The CW is leaning hard into the soap genre.
The network, home to Jane the Virgin, is teaming with The O.C. creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage to reboot Dynasty, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The drama, which is in development, is based on the primetime soap of the same name that aired for nine seasons on ABC and was created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and executive produced by Aaron Spelling. Both the Shapiros are attached to the CW reboot, which is being penned by Sallie Patrick (Limitless, Revenge), Schwartz and Savage. All three will executive produce. Fake Empire’s Lis Rowinski will co-exec produce.
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Here’s the logline: “The Rolls Royce of all primetime soaps, returns in a modernized reboot that follows two of America’s wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, as they feud for control over their fortune and their children. The series will be told primarily through the perspectives of two women at odds: Fallon Carrington — daughter of billionaire Blake Carrington — and her soon-to-be stepmother, Cristal — a Hispanic woman marrying into this WASP family and America’s most powerful class. In an age where dynasties appear everywhere — from reality TV to the polling booths — this epic drama features the one percent in all its glitz and gloss, while exposing the dark underbelly: a corrupt world built on backroom deals, betrayal, and, in some cases, murder.”
The project hails from CBS Television Studios and Schwartz and Savage’s Fake Empire (The O.C., Gossip Girl).
From 1981-89, Dynasty was one of TV’s most successful primetime soap operas. The ABC drama, a direct response to CBS hit Dallas, became one of mega-producer Spelling’s biggest contributions during the ‘80s. Set in Denver and following a group of one-percenters (the Carrington family), Dynasty was the No. 1 show in America in 1985. The cast included, most notably, John Forsythe, Linda Evans and Joan Collins.
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The revival comes five years after Collins said Esther Shapiro had been prepping a revival of the series that ultimately did not come to pass. The cast most recently reunited in 2015 for a Hallmark one-off in which they shared memories and more. ABC attempted to create a spinoff, The Colbys, with Spelling and the Shapiros attached but the series lasted only two years.
Reboots continue to remain in high demand as broadcast, cable and streaming outlets look for proven IP in a bid to cut through a cluttered scripted landscape that is quickly approaching 500 original series. Key to the remakes is having the original producers involved in some capacity as more studios look to monetize their existing film libraries.
Already in the works this season are reboots of Magnum P.I. (ABC), The Lost Boys (CW), Varsity Blues (CMT), The Departed (Amazon), Let the Right One In (TNT) and L.A. Law, though the latter does not yet have a network attached.
