A NEW DEPUTY IN TOWN: The Kimbell Art Museum has hired George T.M. Shackelford as its senior deputy director, the No. 2 position at the museum. Shackelford comes to Fort Worth from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he has been the chair of the art of Europe since 1999. “He’s a superstar in the field,” Kimbell director Eric Lee tells dfw.com. “It’s like recruiting Michael Jordan. We are so extraordinarily lucky. His expertise complements the current curatorial staff; he was the perfect match.” Shackelford will join the museum in early 2012 after he wraps up a show he is curating in Boston.

FOCUS ON F.I.T.: The Festival of Independent Theatres returns to the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas on Friday. Eight local theater companies will produce work for the festival, including three premieres. David Meglino is the man charged with organizing the festival, and he tells theaterjones.com, “There’s something for everyone here—meaning, what offends or confuses one audience member will thrill the next one; and the next show in the performance segment will have the opposite effect. We have a wide community of audience members as well as a wide range of participants.”

J.R. STRIKES BACK: TNT announced late last week that it has given the green light to a revamped Dallas TV series. Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray are all back alongside some newcomers. The show will debut next summer with a 10-episode run, but you can catch a sneak preview of the show tonight during the season premieres of The Closer and Rizolli and Isles beginning at 8.