If there’s been a Gossip Girl-shaped hole in your life ever since the curtain finally fell upon the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite back in 2012, we’ve just found your new guilty pleasure.
Gossip Girl’s showrunners Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (who were also responsible for the success of another classic Noughties teen drama, The OC) have re-booted the iconic Eighties show Dynasty, set to air on US channel The CW later this year.
In a stroke of luck for UK fans, Netflix has secured the exclusive international rights to the show (as per a report from Deadline) meaning we'll be able to stream episodes within 24 hours of their premiere across the Atlantic (in the same way as other US shows like Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars). Excuse us as we adjust our shoulder pads and stock up on Elnett...
The original Dynasty ran for nine seasons from 1981 to 1989, and followed the trials and tribulations of the ridiculously wealthy Carrington family and their rivals, the Colbys. So far, so Gossip Girl, aside from the fact that Dynasty’s action takes place in Denver, Colorado rather than the Upper East Side. Plus, Dynasty had a not-so secret weapon in the form of the inimitable Joan Collins, who, as Alexis Carrington, spent most of her screen time dispensing acid-tongued put-downs and wearing unfeasibly large shoulder pads.
According to The Hollywood Reporter: ‘The CW’s Dynasty is described as a modern take 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 drama will be told primarily through the perspectives of two women at odds: Fallon Carrington, daughter of billionaire Blake Carrington (Grant Show) and her soon-to-be stepmother (Nathalie Kelley), a Hispanic woman marrying into this WASP family and America’s most powerful class.’
It seems that, when it comes to new commissions, TV execs are still very much in thrall to the power of the re-boot, with Dynasty now among the handful of 80s and 90s shows that are being brought back for nostalgia-hungry audiences. A new series based on the classic 80s film Dirty Dancing aired in the US in May, albeit to a poor critical reception0; on the other end of the spectrum, David Lynch’s much-anticipated third season of cult favourite Twin Peaks premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and is currently airing on HBO.
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