John Ross Ewing III is a fictional character from the American prime time soap opera Dallas and its 2012 continuation series. The character was first written into the series in the episode named "John Ewing III: Part 2" which first aired on April 6, 1979. Omri Katz prominently played the role in the series from 1983 until its conclusion in 1991 and also in the subsequent follow-up movie Dallas: J.R. Returns. In the continuation series, actor Josh Henderson stepped into the role. John Ross is the son and namesake of show's most iconic character, J.R. Ewing, and his longtime love, Sue Ellen Ewing. The continuation series focuses on John Ross's feud with his cousin Christopher as they disagree over how to restore the Ewing name to its former glory. Tensions also arise between the cousins due to John Ross's romance with Christopher's ex-fiancée, Elena Ramos. At the same time, John Ross does his best to live up to his father's legend, using every dirty trick in the book to get what he wants. However, John Ross still has a few lessons to learn and J.R. returns to Southfork to teach him. John Ross uses his resentment toward Sue Ellen and her guilt to manipulate her, but his father is a different story. When John Ross's schemes culminate in the end of his relationship with Elena, he teams up with- and later winds up falling for and marrying Christopher's ex-wife, Pamela Rebecca Barnes, the daughter of J.R.'s nemesis, Cliff Barnes and their union is reminiscent of John Ross's uncle Bobby Ewing's marriage to Cliff's half-sister and Pamela's namesake Pamela Barnes Ewing. However, their relationship has the potential to be very dysfunctional, similar to the relationship between John Ross's parents. With the passing of Larry Hagman and his character J.R. in 2012 and 2013, respectively, Henderson's John Ross is pushed to the forefront as the main protagonist of the series. TV Source viewed Henderson's John Ross as an "arrogant playboy that's been slightly humbled by his previous mistakes," which makes him smarter about his choices. TV Guide described John Ross as "a chip off the old block," referencing his similarities to J.R. Michael Fairman said John Ross is "deliciously sinister" and said, "He seems to be the catalyst that makes the new Dallas go!" "John Ross is the sexy bad guy you can't get enough of and you secretly root for" said Dani Lyman.