Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' is an American

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

television

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981, to May 11, 1989. The series, created by

Richard and Esther Shapiro Richard Allen Shapiro (born June 27, 1934) and Esther June Shapiro (née Mayesh; born June 6, 1928) are an American married couple who work as television screenwriters and producers, through their Shapiro Film Corporation. They are best known as ...

and produced by

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), '' The Love Boat'' (1977–198 ...

, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy family residing in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. ''Dynasty'' stars John Forsythe as oil magnate

Blake Carrington Blake Alexander Carrington is a fictional character on the ABC television series '' Dynasty'', created by Richard and Esther Shapiro. The role of Blake was originally portrayed by actor John Forsythe from 1981 to 1989. Forsythe returned for the m ...

, Linda Evans as his new wife Krystle, and later

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...

as his former wife

Alexis Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–1977 ...

. ''Dynasty'' was conceived as ABC's competitor to

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 Entertainm ...

's prime time series ''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

''. Ratings for the show's first season were unimpressive, but a revamp for the second season that included the arrival of Collins as scheming Alexis saw ratings enter the top 20. By the fall of 1982, it was a top 10 show, and by the spring of 1985, it was the #1 show in the United States. The series declined considerably in popularity during its final two seasons, and it was ultimately cancelled in the spring of 1989 after nine seasons and 220 episodes. A two-part

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

, '' Dynasty: The Reunion'', aired in October 1991. Season one of ''Dynasty'' was delayed by the

1980 Screen Actors Guild strike The 1980 actors strike was a labor strike held in 1980 by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, two labor unions representing actors in the American film industry. The strike was caused by a breakd ...

, season two by the

1981 Writers Guild of America strike The 1981 Writers Guild of America strike was a 3-month strike action taken to establish compensation in the then-new markets of "pay TV" and home video. Most scripted television series seasons started much later than originally planned as a result. ...

, and season nine by the

1988 Writers Guild of America strike The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) against major United States television and film studios represented by ...

. ''NOTE: The Production Codes were taken from the United States Copyright Office.''

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (1981)

Season 2 (1981–82)

Season 3 (1982–83)

Season 4 (1983–84)

Season 5 (1984–85)

Season 6 (1985–86)

The Colbys ''The Colbys'' (originally titled ''Dynasty II: The Colbys'') is an American prime time television soap opera that originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and Eileen and Robert P ...

'' was spun off ''Dynasty'' during season six.

Season 7 (1986–87)

Season two of ''The Colbys'' aired concurrently with ''Dynasty'' season seven.

Season 8 (1987–88)

Season 9 (1988–89)

''The Reunion''

Ratings

References

External links

''Dynasty'' episodes
a
UltimateDynasty.net
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dynasty 1981 Episodes, List Of Dynasty (1981 TV series) Lists of American drama television series episodes Lists of soap opera episodes