''Dangerous Women'' is a syndicated nighttime American

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

about a group of women who served time in prison together. It was created and written by

Reg Watson Reginald James Watson (27 August 1926 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian television producer and screenwriter. He was executive producer on ''Crossroads (British TV series), Crossroads'' and created Australian media exports serials such as ' ...

and produced by

Reg Grundy Productions Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...

Synopsis

''Dangerous Women'' was loosely based on the 1979 Australian series '' Prisoner'' which had enjoyed success in syndication on many networks around the US from late 1979 to around mid 1982. With both series created by Reg Watson, ''Dangerous Women'' initially shared many similarities with its Australian counterpart, although this became far less apparent as the series continued. The characters in ''Dangerous Women'' were based on the original characters of ''Prisoner'': The characters of Karen Travers and Lynne Warner from the latter became Maria Trent and Holly Warner in ''Dangerous Women'' and both of their opening storylines were based on those originally shown in ''Prisoner''. Similarly, Rita Jones's personality was based on Bea Smith, Crystal Fox shared the characteristics of nymphomaniac Marilyn Mason, and Cissie Johnson was based on the character 'Mum' Brooks - Cissie's daughter rejected her just as Mum's daughter disowned her when she was released in ''Prisoner''. Although many characters and storylines were clearly borrowed from ''Prisoner'', the main character who tied the show together was Faith Cronin (Valerie Wildman), a mobster's wife. This character and storyline was unique and created especially for the new version of the series. Faith had been seriously disfigured by her mobster husband, and on leaving prison, she framed her ex-husband for murder after she staged her own death. Faith then had plastic surgery and created a new identity, becoming the confident and glamorous Patricia Meadows. She bought a lakefront inn, The Cedar Lake Inn, a destination she'd loved as a child and somewhere she'd always dreamed of living once she was released from prison - only to find her past catching up with her when one by one, her fellow former convicts converge on the Cedar Lake area as they are released from prison. As the series progressed, the prison angle was gradually phased out as all of the characters had been released. They eventually took refuge at the Inn and attempted to rebuild their lives together.

Cast

Airings and cancelation

''Dangerous Women'' premiered August 7, 1991 and aired only one season. The show was syndicated on a limited basis, mainly among the stations of

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–

WWOR-TV WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by Fox Te ...

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, KMSP-TV in

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, WPWR-TV in

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(not owned by United) and

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were known to have carried the program. WDCA in

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carried the program but soon relegated it to a 2 AM time slot. In some markets, two one-hour episodes aired back to back every Wednesday night with encores on Saturday nights. It had reasonable ratings in New York, but it wasn't enough to keep the show going. It was pulled from syndication on January 1, 1992 after 52 episodes. Several weeks before the show was officially canceled, all six lead actresses appeared on ''

The Richard Bey Show ''The Richard Bey Show'' is a syndicated American talk show hosted by Richard Bey which aired from September 28, 1992 to December 27, 1996. The program was originally produced from and aired on WWOR-TV in Secaucus, New Jersey, from 1992 to late ...

'', a talk show that originated from WWOR. The cast also appeared on two episodes of ''NY At Night'', a primetime talk show on WWOR starring entertainer Clint Holmes. These appearances were their last attempt to keep the show on the air.

UK transmission

Shortly after its American cancellation, the show was broadcast on Central Television – the

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franchise for the United Kingdom's

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. It aired on Sunday and Monday nights from March 1992 replacing '' Prisoner'' in the schedule (which had finished December the previous year). All 52 episodes aired. No other ITV regions broadcast the series. The show was also later aired twice by cable TV station

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, in a late-night time-slot and repeated weekdays.

External links

* {{imdb title, id=0101072 1991 American television series debuts 1992 American television series endings 1990s American drama television series American television soap operas American television series based on Australian television series English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television series by Universal Television Television series by Fremantle (company)