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Q: I recently discovered that TNT canceled "Dallas." Why? As a fan of the original series, I truly enjoyed the remake with the original actors and the new actors.

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

You're not the only one wondering why TNT canceled "Dallas."

"Variety" magazine pointed out that the show's ratings had dwindled, from seven million for its series premiere in 2012 to just 1.7 million for the season 3 finale, which has proven to be the series finale as well.

Of course, such a drop is to be expected of any show that launched with as much buzz as "Dallas" did -- few shows can have the kind of name recognition and built-in audience as one that's based on one of the best-known TV dramas of all time.

Once that initial buzz wore off and the show developed its own fan base, its audience numbers remained relatively stable.

That left Deadline.com's TV writer Nellie Andreeva (among others) concluding that it's a question of who that audience was. "Given its pedigree, it's no surprise that 'Dallas' is older-skewing than some of TNT's other series such as 'Falling Skies' and 'The Last Ship.'"

She went on to say that this cancelation, as well as that of A&E's "Longmire," are "a hit to more mature viewers who feel betrayed by the networks whose focus is on the ad revenue-generating younger demographics."

Of course, there was good news recently for "Longmire" fans, who found out that their series had been saved from cancelation by the online video service Netflix.

No such luck for "Dallas" fans, though. Motivated by a huge online "Save Dallas" campaign by fans, the show's producers tried to shop it around to another network, but to no avail.

"After a six-week attempt to try and land our beloved 'Dallas' at another network, we have to inform you that we have not succeeded," said producers Cynthia Cidre and Michael Robin in a note to fans.

 

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