The Colbys and the Carringtons: The Faces of 'Dynasty'—Then and Now (PHOTOS)
Blake Carrington & Cristal Flores
(Grant Show and Nathalie Kelley)John Forsythe and Linda Evans (right) made the couple iconic—but this pairing will be edgier. “Cristal represents how far women have come,” Kelley explains. “Her ambitions are intact, and Blake loves her for it.” Still, how will he feel when the choices she made to escape difficult circumstances in Venezuela come back to haunt her? “Blake doesn’t have the greatest depth of soul,” says Melrose Place vet Show. “Cristal does, and he needs that.”
Jeff Colby
(Sam Adegoke)The new-money hottie—originally played by John James (right)—is “savvier than the 1980s version and is self-made,” Savage says. He’s also in a love triangle with Fallon and Carrington driver Culhane (Robert Christopher Riley). “We wanted to make our Jeff more of a tortured soul,” Patrick explains. “He’s a rudderless guy with a s--t ton of money.” And look for the reboot’s take on the legendary Colby–Carrington feud to reflect a more diverse business world and incorporate Atlanta’s vibrant music scene.
Steven Carrington
(James Mackay)Al Corley’s Steven (right) made waves in the early 1980s as the rare gay character in a primetime drama. Now, the Carrington outcast is more than just his sexuality. “He’s the moral center of the show,” says Schwartz of the sly charmer who clashes with his capitalist dad after volunteering in Haiti. “He sticks to his guns, and that makes him stick out.” Steven’s fling with Cristal’s nephew Sam (Rafael de la Fuente, providing a male twist on Heather Locklear’s Sammy Jo in the original) adds to the friction.
Fallon Carrington
(Elizabeth Gillies)Gillies knows she has big shoes to fill playing Blake’s petulant, much-married daughter. “I totally believed Pamela Sue Martin’s Fallon [right] came from wealth,” says the actress. “She floated though every scene, unamused and unimpressed by the people around her.” This time around, Fallon is a smart businesswoman and ball-breaker, which she proves in the pilot after realizing her new stepmommy has scored the promotion Fallon coveted. “Fallon never stops crafting plans and manipulating,” Gillies says.
Überwealth is the ultimate power source in The CW’s stylish reboot of ABC’s 1981–89 sudser about Denver’s first family of business and bed-hopping: the Carringtons. “We are definitely honoring and paying homage to the classic,” says Sallie Patrick (Revenge), who has teamed with Gossip Girl’s Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage to executive produce with original Dynasty creators Richard and Esther Shapiro. Adds Patrick, “When we sat down with the Shapiros, they gave us words to the wise and said that the show really excelled when it was about family and relationships.” Here’s how the core members of the updated series—now set in Atlanta—stack up against their 1980s counterparts.
Dynasty, Premieres Oct. 11, 9/8c, The CW
