TLDR: Dynasty was built as ABC’s direct answer to Dallas, and it eventually beat its rival to the number one spot, despite nearly losing its leading man before the show ever aired. Its two biggest stars staged some of television’s most legendary catfights, all while maintaining a genuine friendship that decades of tabloid rumor never actually managed to break.
Dynasty premiered on ABC on January 12, 1981, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, following the wealthy Carrington family and their Denver oil business.
The show ran nine seasons and 220 episodes through May 1989, initially struggling to match the ratings of its direct rival, Dallas, before a key casting decision changed everything.
Its Leading Man Almost Wasn’t John Forsythe at All
George Peppard was originally cast as patriarch Blake Carrington, but struggled with how unsympathetic the character was written to be, and was quickly replaced by John Forsythe before filming got fully underway.
Even Forsythe’s casting nearly hit a separate obstacle: the pilot itself was delayed by an industry-wide strike in 1980, pushing the show’s premiere back to a three-hour television event in January 1981.
One Piece of Casting Turned the Whole Show Around
Joan Collins joined the cast at the start of Season 2 as Alexis, Blake Carrington’s scheming ex-wife, and the show’s ratings climbed steadily afterward, cracking the Top 20 and eventually reaching number one in 1985. Dynasty earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best TV Drama Series every year from 1981 to 1986, winning in 1984.
Television’s Most Famous Catfights Never Left the Set
Alexis and Krystle Carrington, played by Linda Evans, became famous for a series of increasingly elaborate physical fight scenes, and decades of press coverage speculated the animosity was real off screen too.
Evans has directly refuted that idea. “So many arguments reported by the press never happened,” she told Hello! magazine. “It’s because it made it exciting for people to think we were fighting with each other. We never had one fight personally. We had lots of fights professionally because we had to do the script, but we never had a confrontation.”
Evans has said she was genuinely thrilled when Collins was cast, crediting producer Aaron Spelling directly: “I thought, ‘Oh my God, we love you. You’re choosing women who are our age, and at that time there weren’t a lot of people thinking that way.'”
The elaborate stunt work behind those fights relied on stuntwoman Jeannie Epper, who died on May 5, 2024, at age 83.
Its Patriarch Was Genuinely Beloved by the Cast He Led
John Forsythe played Blake Carrington across the show’s entire original run, later returning for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion and a final on-screen appearance in the 2006 special Dynasty Reunion: Catfights and Caviar. He died on April 1, 2010, in Santa Ynez, California, at age 92, following a bout with pneumonia.
Pamela Sue Martin, who originated the role of Fallon Carrington before leaving of her own accord in 1984, spoke warmly of Forsythe’s real influence on her. “He really was like a father to me,” she said. Her exit from the show was written as her character disappearing in a car accident, and Emma Samms took over the role for the remainder of the series.
A Real Trailblazer Joined the Cast Too
Diahann Carroll joined the show as Dominique Deveraux, becoming a genuinely significant presence in a genre that rarely centered Black characters at the time. She’d already broken real ground on television once before, with 1968’s Julia, and you can read the full story of that career, plus a diagnosis she kept private for decades, in our piece on Diahann Carroll.
She later recalled the public reaction to one particular scene where her character struck Collins’s: “Everyone was saying, ‘Hello, Diahann,’ and, ‘You slapped Joan Collins! Thank you, Diahann!'”
One Cast Member Lived Through a Real-Life Storyline No Soap Would Dare Write
Catherine Oxenberg played Amanda Carrington starting in 1984, but her own life took a turn decades later that made anything the show scripted look tame by comparison. Her daughter was recruited into the real cult NXIVM in 2011, and Oxenberg spent years publicly fighting to get her out.
You can read that full story in our piece on Catherine Oxenberg.
One Actor Walked Away Rather Than Play It Dishonestly
Al Corley originated the role of Steven Carrington, one of the earliest gay main characters on American network television, in the show’s very first episode. He left after two seasons specifically because the network wouldn’t let him play the character’s sexuality honestly.
You can read the full story of that exit, and the real hit music career he built afterward, in our piece on Al Corley.
This Isn’t the Same Show as the CW Reboot
If you’re thinking of the more recent Dynasty that ran on the CW from 2017 to 2022, that’s a separate reboot series with an entirely new cast, including Grant Show taking over the role of Blake Carrington. None of the original cast reprised their roles in that version.
Dynasty, Frequently Asked Questions
Did Joan Collins and Linda Evans really feud on Dynasty?
No, both actresses have said the reported feud was exaggerated by the press. Evans has said the two never had a personal confrontation, only the professional disputes any actors might have while working through a script.
Was Dynasty created because of Dallas?
Yes, ABC developed Dynasty as a direct response to the success of Dallas on CBS, and the show eventually surpassed its rival to reach number one in the ratings in 1985.
Who played Dominique Deveraux on Dynasty?
Diahann Carroll played the role, becoming a significant presence in a genre that rarely centered Black characters during that era.
Was John Forsythe always going to play Blake Carrington?
No, George Peppard was originally cast in the role but struggled with how unsympathetic the character was written, and was replaced by Forsythe before filming got fully underway.
Is the 2017 Dynasty the same show as the original?
No, the CW’s 2017 to 2022 series is a separate reboot with an entirely new cast, including Grant Show as Blake Carrington, and none of the original cast reprised their roles.
