'Dallas': Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy Talk TNT Series

The TNT reboot of "Dallas" (Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET) is in full swing. But two days before filming, the series faced a major setback.

According to EWjust before the series began filming, Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing) called his best friend Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing) to tell him he'd been diagnosed with cancer.

“I told him, ‘You bastard. I just got a good job and you’re going to bail on me,’” Duffy said. “’The nerve of you dying at the apex of my career. Unacceptable.’”

After months of chemotherapy, Hagman was pronounced cancer-free.

“Hagman looked me in the eye and said ‘Whaddya think, 10 seasons?’” TNT president Michael Wright remembered.

Hagman might be on to something with his 10 season suggestion. The show seen strong ratings -- the premiere brought in almost 7 million viewers -- and "Dallas" star Brenda Strong told HuffPost that she thought the reboot was an upgrade.

"If you have one version of a computer program, this is the upgrade, the 'Dallas 2.0.' And you don't need an owner's manual because there's a lot of familiarity with this show."

"Dallas" airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.