“Dallas” star Linda Gray has reteamed with TV movie executive producer Larry Thompson to create a spooky movie set at Southfork Ranch — the real-life location that served as the setting for the hit 1980s primetime TV series. Gray and Thompson worked on Lifetime’s hit “80s Ladies: A Divas Christmas” last December.
This time around, Gray and Thompson are looking at a project that would feature Gray (and possibly her “Dallas” co-star Patrick Duffy) as ghosts haunting Southfork Ranch. They’re playing entirely new characters—not their famous “Dallas” roles—and because Southfork operates independently as a real-life filming and tourism location, the location is legitimate. But aside from the similar cast and perhaps a few ironic references, there’s no connection to “Dallas.”
Written by former Hallmark Channel “Home and Family” producer William Keck (who recently released his revealing memoir about his time as a former tabloid reporter, “When You Step Upon a Star”), the film follows Gray and (possibly) Duffy as ghosts, who are taken in by a supernatural angel when a young pop star arrives at the estate to shoot a Christmas music video. Because this is a holiday movie, the ghosts conspire to keep her from falling in love with the house’s handsome caretaker.
If Gray and Duffy star together, it would mark another reunion for the “Dallas” stars, following the original run on CBS from 1978 to 1993 and then a rerun on TNT, which ran from 2012 to 2014 — until the death of star Larry Hagman led to the show's cancellation.
But “Dallas” remains a fan favorite, and it’s the basis for a meet-and-greet event for the cast and fans at Southfork from Oct. 25 to 27. Gray and Duffy are expected to attend. (Another “Dallas” meet-and-greet event was held in Burbank in March.)
