Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Diversity meets Dynasty on The CW’s fall lineup
The TV Column continues to look at what each of the five broadcast networks plans for the 2017-2018 season based on their recent upfront presentations to advertisers.
So far, we’ve covered NBC, ABC and Fox. Today, we’ll highlight The CW and wrap up Sunday with CBS.
First of all, a moment of silence for The CW shows that were canceled or ended their runs last season: Frequency; No Tomorrow; Reign; and The Vampire Diaries.
The Vampire Diaries enjoyed a good long run of eight seasons. However, viewership had slipped to about 1.5 million, fewer than half that for the glory days in the early years.
To fill the void, The CW will introduce four new series — two in the fall, two at midseason. The network hopes to make the biggest splash by “reimagining” Dynasty, the juicy Aaron Spelling primetime ABC soap opera from 1981-89 that featured dueling divas and the force of nature that was Joan Collins’ Alexis Carrington.
Trivia: On a 1994 Hollywood press tour for Models
Inc., we had a Fox evening event at Arden Villa, the mansion in Pasadena, Calif., where they shot the famous hair-pulling lily pond catfight between Alexis and Krystle (Linda Evans). The TV critics stood and gazed at the pond as if it was some sort of revered holy place.
By the way, the 1913 Italianate-style villa is currently on the market for a modest $28 million. Including lily pond.
It’ll be interesting to see how The CW tweaks the
Dynasty formula for the 21st century.
Doe-eyed 23-yearold Elizabeth Gillies (Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll)
stars as the “charismatic and cunning” Fallon Carrington, who is on the verge of becoming chief operating officer of her father’s vast global empire. Or so she believes.
Fallon’s filthy rich father, Blake (Grant Show, Melrose
Place), summons her and her bother, Steven (James Mackay,
The Leftovers), to the obscenely opulent family compound in Atlanta, but instead of announcing Fallon’s promotion, he introduces them to his young, savvy and sexy fiance, Cristal (Nathalie Kelley, The
Vampire Diaries).
Kelley, 32, is a Peruvian/ Australian actress we first saw in the 2006 action film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo
Drift. With her, The CW made a point of adding minority lead actors to the previously all-white Dynasty.
Bonus: The O.C.’s Alan Dale stars as Blake’s butler, Anders, and Robert Christopher Riley
(Hit the Floor) plays Culhane, the family chauffeur and Fallon’s secret lover. There are plenty of other secrets in this series.
Move over Alexis and Krystle, Fallon and Cristal are entering the ring. Let the fur fly.
The CW’s other fall drama is Valor, a serialized military drama/conspiracy thriller about an elite unit of Army helicopter pilots called the Shadow Raiders and a clandestine mission to Somalia that went terribly wrong. Christina Ochoa (Animal
Kingdom) stars as pilot Warrant Officer Nora Madani. Her commanding officer, Capt. Leland Gallo, is played by Matt Barr (Sleepy Hollow).
Coming at midseason are the comedy/drama Life Sentence and the DC Comicsbased Black Lightning.
Lucy Hale, coming off seven seasons on Pretty Little
Liars, stars in Life Sentence as Stella, a young woman who has been told for eight years she’s dying of cancer.
Suddenly, she’s pronounced cured and has to face the consequences of all those decisions she made while living
in the moment, including marrying a total stranger.
Stella’s being cured also affects her family because everyone had put their lives on hold in order to make Stella’s final years happy.
Black Lightning stars Cress Williams (Hart of Dixie) as Jefferson Pierce, former New Orleans vigilante with superpowers (he can harness and control electricity) who hung up his mask years ago for the sake of his family.
Now, with vicious gang violence on the rise, Jefferson realizes it’s time for Black Lightning to return. With a vengeance. Added bonus: His two daughters may also have superpowers.
Here’s The CW’s fall prime-time schedule. As usual, The CW will wait until October to launch its new lineup. Monday: Supergirl; Valor. Tuesday: The Flash; DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Wednesday: Riverdale;
Dynasty. Thursday: Supernatural; Arrow. Friday: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; Jane the Virgin. The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com