The CW announced some new programming at its upfronts today, including a new take on the classic ’80s nighttime soap Dynasty. A few decades ago, what started out as a Dallas ripoff on ABC soon turned into the new television standard for nefarious activity by plotting rich people. The show revolved around the Carrington family, headed by oil tycoon Blake, who upsets his offspring—wild child Fallon and closeted Steven (The Straits’ James Mackay)—when he decides to marry his secretary from the wrong side of the tracks, Krystal. The show really amped up when Blake’s long-lost wife and Fallon and Steven’s mom, Alexis, popped up in the form of Joan Collins. The show soon became famous for its woman-on-woman brawls, usually featuring Alexis and Krystal fighting over Blake by tearing the ornate bows off of each other’s gowns.
A quick look at the new CW series shows all the elements of the original series are intact: the opulence, the tremendously lush sets, and most importantly, the sniping. No Alexis on the horizon yet, so so far the two females duking it out are Fallon (Elizabeth Gillies from Victorious) and Krystal (UnREAL’s Nathalie Kelley), in the first scene The CW submitted for preview.
Best of all, though is the casting of the lead Blake: Grant Show. The longtime soap vet has been tearing it up in recent years on series like Swingtown, Private Practice, and Devious Maids, and started out in daytime soaps like Ryan’s Hope before graduating to the nighttime venue of the original Melrose Place. He always seems to have a sense of humor about the hackneyed lines he has to deliver, so his appearance bodes well for the series’ future. And so does its scheduling: Dynasty will appear after The CW’s only freshman success from last season, Riverdale, on Wednesday nights in the fall.