Return To Peyton Place (TV Series) - Production

Production

When the daytime soap opera went into production, the crew tried to prevent a failure by limiting the regular cast members to 15. According to the actors, the original Peyton Place eventually failed due to the large amount of actors working on the show, which confused the viewers. On March 28, 1972, it was announced in a highly publicized media report that the soap opera was slated to air. Thousands of actors tested for the role. Following a long search, Kathy Glass was cast as Allison MacKenzie. The show's writer, James Lipton, commented on the casting that Glass was "one of the most gifted actors I've ever worked with. She has incredible flexibility; there's almost nothing she can't do. She has an emotional suppleness you encounter very rarely in an actress of any age. And to find this in an actress is like finding a treasure." Glass asked to be released from her contract in March 1973 and she was replaced by Pamela Susan Shoop, who made her first appearance on March 13, 1973.

Patricia Morrow, who also appeared on the first TV series, initially declined the role, saying she could not combine working five days a week on the show with law school. However, she accepted a contract of two working days a week and she motivated her return by saying: "I really can't turn down money. I have to use what earning power I have right now. Actress Julie Parrish, who was named by the media as one of the most promising actresses of the soap, recalled working on the show was very tough, and she admitted she had a breakdown one day on the set. In August 1972, Gail Kobe signed on as the executive producer of the show. On November 18, 1972, Susan Brown replaced Ackerman as Constance MacKenzie, and Margaret Mason first appeared as Selena Cross. Mary Frann and Charles Sailor joined the cast in June 1973, even though Frann already made her first appearance on May 18, 1973.

In early January 1974, the show was cancelled due to poor ratings. According to actor Ron Russell, who portrayed Norman Harrington, claimed this was due to the slow plot changes of the show, calling the soap opera "the slowest-moving daytime drama in the history." It was a couple of months before the demise that the writers allowed the plot to move at a pace that would hold the interest of the general viewer. According to the loyal viewers, the show would have been able to become more popular had it been on the air for a few weeks extra.