Why was the TV show "Dallas" cancelled?

Declines in popularity lead to the cancellation of the "Dallas" TV show by TNT. The number of viewers shrunk from 7 million in 2012 to less than 2 million by the end of 2014 summer season. The show was a rebirth of the hugely successful 1980s prime time soap.

The death of Larry Hagman, who played the iconic J.R. Ewing, in the year 2012 heralded the decline in the show's popularity. Hagman, who was in the original cast of the show that aired from 1978 to 1991, died while filming the second season of the new show, according to Deadline.com. The second season, which featured Ewing's funeral, improved the show’s ratings and brought in 3.6 million viewers.

The third season opened in February 2014 with 2.7 million viewers, which tapered off to less than 2 million during the launch of the second part of season 3 in August, six months later. The show paled in comparison to other shows aired on the network, such as "Falling Skies" and did not fit the new direction adopted by TNT, which favored more robust content, according to Deadline.com. Despite concerted efforts by the producers to look for a different TV network to host the show, "Dallas" left the airwaves for good.