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50 free Dallas TV Show trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
40 free Dallas TV Show trivia questions with answers. Dallas ran for 357 episodes on CBS and taught the world what a cliffhanger was. This quiz covers the Ewings from the 1978 five-part miniseries to the 1991 finale and the 2012 TNT revival: Jock and Miss Ellie, J.R. and Sue Ellen, Bobby and Pam, Lucy, Ray Krebbs and the Barnes-Ewing feud, Southfork and Ewing Oil. The big moments are all here: the shooting of J.R. and the 83 million people who watched 'Who Done It', Kristin Shepard's confession, Jock's death, Bobby's death and the shower scene that turned a whole season into Pam's dream, Knots Landing, and Larry Hagman's record of appearing in every single episode. Easy questions ask which network aired it and who played J.R.; the hard ones want the Nielsen seasons at number one, the ranch that stood in for Southfork and the Republican campaign button of 1980. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the show, its cast and its spin-offs, and each question carries the sentence that supports it.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On which network did Dallas air from 1978 to 1991?
CBS
It premiered on 2 April 1978 and bowed out on 3 May 1991.
Q 02Dallas debuted in April 1978 in what form?
A five-part miniseries
The five pilot episodes are now counted as season one.
Q 03Who created Dallas?
David Jacobs
His partner Michael Filerman suggested the name; Jacobs also created Knots Landing.
Q 04How many episodes of Dallas were made?
357
That makes it one of the longest-lasting hour-long dramas in American TV history.
Q 05The series originally focused on the marriage of which couple?
Bobby and Pam
The Romeo-and-Juliet setup paired a Ewing with a daughter of the rival Barnes family.
Q 06Who played the scheming oil tycoon J.R. Ewing?
Larry Hagman
He was the only actor to appear in all 357 episodes.
Q 07Which character was the only one to appear in every episode?
J.R. Ewing
The character began as a supporting villain and became the show's breakout star.
Q 08Who played Bobby Ewing?
Patrick Duffy
He left the show, was killed off, and then returned in the shower.
Q 09Linda Gray played J.R.'s long-suffering wife. What was her name?
Sue Ellen
Her drinking problem landed her in a sanitarium more than once.
Q 10Victoria Principal's Pamela was born into which clan, rivals of the Ewings?
The Barneses
Her brother Cliff spent fourteen seasons trying to bring down J.R.
Q 11Who played the family matriarch, Miss Ellie?
Barbara Bel Geddes
Donna Reed temporarily took over the role in season eight.
Q 12Jock, played by Jim Davis, was the founder of which company?
Ewing Oil
Davis died just after production wrapped on season four in 1981, and Jock was written out.
Q 13Charlene Tilton's Lucy Ewing was what relation to J.R. and Bobby?
Their niece
She was the daughter of the absent middle brother, Gary.
Q 14Ken Kercheval played J.R.'s archrival. Who was he?
Q 21What share of the American television audience watched 'Who Done It'?
76%
More than half of all US households tuned in.
Q 22What delayed the resolution of the 'Who shot J.R.?' mystery in 1980?
A Writers Guild strike
The strike pushed most new network shows back by eight weeks, stretching the suspense to eight months.
Q 23During the 1980 presidential campaign, Republicans handed out buttons reading what?
'A Democrat shot J.R.'
Betting parlours across the US, Canada and Europe were taking odds on the culprit that summer.
Cliff Barnes
He was Pam's brother, which made every family dinner awkward.
Q 15Steve Kanaly's Ray Krebbs worked at Southfork as what?
Ranch hand
He turned out to be Jock's illegitimate son, making him a Ewing after all.
Q 16Which famous ex-wife of a rock star played Bobby's teenage sweetheart Jenna Wade?
Priscilla Presley
The role had been played by two other actresses before she took it over.
Q 17In the third-season finale, what happens to J.R. in the final scene?
He is shot twice by an unseen assailant
The episode 'A House Divided' launched an eight-month guessing game.
Q 18Who shot J.R.?
Kristin Shepard
His scheming sister-in-law and mistress, played by Mary Crosby, pulled the trigger in a fit of anger.
Q 19Kristin, who shot J.R., was what relation to him?
His sister-in-law
She was Sue Ellen's sister, played by Mary Crosby, daughter of Bing.
Q 20Roughly how many Americans watched the shooter-reveal episode 'Who Done It' on 21 November 1980?
83 million
It scored a 53.3 rating and a 76% share, and remains the second-highest-rated primetime telecast ever.
Q 24The entire ninth run of episodes was revealed to have been whose dream?
Pam's
The twist erased Bobby's death and everything else that had happened for a year.
Q 25Bobby was killed off in the finale of which run of the show?
The eighth
Patrick Duffy had left to pursue other work; falling ratings brought him back a year later.
Q 26Why did the actor who played Bobby agree to return after leaving?
Falling ratings persuaded producers to lure him back
His return in the shower remains one of television's most famous retcons.
Q 27Which spin-off, launched in 1979, followed middle brother Gary Ewing to a California cul-de-sac?
Knots Landing
It also ran for 14 seasons, and Gary was described as the black sheep of the family.
Q 28The spin-off's couples lived on which cul-de-sac?
Seaview Circle
The show was set in a fictional coastal suburb of Los Angeles.
Q 29The ranch used for Southfork's exterior shots is in which Texas town?
Parker
Built in 1970 as Duncan Acres, it is now an event centre and tourist stop.
Q 30The pilot miniseries was shot on location in Dallas and at which property in Frisco, Texas?
Cloyce Box Ranch
The show moved to the more famous Southfork house in Parker for later seasons.