Why a Dynasty Remake?!

 

A remake of classic '80s TV soap Dynasty has been given the green light in the US. And while there's no news of a return for Joan Collins's Alexis yet (we live in hope), here's what we do know about the reboot.

 

Rich and Glitzy Reboot

The action has been moved from Denver to Atlanta, a city Schwartz thinks is a “more believable” location to place Blake’s business. And Blake’s son Steven (James Mackay) is gay, as he was in the original series, but here, he’s “confidently gay. He’s not toying with his sexuality… and Blake accepts him,” Schwartz says. That’s a huge change from the original, where Blake was violently opposed to Steven’s homosexuality. Plus, Steven’s main love interest, Sammi Jo — originally played by Heather Locklear — is a man this time around (now “Sammy Jo”), played by Empire‘s Rafael de La Fuente.

                        

 We don’t see the iconic Alexis Carrington, played by Joan Collins in the original, in the reboot’s pilot, but she’s definitely mentioned… and fans can expect to see her soon enough. “We’re taking our delicious time… it will happen sometime this season,” EP Sallie Patrick promises. (The new Alexis hasn’t been cast yet, though.)

                                    

And speaking of big shoes to fill: Melrose Place vet Grant Show stars as patriarch Blake Carrington, playing the role originated by John Forsythe. Show says he jumped at the chance to play “one of the most complicated villains ever, maybe, in soap-opera history… This Blake will be very dark, but at the same time, he fiercely loves his family… He truly believes that what he’s doing is best for his family.”

The original Dynasty was produced by the legendary Aaron Spelling, who also produced Show’s Melrose Place. So what does Show think Spelling would think of this new Dynasty? “I think he would love it… his stories were always about characters, and about people, and that’s what this is about.”

1. Girl power

Two of America's wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, are still at war - but this time, the story will be told from the perspective of two women in the thick of it all - Fallon Carrington (played by Elizabeth Gillies), daughter of billionaire Blake, and her soon-to-be stepmother, Cristal.
But how many of the famous Dynasty catfights will we witness?

 

2. It's all about diversity

Linda Evans famously played Krystle in the original - this time around, Cristal (spot the spelling change), is a Hispanic woman marrying into a wealthy family. She will be played by The Vampire Diaries' Nathalie Kelley.

 

The more  Dynasty changes, the more it stays the same.

The CW’s reboot of the ’80s primetime soap keeps the glitz and glamour of the original, touting the ridiculously wealthy Carrington family as the “1 percent of the 1 percent” and promising a hair-pulling, bitch-slapping catfight in the very first episode. And right now might actually be the perfect time for a Dynasty revival.

“We are definitely living in the age of dynasties… whether we’re talking about Trumps or Clintons or Kardashians or Murdochs,” executive producer Josh Schwartz (Gossip Girl, The O.C.) told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour on Wednesday. But the new Dynasty — premiering Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 9/8c — does offer some updates to the original formula.

 

This time around, Blake Carrington’s much younger fiancée is named Cristal (not Krystle), reflecting her Venezuelan heritage. She’s played by Vampire Diaries alum Nathalie Kelley, who says that her character “represents a more current version of what’s happening in America.” She’s also not just a secretary this time, but a powerful marketing executive in Blake’s corporate empire — and she has a dark past, too. “Part of the fun was taking a character like Krystle and dirtying her up a little bit,” Schwartz teased.

 

And billionaire charmer Jeff Colby, played by John James in the '80s series, will be played by Nigerian-born actor Sam Adegoke this time around.
Blake's chauffeur, Michael Culhane, will be played by African-American Hit the Floor star Robert Christopher Riley, while Empire's Rafael de la Fuente, who hails from Venezuela, will also have a regular role.

 

3. It's made by the team behind Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are bringing the series to US channel to CW. The pair have hooked up with Revenge writer/producer Sallie Patrick and the original Dynasty creators, husband and wife team Esther and Richard Shapiro.

 4. Everybody loves good Neighbours

Yes, he might be known as The OC and Ugly Betty's Alan Dale in the US these days... but us Brits still prefer to remember him as Jim Robinson from Neighbours.

 

Alan will be starring as the Carrington's butler, Joseph Anders, played by the late Lee Bergere in the original. Fans will remember it was Alexis who hired him when she was married to Blake.
Anders was fiercely loyal to Alexis when Blake remarried - maybe they're still in touch?!

 

5. The actors are VERY excited

Several of them have taken to social media with their reactions.
 The cast have clearly bonded during while filming the pilot episode, with Rafael posting a video of himself and some of his fellow Dynasty actors singing along to Tracy Chapman's Fast Car. 
 Alan Dale was also in a celebratory mood as he hit the big 70.

6. When we'll get to see it

There's no exact transmission date yet and it's not yet known if it'll be broadcast in the UK. But it's slated for the 2017/18 season in the US, which means it should be with us by the autumn. We say, the sooner the better!

 

TV's penchant for mining former hits for new shows will continue next season when CW reboots Aaron Spelling's Dynasty.

The quintessential go-go 1980s soap about a family's oil business, which aired on ABC from 1981 to 1989, starred Joan Collins, Linda Evans and John Forsythe, who reunited for a 1991 miniseries to wrap up loose ends. It will get an update on the younger-skewing network, which has cast Grant Show (of Spelling's Melrose Place) and Elizabeth Gillies, who starred in Denis Leary's FX comedy Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll and Nickelodeon's Victorious in lead roles. Nathalie Kelley (The Vampire Diaries) and James Mackay (The Leftovers) are also in the cast.

 

The remake is being produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who spawned teens hits The O.C. (for Fox) and Gossip Girl, along with Richard and Esther Shapiro, co-creators of the original series.

CBS, which owns half of CW and is producing the new series, controls Spelling's TV library, and was behind a 2009 remake of Fox's Melrose Place, also for CW, but the show only lasted one season. CW also rebooted the producer's teen soap 90210, which aired from 2008 to 2013.