On November 21, 1980, 350 million people around the world tuned
in to television’s popular primetime drama “Dallas” to find out
who shot J.R. Ewing, the character fans loved to hate. J.R. had
been shot on the season-ending episode the previous March 21,
which now stands as one of television’s most famous cliffhangers.
The plot twist inspired widespread media coverage and left the
country wondering “Who shot J.R.?” for the next eight months.
The November 21 episode solved the mystery, identifying Kristin Shepard, J.R.’s wife’s sister-in-law and his former mistress, as
the culprit.
The CBS television network debuted the first five-episode pilot
season of “Dallas” in 1978; it went on to run for another 12 full-
length seasons.
