TNT’s ‘Dallas’ season 4 spoilers: How the shocking death could impact the future

Before we say anything else right now in regards to “Dallas” season 4, we should make one thing clear: It hasn’t been renewed yet, and it is very well possible that it won’t be. TNT did not do the show many favors with the scheduling this year, but who knows? Crazier things have happened, and even if they go in another direction, it’s possible that the show could live on somewhere else.

With that in mind, executive producer Cynthia Cidre is doing the right thing now, and still preparing for whatever the future of the show could be. Following the shocking death of Christopher Ewing (Jesse Metcalfe), the show will jump forward six months. Why do that? Will the characters have all moved on? Based on what Cidre said to TVLine, that does not appear to be the case. She also explains the decision to have the series leap forward:

“‘Move on’ is not what  I would say. This is a massive tragedy in their lives. We made the choice of the six-month jump for several reasons. First, it’s exhausting to pick a season up a minute after the end of the last one. That really prevents you from coming up with fresh stories. The second reason is that Elena is pregnant, and we didn’t want to have her pregnant for the entire season. We needed that baby to be born, so that really sealed the deal. Believe me, the scars of that explosion are on everyone in every moment. It affects everything that’s going on. There’s no funeral, but there will be flashbacks to things like the funeral and the graveyard and the explosion.”

We do feel like there are many loose ends that can be tied, and many that could turn into full-fledged stories. For example, wouldn’t it be great to see if John Ross goes down a different road after what happened with Christopher? Can someone find themselves a better relationship? This is one of those shows where the possibilities for the future are really endless, but it largely depends on who chooses to give them a chance.