1978: 'Dallas' Debuts on CBS
On this day in 1978, CBS introduced its game-changing prime-time soap opera, Dallas.
For 13 seasons, viewers followed the ups-and-downs of the Ewing clan, a Texas family made wealthy by success in the oil and cattle industries.
Dallas was one of the first shows to embrace season-ending cliffhangers; in 1980, an entire nation spent the summer asking, "Who Shot J.R.?" And the character of J.R. Ewing, portrayed by the late Larry Hagman, is one of TV's true icons.