DYNASTY: THE MAKING OF A GUILTY PLEASURE

Greed. Manipulation. Sex. Power. Vanity. Between 1980 and 1989, it’s what 120 million people were hungry for. This is the candid inside story of the TV show that fed it to them—every Wednesday night at 9/8c.

The blockbuster nighttime television soap Dallas is levelling the competition. What its rival network needs is something to equal it. Creators Esther (Pamela Reed, Proof of Life) and Richard Shapiro (Ritchie Singer, Crocodile Dundee) have a brilliant idea—a “modern-day I, Claudius,” a delicious power-family stew of betrayals, infidelities, tragedy, glamour, and sex: the story of the Carringtons. There’s only one man who can pull it off—Aaron Spelling, “the most prolific producer in the history of television.” Spelling loves the possibilities and, after assembling an esteemed cast of pros such as John Forsythe (Bartholomew John, Skyways) and Linda Evans (Melora Hardin, Absolute Power) and up-and-comers like Heather Locklear, Dynasty debuts. It bombs.

“Dynasty Dead” dismisses the headline in the morning paper. So much for the lofty levels of I, Claudius; what Spelling needs is something or someone to bring it to life. Her name is Joan Collins (Alice Krige, Dinotopia). In an effort to revamp the second season, Spelling seduces a real vamp into joining the cast—the magnificently preserved star of The Bitch in desperate need of a full-time gig, a hot new image, and a splashy new wardrobe. As Alexis Carrington, Collins makes the show as a Machiavellian manipulator—a J.R. Ewing with cleavage who leaves Dallas in the dust. Next, throw in a hunky new love interest, a blonde bimbo in Daisy Dukes, spice it all up with an interracial twist, add a few cat fights, a notorious wedding-day massacre, and Dynasty shoots to #1 in the ratings. Now add Hollywood legend Rock Hudson to the mix, and the television show millions of fans worldwide can’t live without is about to become a hotbed of real-life controversy that no one can ignore.

It was the greatest show on earth. It defined a decade. It was seen in eighty countries. It brought back shoulder pads. Here’s the inside scoop on Dynasty—the studio in-fighting, the star fits, the scandals, the gossip, and the greed—the bigger-than-life true story that no fan will dare miss.