Dallas On Set: Josh Henderson Talks Southfork Changes & John Ross Getting Caught

The third season of TNT’s revived Dallas begins this Monday, February 24. The shadow of Larry Hagman’s J.R. Ewing still hangs over the show, just as his portrait looms over the new Ewing Global, but now, it’s time for the characters to come into their own – something the series premiere handles very well.

Last week, we visited the Dallas, Texas studio that hosts the TV phenomenon to speak with members of the cast, and the first of many interviews that we will be sharing will be with Josh Henderson – the actor who plays the late J.R.’s son, John Ross Ewing III. When we last saw him, John Ross had married Pamela Rebecca (Julie Gonzalo), daughter of Ewing nemesis Cliff Barnes. However, just like his father, John Ross has some extramarital temptations, especially when it comes to business, and the season ended with the reveal that John Ross is still sleeping with Emma Ryland (Emma Bell). This behavior already has audiences yelling at their screens, much the way J.R. did decades ago, and with new technologies for fans to express their feelings, it has inspired things like a #SlapJohnRoss Twitter hashtag. Does John Ross think he can get away with it? We went to Josh himself to find out.

Interview content below this video

“I think that he thinks that he’s so good at what he does, that he can get away with it,” Josh said “He justifies is that he’s doing it for the better of the family. He does love Pamela. He doesn’t want to screw that up. But he’s so caught up in taking this company to the next level, and making these big moves, that he puts that kind of behind him, knowing that ‘I’m good enough at this that I won’t get caught.’ But when it starts to get hot on him and he’s starting to see that – ‘did Sue Ellen see something, or does she know something?’ – then he starts to really kind of worry, but I think he thinks he’s got this in the bag, and as we know, that’s never the case on Dallas. You’re always gonna get caught,” he teased.

That’s not the only bad behavior we’ll be seeing from John Ross Ewing this year – against Bobby’s wishes, John Ross – who owns half of Southfork now, per Miss Ellie’s will – will want to remodel Southfork and may even want to try again to drill on the land that his ancestors long ago forbade drilling on.

“He’s always kind of walked to the beat of his own drum. He feels a certain way: He loves his family, he loves Southfork, but now he’s married, and he’s definitely wanting a little bit more privacy,” Josh said about the desire to remodel. “We’re talking about a family of essentially billionaires that all live under one roof, and at the end of the day, it’s an odd concept, but it’s kind of an Ewing thing, and it always has been,” he continued.

Josh insisted that John Ross does not want to change the Ewing tradition; he just wants more space. “He stresses that he’s a newlywed, and everyone’s kind of sleeping right there on top of each other. Uncle Bobby’s right there, and Emma’s right there, and Elena’s out… it’s like ‘let me get some space; something new.’ That’s his idea, which I think is normal. Now, if it’s going to happen or not, we’ll see if [Bobby] will let that happen,” Josh said.

You can see Josh talking about these subjects as well as other topics including the legacy of J.R. and how John Ross will deal with Sue Ellen in the video embedded up above. You’ll notice that Josh is sporting a very distinctive non-John Ross look: As we understand it, Josh was unaware that the interview would be on camera; however, taking a cue from the jovial Larry Hagman who played his father, he decided to just have a good sense of humor and keep the goofy hat and mullet on. The hair, by the way, is a wig that is usually used by the stunt double for Linda Gray.

Come back to KSiteTV more in the coming days for more Dallas interviews. Up next: Linda Gray (Sue Ellen!) And again, don’t miss the season premiere Monday, February 24 on TNT!

Disclaimer: Travel arrangements for our Dallas and Revolution set visits were provided by Warner Bros. Television.