Back in the 1980s, Dynasty took the creative baton from primetime’s super soap Dallas and made a vigorous mad dash toward camp and melodrama, perfecting the art of the television cliffhanger. We have these ’80s soaps to thank, in part, for all those Marvel nuggets we devour in today’s post-credit scenes, not to mention a Severance season cliffhanger here, and a Euphoria jaw-dropper there. Bravo Aaron Spelling and creators Richard and Esther Shapiro for teaching us how to stay glued to the screen.
Like most creative things these days, back then somehow merges into right now, thereby giving birth to a what’s old Is new again credo. Which brings us to three fine men of Dynasty (from that TV hit of yore and not CW’s phenomenally soggy redux). I’m referring to Jack Coleman (Steven Carrington), John James (Jeff Colby), and Gordon Thomson (Adam Carrington) who — wait for it — are joining forces once again. This time in the form of a new live stage show dubbed “Cocktails With the Carringtons: A Dynasty Party.”
In this sojourn back to the ’80s, the fellas reminisce about all the fan-favorite storylines — Fallon’s baby kidnapped, or Claudia trapped in a hotel fire, anyone? — and the behind-the-scenes accounts of working with their iconic co-stars — Joan Collins vs. John Forsythe, oh dear! — and guest stars like Rock Hudson and others. The show premieres at Feinstein’s at The Nikko in San Francisco on Wednesday, Sept. 7. There’s already talks of taking the show to New York City and other cities.
“This all began with John [James’] idea,” admitted Coleman (Heroes, Scandal, Westworld), who came on board Dynasty playing Steven Carrington after Al Corley vacated the role. “John called me and Gordon, and we both thought the reunion could be fun. Then he told us he wanted us to do some songs, too, in addition to reminiscing. ‘Songs?’ I said, ‘Oh, I don’t know about that.’
“But he was exactly right because the music adds so much,” he added. “It just elevates the show with some swing and a kind of ‘rat pack’ feel. It’s been good to reconnect and revisit those times. Dallas was the first primetime soap and Dynasty took it to another level, making it viable to change the landscape because it was more of a female-driven show, and it appealed more to women and gay people. It hit the zeitgeist perfectly of conspicuous consumption of the Reagan years — a real creature of its time. It also helped shape its time.”
The Fascination With Dynasty
Dynasty gave the world a decade of big hair, big shoulder pads, and even bigger catfights on screen. At the height of its fabulous success, the show shot to No. 1 in the ratings, playing to a worldwide audience of more than 60 million people weekly. On its 40th anniversary, Forbes Magazine called the show, “a truly great escape!”
That it was. Along with John Forsythe (Blake Carrington), Linda Evans (Krystal Carrington), Joan Collins (Alexis Carrington Colby) — who came on in Season Two — Coleman, James, and Thomson shared head-turning story arcs about the wealthy Carrington and Colby clans alongside Pamela Sue Martin (Fallon Carrington), Heather Locklear (Sammy Jo Carrington), Pamela Bellwood (Claudia), and, in later seasons, Diahann Carroll (Dominique Deveraux), and dozens of other actors throughout the show’s eight-season run.
“I think there were a lot of Dynasty imitations, both in daytime and nighttime, that tried to capture that bitchy backstabbing,” Coleman noted of the series, which tackled storylines such as rape, mental illness, infertility, bisexuality, gay relationships, and more. “Dallas played it straighter—right down the middle. There wasn't so much of a wink to the audience that Dynasty had. It both hit the time perfectly, then became a victim of it shortly afterward. ABC cleared the decks after several years, saying ‘no more fantasy, no more Fantasy Island or Love Boat.’ That Aaron Spelling era came to an end, but it absolutely ruled the airwaves for more than a decade.”
On Playing One Of TV’s First Gay Characters
Aside from Billy Crystal, who played a gay character on hit comedy Soap in the 1970s, television dramas more than 40 years ago didn’t feature LGBTQ characters in main primetime roles. Dynasty did. Even today, the show is still considered an addictive pleasure.
“People always ask me, ‘was it hard to play a gay role?’” said Coleman, who has been married to actress Elizabeth Toussaint for more than 25 years. “My answer is that it was harder to replace Al [Corley] than it was to play a gay role. Because Al had established a very popular character — Steven. Then I came in, replacing the guy audiences had grown to know and love. That was so much more challenging. But Steven was the first gay character in primetime — Billy Crystal had done it [on Soap], but that was comedy. For me, playing Steven was a lot more loaded than I realized. There was more weight to it. It meant more to people than I ever could have realized at the time.”
He said he quickly realized the character’s significance after receiving fan letters or when people walked up to him on the street, saying things like, “Oh, my God, you have no idea how important the character of Steven is to me.”
“I wasn't quite ready for the impact and the importance of the character,” Coleman added. “And I certainly didn't have any qualms about taking the role. It was and remains iconic and important. Because it was the first time there was representation. If you're black or brown or Asian, or you're gay, lesbian or trans, and you never see yourself represented, you’re being told that you’re invisible; that you don't exist. So, at the time, when people saw Steven, they were like, ‘Okay, this isn’t played for laughs.’ There was nothing silly or ridiculous about him. And I think people saw themselves for the first time.”
Still, Dynasty wasn’t immune to its own internal creative ups and downs. The character of Steven endured many a story arc. The show’s first season finds him in love with a man whom his father is later put on trial for murdering. Enter: Sammy Jo (Locklear), with whom Steven has a son. The character later bonds with Claudia (Bellwood). There was a curious inconsistently to the character. Was Steven gay? Bisexual? Critics say the show couldn’t land on a square. Today’s audiences wouldn’t blink an eye.
“ABC probably lacked a little bit of courage to really go through with it one way or another [with Steven] and not make him tortured,” Coleman admitted. “They were trying hard to make him the ‘traditional father/son/husband.’ They had their standards and practices. There was a scene where Billy Campbell [as Luke Fuller] and I were going to kiss. The kiss was never seen on screen. The door closes as our faces come together. That was as far as they could go with it.”
Flashforward to 2022 and we find BROS hitting theaters in September. Still, in some ways, Dynasty paved the way.
Was Coleman Supposed To Play Blake in CW’s Dynasty?
“Cocktails With the Carringtons: A Dynasty Party” recently hit the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Theater in Hollywood for two nights before it heads to San Francisco. Dame Joan Collins and other former cast members were brought on stage with Collins herself raving about what a great time she had and how “the boys were terrific.” Seems James’ idea for an inventive reunion is taking off.
As for CW’s version of Dynasty, Coleman says he hasn’t seen the show — the series was canceled earlier this year and its final season airs on Netflix in September.
“There was a bit of chatter early on that they might have been considering me to play the character of Blake, but I don't know what would have happened if that went through,” he said. “But honestly, I get a little confused about shows that claim a sort of copyright, then change things to the point where the characters we love from the original are so different. There’s a kind of disconnect in that."
“At one point, the show did offer me a part,” he added, “but it had absolutely nothing to do with anything I’d done in the original—just a guy who came on to Fallon and was rude, then she exposes him; basically, a disposable jerk. If you're going to bring in one of the original actors from the series, it doesn't have to be a series regular, maybe recurring, but there at least has to be a tip of the hat; some acknowledgment that this is a person from the original series.”
In the meantime, some of those “originals” can be found on the road where the story, apparently, goes on. In the words of Alexis Carrington: “Cheers to that, darling!”