''Behind the Screen'' is an American late-night weekly serial which aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

(Fridays, 11:30 PM EST) from October 9, 1981 to January 8, 1982.

Series overview

''Behind the Screen'' was created by David Jacobs (''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'', ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...

'') for CBS, which wanted a late night counterpoint to ABC and NBC's more successful efforts in that timeslot. Drawing upon his experience with the prime-time serials, ''Behind the Screen'' was a dramatization of the goings-on at a fictional TV soap opera called ''Generations''. This was not the first attempt to explore the concept of a "soap within a soap" as radio soaps had used the idea as far as back as the 1940s (''A Woman To Remember''). ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in th ...

'' had also done a similar storyline in the early 1980s. The show premiered as an hour-long special, and regular episodes were 30 minutes. It revolved around the beautiful young star of ''Generations'', Janie-Claire Willow (

Janine Turner Janine Turner (born Janine Loraine Gauntt; December 6, 1962) is an American actress best known for her roles as Maggie O'Connell in the television series ''Northern Exposure'', as Jessie Deighan in the feature film ''Cliffhanger'', and as Katie ...

), who was a pawn in a power struggle between her wheelchair-using mother Zina (

Joanne Linville Beverly Joanne Linville (January 15, 1928 – June 20, 2021) was an American actress. She later taught at the Stella Adler Academy, Los Angeles. She is best known as a Romulan Commander on ''Star Trek: The Original Series''. Biography Early li ...

), her powerful agent Evan (

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ''Scaramouche'', ''Lili'' and ''Knights of the Round ...

) and her show's leading man, Brian (

Michael Sabatino Michael Sabatino (born June 25, 1955 in Venice, California) is an American actor. Personal life Sabatino attended the University of California, Irvine, where he set a school record for the pole vault of 17½ feet. He has been married to actres ...

). The show's early pacing was described as "a bit meandering" and it had problems finding an audience. Eventually the show was canceled after only 3 months on the air. The last episode concerned a backstage party where starlet Joyce Daniels was poisoned. Suspicion quickly fell on Lynette Porter (

Debbi Morgan Deborah Ann Morgan (born September 20, 1956) is an American film and television actress. She played the role of Angie Baxter–Hubbard on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children'' for which she was the first African-American to win the Daytime Emm ...

). In a bit of levity,

Michele Lee Michele Lee is an American actress, singer, dancer, producer, and director. She is known for her role as Karen Fairgate MacKenzie on the prime-time soap opera ''Knots Landing'' (1979–1993), for which she was nominated for a 1982 Emmy Award ...

(a star on Jacobs' ''Knots Landing'') appeared as herself, playing a guest at the party; when questioned by police, she was mistakenly identified by the cops as

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

Cast and characters

The cast included ''Generations'' creator and producer Gerry Holmby (

Joshua Bryant Joshua Bryant (born July 2, 1940) is an American actor, director, author, and speaker who is the founder of the Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival in Taos, New Mexico. Early life and education Bryant was born in Norfolk, Virginia. After at ...

); his screenwriter wife Dory Ranfield (

Loyita Chapel Robert Sosebee Woods (born March 13, 1948) is an American actor best known for playing Bo Buchanan on the ABC soap ''One Life to Live'', a role for which he won the 1983 Daytime Emmy Award for Lead Actor. Early life In 1966 Woods graduated f ...

); his son, Brian

, a cast member on ''Generations''; Brian's lover Janie-Claire Willow, star of ''Generations''; Janie-Claire's brother Jordan (Scott Mulhern); Janie-Claire's invalid mother Zina (

); her actress roommate Lynette Porter (

); Janie-Claire and Lynette's conniving manager Evan Hammer (

); movie mogul Merritt Madison (

Warren Stevens Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. Early life and career Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens entered the United States Naval Academy in 1937 but was medical ...

); Merritt's son Karl (

Mark Pinter Mark Pinter (born March 7, 1950) is an American actor best known for his numerous roles in daytime soap operas. Early life and education Pinter was born in Decorah, Iowa. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre arts from Iowa State Univers ...

), who is Dory's former lover; and Bobby Danzig (

Bruce Fairbairn Bruce Earl Fairbairn (December 30, 1949 – May 17, 1999) was a Canadian record producer. He was active as a producer from 1976 to 1999, and is considered one of the best of his era. His most successful productions are ''Slippery When Wet'' an ...

), a married lawyer who is struggling with his homosexuality.

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Behind The Screen (Tv Series) 1981 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings American television soap operas CBS original programming English-language television shows