‘Dallas’ premieres big on TNT

TNT’s reboot of the”Dallas” struck oil. Its Wednesday premiere drew nearly 7 million viewers, making it the No. 1 scripted series premiere on all of cable so far this year.

The rebirth of the classic CBS series, which stars veterans Larry Hagman and Linda Gray reprising their roles as J.R. and Sue Ellen Ewing alongside younger brethren Jesse Metcalfe and Josh Henderson, garnered 6.8 million viewers. The debut unsurprisingly drew hefty numbers in the older demographic: Nearly 1.9 million folks who tuned-in were in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demo and 2.5 million were 25-54. You can guess who made up the remaining million. Who said older people don’t watch cable?

The two-hour premiere of the new “Dallas,” which Times critic Robert Lloyd said is “very much like the old” in his review, even outdid broadcast networks during its 9-11 p.m. airing. But considering the numbers the soap generated during its original run, its Wednesday showing is extremely undersized. The last episode of the original series, which aired in 1991, brought in a whopping 33 million viewers -- and even that was down significantly from the immortal “Who Shot J.R.?” episode in 1980. How TV has changed.

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Twitter:@villarrealy