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CW to reboot ‘Dynasty,’ ’80s prime-time soap opera, in fall

Posted at 2:26 PM, May 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-18 14:26:22-04

NEW YORK (AP) — “Dynasty” is returning to TV, nearly 30 years after the prime-time soap opera aired its last hair-pulling fight.

The rebooted drama will be one of four new series joining the CW’s schedule in the 2017-18 season, the network said Thursday.

The “Dynasty” remake will put a fresh twist on the show for a new generation of viewers and has the blessing of the original drama’s creators, Esther and Richard Alan Shapiro, said CW President Mark Pedowitz.

“To us it was a no-brainer,” he told a teleconference. The network is open to including cast members from the 1980s ABC series but it’s up to the new show’s producers, Pedowitz said.

Joan Collins and Linda Evans starred as dueling and fabulously wealthy divas. Other original co-stars included Diahann Carroll and Heather Locklear.

CW’s “Dynasty” will debut in the fall, along with the freshman military drama “Valor.” Midseason additions to the CW lineup will include the comedy “Life Sentence” and the DC Comics-based “Black Lightning.”

Two freshman shows from last season, “No Tomorrow” and “Frequency,” were canceled. It was previously announced that “The Vampire Diaries” and “Reign” were wrapping their runs this season.

In a schedule change, “Jane the Virgin” will move to 9 p.m. EDT on Friday, following “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.”

The CW touted its mix of dramas, action shows and comedies as offering something for everyone, but the schedule is heavy on superhero series, including returning shows “The Flash,” ”DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” and “Supergirl.”

With other networks getting into the comic book-based series, including ABC’s new “Marvel’s Inhumans,” Pedowitz was asked if TV is overdoing it with the genre.

“This programming will last as long as people want to watch it,” he said. “It’s lasted my whole lifetime, so it will keep going.”

CW’s presentation concluded the broadcasting networks’ presentations to advertisers this week of their upcoming schedules. They included several “Dynasty”-type reboots, among them a new “Roseanne” and “S.W.A.T.”