Dynasty: The Reunion - Behind The Scenes

Behind The Scenes

Dynasty's cancellation had left its ninth season finale unresolved and characters in mortal peril; original cast member John Forsythe later noted, "The way we were cut off was a disgrace." Executive Producer Aaron Spelling said during production of Dynasty: The Reunion that "Beethoven can leave a symphony unfinished ... We didn't think we could do that with a soap opera." Eager to give the series proper closure, the cast agreed to come back "at slightly reduced salaries" and production relied on location shoots rather than the expensive sets of its heyday. "We are still groomed, groomed within an inch of our lives," noted star Joan Collins, who with onscreen rival Linda Evans had 42 costumes between them in the miniseries.

Original cast member Al Corley returned as gay Carrington heir Steven, despite the fact that he had left the series after two seasons and been replaced by Jack Coleman. With Coleman unavailable due to scheduling conflicts, Corley stepped in even though Steven's change in appearance with the casting of Coleman in 1983 had been attributed to plastic surgery after an oil rig explosion. Long-running Dynasty star Gordon Thomson was replaced by actor Robin Sachs in the role of unscrupulous Adam Carrington for the miniseries because of similar scheduling issues. Thomson was then under contract with the NBC daytime soap opera Santa Barbara, and when that series was unable to accommodate the miniseries shooting schedule, Thomson sued ABC for its part in the problem.

Dynasty: The Reunion also reunited much of the crew who had worked on the original series, including writer/creators Richard and Esther Shapiro, Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock, Edward DeBlasio, producer Elaine Rich, cinematographer Michel Hugo and costume designer Nolan Miller.