Young love
This week’s “Dallas” episode, “Let Me In,” was seen by 2.6 million viewers on April 1, the same number that watched the TNT drama the previous week. By one measure, though, “Dallas’s” numbers grew: The latest telecast drew more than 1 million viewers between ages 18 and 49, a crucial demographic for TV advertising sales. This was the fifth time this year the show cracked the 1 million mark in that category.
“Dallas” is holding steady in one of the toughest times slots in television. TNT shows the series Monday nights at 9, where it faces the second hour of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” which averaged 13.9 million viewers on April 1, as well as the second hour of NBC’s “The Voice,” which averaged 13.1 million. “Dallas’s” competition also includes Fox’s “The Following,” which drew 6.6 million viewers this week.
“Dallas” is getting a boost from people who record shows digitally and watch them a few days later. Last week’s episode, “Guilt and Innocence,” drew 2.6 million viewers on March 25, but by the end of the week, DVR users had pushed its audience to 3.3 million viewers, including 1.2 million between ages 18 and 49 and 1.4 million between 25 and 54, a demographic cable channels like TNT target.
Meanwhile, “J.R.’s Masterpiece,” the episode where the Ewings bid farewell to Larry Hagman’s famous character, was seen by 3.6 million viewers on March 11, but within a week of its telecast, DVR users had increased its audience to 4.9 million viewers. The audience included 1.6 million viewers between 18 and 49 and 1.9 million between 25 and 54.
‘Dallas’ Double Features
Double trouble
Four episodes remain in “Dallas’s” second season, and TNT will show them during the next two weeks:
• On Monday, April 8, the cable channel will telecast “A Call to Arms” at 8 p.m., followed by “Love and Family” at 9 p.m.
• The following Monday, April 15, TNT will show “Guilt by Association” at 9 p.m., followed by the season finale, “Legacies,” at 10 p.m.
TNT is doubling up on “Dallas” to clear its schedule for the NBA basketball playoffs, which will dominate the cable channel’s lineup in late April and May.
Brewster Hits the ‘Runway’
Jordana Brewster will appear as a guest judge on the next episode of Lifetime’s “Project Runway,” which will debut Thursday, April 4, at 10 p.m.
Speaking of “Dallas” and fashion: If you haven’t already done so, check out my interview with the new show’s costume designer, Rachel Sage Kunin, who discusses the secrets behind the show’s wardrobe. Who knew the Ewings wore clothing from secondhand shops?
Bottoms Up
My partner Andrew, who blogs about all things food at Cook In/Dine Out, is serving up his latest “Dallas Drinks” cocktail recipe: The Emma, a fiery concoction inspired by Emma Bell’s what-will-she-do-next wild child. Make yourself one today; just don’t consume it with Clonazepam!
“Drill Bits,” a roundup of news about TNT’s “Dallas,” is published regularly. Share your comments below.
Dallas Decoder 
Chris do you think there will be a season 3?
“Love and Family” sounds to be like it is Pam related
I am cautiously optimistic there will be a Season 3.
Great website i just discovered. Season 2 finally arrived this week in Germany/Switzerland/Austria and after a bad time on TV thuesday pm 10.15 they’ve changed now to monday pm 8.15 (which is much better). pm 10.15 was just to late on the evening so it was “technically” a flop in Germany. Hope the ratings will be better now. The show itself is fantastic I would say. Even older people watching it but sadly not a lot young people here (they never saw the “old” Dallas).
The thing that stinks for me is that I am going to have to watch the episodes at a later time. 8:00 pm is too early for me. I had to wait until 11:01 pm to watch this week’s episode “Let Me In”. I am going to have to get my TiVo hooked up again. ugh. I have three small children and shoving them into bed by 9:00 pm and keeping them in there is hard enough.
There are two weeks and four episodes remaining in season 2 and not a single mention of whether or not there will even be a season 3. It was interesting to learn that the City of Dallas was helpful, by providing incentives, in getting Dallas renewed for season 2.
My wife is a big fan of Project Runway. Perhaps I can stomach a little bit of the show, since Jordana Brewster is going to be one of the judges on the show.
One thing about my drink preference. I do care for sugary or sweet drinks. Although any drink with 12 drops of “Hellfire habanero shrub” sounds exciting!
Yeah, that habanero shrub gives The Emma a nice kick.
My guess is Jordana Brewster won’t show up until the end of this week’s “Project Runway.” Sometimes the judges will appear at the top of the hour, but usually you don’t see them until the runway sequence during the final quarter of the show.
Does it work when you tell your children to be good little Ewings and go to bed early? Maybe if you tell them Uncle J.R. is watching, they’ll be more likely to be obedient?
I am going to just set my DVR. It is already in place I just have to unplug the Wii and plug in the TiVo cables. I really enjoy watching it as it airs and reading all of the tweets. I know these last 4 episodes are going to be good!
I have a good feeling about them too, Jump!
How do you guys know when someone DVR’s the show on a particular night? We’ve done it a few times because of hockey and then watch Dallas the next day.
The ratings information comes from Nielsen. I’m not sure how the company does it, but it’s able to determine when viewers record shows and watch them later. Does anyone else out there know how this works?
I came across this TNT press release from earlier today:
“Two Hour Dallas Season Finale to air Monday, April 15 on TNT” – http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/03/two-hour-dallas-season-finale-to-air-monday-april-15-on-tnt/176274/?utm_campaign=WP%20%3E%20Twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter
To me, this looks like an unofficial sign of renewal. The press release clearly says “season finale” and with less than two weeks to go, I think (to be a complete cynic) the network exec folks would have hyped up a “series finale” in order to get some good ratings out of JR’s Masterpiece and when his killer is revealed. When Leverage was cancelled in December, it was announced right before the last episode or two and the producers planned the last episode to potentially be a series or season finale. There is no indication that Cynthia Cidre and company have done that, which makes me think either they are really confident OR already got a unofficial thumbs up. Also to make my case, TNT’s other show this winter Southland has been struggling far worse than Dallas (1 million viewers or more less, if I am correct) and there are reports actors from that series are already joining other TV pilots for next fall. No one from Dallas has done that yet either. And lastly, maybe TNT doesn’t want to reveal whether it was officially renewed for season 3 yet or not in order to keep viewers on the edge of their seats or also perhaps a big name or character is returning (which TNT may not want to jeopardize by renewing it before the finale).
Just my thoughts. Awesome sight, btw! Check it often!
It’s been my understanding that no decision (renew or cancel) will be made until after the season is concluded. Without a decision they couldn’t very well call it a series finale either.
There are been positive comments here and there from TNT but nothing official.
Thanks Dan. When you think about it, this might be the biggest mystery of all. Forget “Who Killed J.R.?” and “Where’s Pam?” The real question is, “Will There be a Season 3?”
PMM349 – Your theory as to why an announcement for season 3 for Dallas makes great sense. I was wondering why an announcement had not already been made. I like to think that people who work in the television industry take pride in who they are and what they do. To put Dallas on the air is a great thing and something that the decision makers should take great pride in making. Dallas is a great source of entertainment. If there is enough room for half of the garbage that makes it on air, there should be plenty of room on the T.V. schedule for Dallas. Will the audience of Dallas grow? perhaps. Will the audience of Dallas shrink? I would find that hard to imagine. TNT has Dallas lined up against a number of well established shows this season. I am also impressed at the amount of effort the cast makes in promoting the show and reaching out to the audience.
I agree, Jump. The cast is really accessible on Twitter and in other media. It’s nice to see.
I like your theories, PMM. I hope they’re correct. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and also for your kind words!
Chris
Dallas Season Finale Part 2: “Legacies” – Monday, April 15, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)
In the electrifying second season finale, the Ewings unite to execute J.R.’s master plan. Twists and turns abound as each family member tries to ensure its success in ways that would make even a scoundrel like J.R. Ewing proud. When the shocking answer to the question “Who killed J.R.?” is finally revealed, the stage is deliciously set for new alliances and new battles to begin.
It appears there will be a season three
Brandon, I hope you’re right. I’m cautiously optimistic.
TNT has Dallas as their twitter picture. I think that is a good sign for the series.