On this day March 21 1980 television history was made when J.R. Ewing was shot in the season finale of Dallas in the episode A House Divided. The shocking cliffhanger left audiences worldwide guessing who pulled the trigger turning Who Shot J.R.? into one of the biggest pop culture phenomena of all time.
The mystery surrounding J.R.’s shooting kept viewers in suspense for months as Dallas became the must-watch show of 1980. The answer was finally revealed in November 1980 in the episode Who Done It? which became one of the highest-rated TV episodes in history.
80s insight: Over 350 million people worldwide tuned in to find out who shot J.R. making it one of the most-watched television events of all time.