with announcement of the continuation series, the producers put out several casting calls, including one for the role of christopher. while filming the nbc series, "chase", metcalfe's agent contacted him urged him to audition for the continuation of "dallas". initial rumors said kiefer sutherland was in the running for the role of john ross or christopher. however, the rumor was quickly proven to be false. metcalfe had some reservations about taking the role on the remake of such an iconic show, fearing it might not succeed. metcalfe admitted that his hesitation also stemmed from his belief that the series was just "another prime-time soap opera to me, it wasn't somewhere i wanted to go." metcalfe originally auditioned for the role of john ross, which was instead awarded to josh henderson. on february 8, 2011, nellie andreeva reported that the series had narrowed the search for christopher down to two actors, one of which was metcalfe; metcalfe was known for his portrayal of john rowland on "desperate housewives". alex russell, best known for his starring role in the 2012 film "chronicle" was also considered for the role. metcalfe's casting was confirmed two days later. it was not until he learned that original cast members larry hagman, patrick duffy, and linda gray had signed on to play the characters of j.r., bobby and sue ellen, that metcalfe gladly accepted the role of christopher.