Dynasty TV Series

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Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. The series, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, revolved around the Carringtons, a fictional wealthy family, residing in Denver, Colorado.The series was ABC's competitor to CBS's prime time series, Dallas, and starred John Forsythe and Linda Evans as oil magnate Blake Carrington and his new wife Krystle.
Ratings for the show's first season were low, but the fall 1981 arrival of Joan Collins as Blake's scheming ex-wife Alexis Morell Carrington saw ratings enter the top twenty. By the fall of 1982, it was a top ten show, and by the spring of 1985, it was the #1 show in the United States. Other notable cast members included Pamela Sue Martin, Lloyd Bochner, Heather Locklear, Michael Nader, Diahann Carroll, Emma Samms, Ted McGinley, Rock Hudson, Kate O'Mara and Stephanie Beacham.
Dynasty was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Drama Series every year from 1981 to 1986, winning in 1984.
Dynasty spawned a successful line of fashion and luxury products, and also a spin-off series called The Colbys. The series declined considerably in popularity during its final two seasons, and it was ultimately cancelled in the spring of 1989 after nine seasons and 220 episodes.

The Filoli estate in Woodside, California, was used as the 48-room Carrington mansion in the opening credits, establishing shots, and some outdoor scenes in the pilot episode. Some of the other exterior shots of the Carrington mansion (including the lily pond catfight) were shot at a 17-room Palladian house called Arden Villa.
ohn Forsythe was the only cast member to appear in all 222 episodes of the series. Linda Evans appeared in 206 of the 222 episodes, leaving the series after appearing in only six episodes of the ninth and final season. Joan Collins, who did not join the cast until the second season, also missed one episode in season 6 and nine episodes in season 9, and was subsequently present for a total of 197 episodes. Forsythe and John James were the only two original cast members to appear in the final episode.
With the series cancelled in 1989, the final episode (featuring multiple cliffhangers and most of the main characters in dire straits and even mortal peril) was initially left unresolved. As an attempt to wrap up these loose plotlines, ABC produced a two-part miniseries entitled Dynasty: The Reunion, which aired in October 1991.
Many of the cast members, including John Forsythe, Joan Collins, John James, Heather Locklear, and Emma Samms agreed to reprise their roles in early 1991. It was unknown during pre-production which characters the reunion film would include. Linda Evans was brought back last-minute, just before the final script was penned, as was Kathleen Beller. Jack Coleman, who had played Steven Carrington from 1982 to 1988, had agreed to appear in the film, but due to conflicts with producers, he was replaced with Al Corley, who originated the part in 1981. Gordon Thomson would not appear in the film when ABC refused to align the shooting schedule with his work on the daytime series Santa Barbara, and was replaced with Robin Sachs, who many involved felt was wrong for the part. Michael Nader did not appear in the film due to similar misunderstandings, and his character was written out of the script.
Dynasty: The Reunion aired on October 20 and October 22, 1991. The initial first night airing achieved moderate ratings, averaging ten million viewers. The second night fared worse, averaging just seven million viewers. Critical reviews were not favorable, with many feeling the script was poor and that the film was merely an attempt of ABC's wish to "cash-in" on an old series. Due to the unimpressive ratings and reviews, ABC decided not to further expand the Dynasty franchise.