Sunset Beach (TV Series) - Cast and Crew

Cast and Crew

When the show first aired, it started with 21 contract characters, of which 7 had left the show during its first year and a half. The first actress to leave the series was Adrienne Frantz. Her character was recast with Jennifer Banko Stewart, but the change didn't work out, resulting in the character eventually being written out. Kelly Hu left the show in June 1997, due to her character not mixing well with the others. By the end of the year, when Meg Bennett took over as a new head writer, Leigh Taylor-Young and Laura Harring also left the series, followed by the exit of Nick Stabile, whose character was written out in a serial killer storyline. Elizabeth Alley had a short stint in the role of Melinda Fall. The final original character to be written off was Eddie Connors, played by Peter Barton, who exited in mid-1998.

The remaining 14 original characters stayed on the show until its end, and three of those characters were recast during the three-year run. The first recast happened soon after the show started airing. The role of Cole Deschanel, initially played by Ashley Hamilton, was recast with Eddie Cibrian. In mid-1998, following contract disputes, Vanessa Dorman vacated the role of Cole's wife Caitlin, and Kam Heskin was cast. The final recast was a temporary one. When Susan Ward left to film a movie, Sydney Penny stepped in to replace her, with Ward later returning to play the character for the show's final few weeks. Shortly after the show premiered, Dominique Jennings, V.P. Oliver, and Russell Curry joined the cast. Oliver was let go in December 1997, and his character, Jimmy Harrison, was recast with a younger actor, Jeffery Wood. Both Jennings and Wood were written off by March 1999, exactly two years after the introduction of their characters.

The exits of many characters opened the doors to the introduction of new ones. Carol Potter and John Martin, who had been recurring during the show's first year, were promoted to contract status, and the expansion of Meg's family also included the arrival of her sister Sara. The role was first played by then-unknown actress Lauren Woodland, but she was fired two weeks later and replaced by Shawn Batten, who played the role for the remainder of the series. Aside from Meg's family, Ricardo got his family expanded, including the introduction of his mother Carmen (Margarita Cordova), brother Antonio (Nick Kiriazis), and the sudden reappearance of his sister Maria (Christina Chambers), Ben Evans' presumed dead wife.

The teen scene was revived in 1998, when Bette's daughter Emily (Cristi Harris) arrived in town and fell in love with Sean, prompting Amy (Krissy Carlson) and Brad (Michael Strickland) to intervene. The final teen cast was Leo Deschanel, Cole's brother (David Mathiessen), but he was quickly written out. A long-time legend, A.J. Deschanel, was also cast in the form of Gordon Thomson, and a villain named Francesca (Lisa Guerrero) was added to the cast in mid-1998. However, Guerrero was written out in early 1999.

In 1999, the show cast only three contract roles, the first two being in March, when Tracy Lindsey Melchior and Chase Parker stunned the soap with their sudden arrival in town. The final role to be cast on the show was the one played by Sean Kanan in late August. Things changed at the end of the year, when fan favorite Eddie Cibrian left the show to pursue a career in primetime. Several other cast members, including a few original ones, considered leaving, but the show's cancellation came before they could make a decision.

During its entire run, Sunset Beach was executive produced by Gary Tomlin, Aaron Spelling and E. Duke Vincent. However, the head writing history was much different. Robert Guza, Jr. was the first head writer (and also a co-creator), but he exited the show on October 21, 1997, when Meg Bennett, who had been serving as Associate Head Writer was promoted as head writer as of October 22. Four months after being the sole head writer, Bennett received a co-head writer in the form of Christopher Whitesell, on January 8, 1998. Bennett was fired during the summer of 1998 and her final episode aired October 5, 1998. She was replaced by Margaret DePriest, who stayed with the show until its cancellation.