American Icons: Television’s Dallas
This is the American dream in a ten-gallon hat. Remember the prime-time soap opera from the 1980s about a wealthy Texas family in the oil business? Dallas has been off the air for 20 years but it’s still considered one of the most successful television shows in history, and next month the cable network TNT will launch a new season of the series. Studio 360 listener Laura Detre nominated Dallas on our American Icons website, and we liked her idea so much, we sent Julia Barton to Southfork Ranch (and beyond) to understand how Dallas changed the way the world sees America.
(Originally aired: February 18, 2011)
Bonus Track: Dallas Behind the Iron Curtain
Documentary film director Jaak Kilmi remembers watching Dallas in Soviet Estonia as an escape, but also as a source of frustration.
Slideshow: Southfork – At Home and Abroad
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!