of the year among adults 18-49 — instead they were reeling from the shock of Hagman's death. Then the show's writing staff, headed by exec producer Cynthia Cidre, went into overdrive reworking the second half of the season. The result: a multi-episode "Who Killed J.R.?" mystery that Cidre hopes will rival 1980's wildly popular "Who Shot J.R.?" storyline.
"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," says Cidre, who received an OK for the plotline from Duffy as well as Hagman's son, Preston.
After weaving in the new story, Cidre and her staff were able to salvage what she estimates to be 80 to 90 percent of her original outline for the season. Hagman's final episodes (he appears in at least five) even offer a few scenes that provide unintended closure to J.R.'s tumultuous relationships with Sue Ellen and Bobby. In this week's two-hour premiere, J.R. comes to ex-wife Sue Ellen's home to express feelings for her he'd never before verbalized. A few episodes later, Bobby turns to his big brother when his wife, Ann (Brenda Strong), lands in a heap of trouble. "For the first time I can remember, Bobby has to go to the guy who knows how to get down and dirty," Duffy says. "He walks into J.R.'s bedroom and says, 'I need your help.' It's one of my all-time favorite moments."
Cidre also gives some scoop in the following excerpt from the article on two of the new characters that will be introduced in season two:
Producers have also wisely cultivated a fresh supply of villains. Mitch Pileggi, who plays Ann's manipulative ex-husband Harris Ryland, has been upped to a series regular. Early in the season, Ryland opens his home to his diabolical mother Judith (Judith Light) and his privileged daughter Emma (Emma Bell). Pileggi describes Harris' Oedipal relationship with his mom as "about as weird and creepy as you can get," with one scene finding Judith tending to her hospital-bed-bound son with a bit too much affection.
"Their relationship is very complicated and psychologically fascinating," confirms Light, whose initial run on the show will end after the first eight episodes due to a Broadway commitment (producers hope to have her back later in the season). "This woman is extremely controlling of her son's life, deeply pained and stops at nothing to get her own way." Before long, the Ryland family's machinations will land one unlucky Ewing on trial for attempted murder.
Link to the full article:Dallas Remembers Larry Hagman With a New Season 2 Mystery - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com
My thoughts: I have to admit that I assumed the writers would handle Larry Hagman's death in season two by having J.R. die in his sleep of natural since I'm sure Hagman's death was somewhat unexpected when it came to planning all of the storylines for season two, but I'm glad that's not the case. Cynthia Cidre was definitely right when she said that for a character that's as iconic and larger than life as J.R. was, it would be very inappropriate and disrespectful to both Larry Hagman and the character J.R. Ewing to have J.R. simply die of natural causes. Writing J.R. out by having him be murdered and doing a "Who Killed J.R.?" storyline that will be similar to the famous "Who Shot J.R.?" storyline oddly enough seems like the most respectful way to handle writing Larry Hagman's death into the show, if you ask me. I'd be lying if I'm a little hesitant to trust the writer's ability to handle J.R.'s murder well though since they obviously won't have footage of J.R. being murdered filmed, which means that unless they are able to do some very clever editing, J.R. will have to be murdered off screen, which seems a little weird to me. I'll try my best to keep an open mind and try to trust the writer's ability to handle J.R.'s murder well though.
As for the other spoilers for season two that were given in the article, I'm really glad that the producers made Mitch Pilleggi a series regular for season two, and not just because J.R. will be murdered in season two and I think it's important for the show to have a character who can fill the role of the main villain on the show. I loved the character in season one even before Larry Hagman died, so I'm glad that he'll be sticking around. I'm also really excited about Judith Light joining the cast for season two as Harris' mother, because I think she's a great actress. Season two can't come fast enough for my taste.
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