My Favorite Dallas TV Shows

I’ve discovered Dallas TV shows.

Apparently there was a boom of filming here about 3 years ago, which makes me wonder whether I moved to Dallas after it was a fad.

Am I late to the party?

Is Dallas no longer a thing?

There is something endlessly fascinating about seeing your city on TV.

I had this experience while living in Miami, but not so much in Minneapolis. (When was the last major Minneapolis TV show? Mary Tyler Moore? Rehab Addict?)

The film version of Miami is exaggerated and ridiculous.

A consistent error is that movies and TV shows tend to compress all of South Florida into one miniature city. Characters will often go from South Beach to Palm Beach within minutes, despite the 75 mile gap in real life. Also, traffic doesn’t appear to exist on the TV version of Miami. This often makes the shows too distracting to watch.

One thing that filmmakers get right about Miami is the collection of bizarre characters. You can’t make that shit up.

Dallas has similarly large personalities, which makes for great TV.

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Here are my top 5 favorite Dallas TV shows of the moment:

GCB (Good Christian Bitches)

I’m obsessed with this show. GCB is a scripted show starring Leslie Bibb and Kristin Chenoweth. It takes place in Highland Park, the wealthy neighborhood right next to mine.

It’s a lot like an adult version of Mean Girls. 

Most of the exterior shots are from the neighborhood, and it’s a little bizarre seeing the places from my morning dog walks. The show is about a former mean girl who moves back to Dallas and has to deal with all of the girls she tormented in high school.

Also, there are juicy, juicy secrets that get revealed every episode. Oh, and drinking. 

Anyone from a small town will recognize the “nosy neighbor” subplot.

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Courtney Loves Dallas

I hate-watch this show.

Courtney Loves Dallas is a reality show about Courtney Kerr, who was the breakout star of Most Eligible Dallas. She’s a fashion blogger and stylist, something akin to a poor-man’s Rachel Zoe.

Courtney seems vapid and self-obsessed, and a lot of her situations aren’t age appropriate. For example, obsessing over boys like a 14-year-old… then again, I probably see a lot of myself in this show.

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Dallas

Yep. That Dallas.

I started watching the original soap opera from the 70s. It’s outrageously campy and fascinating to see how much the city has changed in the past 40 years.

Also, I didn’t realize the father from Step-by-Step is in it!

I was never interested in the soap opera before moving here, despite Jason Matheson always talking about it on the radio in Minneapolis. I’m officially on the bus!

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Dallas (2012)

The newer version of Dallas is just as campy as its predecessor.

One strange thing about this show (and many of the other Dallas shows) is that these shows make it seem like Dallas is a collection of skyscrapers surrounded by cows and oil fields.

The reality is that there is significant suburban sprawl in the Metroplex. An hour’s drive is more likely to get you to an impoverished exurb rather than a cattle ranch.

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A-List Dallas

This is the only Dallas show that I actually watched when it was on the air. I also find the local news coverage of the characters to be fascinating. I want to see a “Where are they now” special.

A lot of the show is filmed at my apartment complex, which apparently was the “status” building of the gayborhood when it opened. It’s so strange to think of people being filmed fighting at my pool.

I still don’t understand Logo TV’s decision to get rid of the A-List franchise. These shows were deeply influential in the gay community, and I think it’s important to have your own set of reality TV celebrities who aren’t drag queens.

I sometimes wish that I would get cast in reality show. Then again, my life isn’t that interesting here, so all of the drama would have to be manufactured. Although 29 is a little old to get into a pool or bar fight, isn’t it?