On an autumn night in 1980, at the iconic London Palladium, American actor Larry Hagman was introduced to the queen mother. It was an honor – for him, and for her. The widow of King George VI and mother of Elizabeth II was thrilled to meet him. She asked the question on everyone's lips: "Who shot JR?"

A gentleman, the American actor apologized profusely. He had to keep the secret, even before someone of such high rank. He was used to the question. For months, wherever he went, people asked him the same thing. Who had shot the character of JR Ewing, the unscrupulous billionaire he played in the series Dallas? Who had pulled the trigger twice and left him for dead in the hallway next to his office on the family estate?

Viewers of the final episode of the third season, which aired on the American network CBS on March 21, 1980, saw only the hand holding the gun, and had been wondering ever since. But they would have to wait eight months, until November 21 that same year, during the fourth episode of season four, to finally get the answer.

"The anticipation before the big reveal and the episode unveiling the shooter became a genuine social phenomenon," explained Marjolaine Boutet, professor of American civilization at Université Sorbonne-Paris Nord and a specialist in TV series. "That was the precise moment when Dallas truly became part of television history. Obviously, it wasn't the first successful TV series, but it was the first to ignite such passion."

Viewers get lost in speculation

Dallas, which premiered in April 1978, was written by screenwriter David Jacobs. The head of CBS had asked him to create a soap opera set in the elite circles of the American South, rather than the California middle class that was popular in fiction at the time.

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