Dynasty is great family business television because it combines family conflict with financial and power struggles, making every choice feel intensely personal. It exemplifies the natural structure for long-running stories because relatives are bound together by loyalty, rivalry, and legacy.
Dynasty
1981 to 1989
The Colbys (spin-off)
1985 to 1987
Dynasty: The Reunion (mini-series)
1991
Dynasty (reboot)
2017 to 2022
Dynasty was big! Big money, big egos, and most importantly, big shoulder pads! While Dynasty didn’t invent “shoulder pad overload”, the show propelled them towards becoming the iconic fashion trend of the 1980s.
Dynasty follows the powerful Carrington family as they wage personal and corporate wars over control of its massive empire. Blake Carrington is CEO of Denver-Carrington and presides over an oil empire, including power struggles, corporate takeovers, and family rivalries, giving the show its foundation as a drama about wealth and influence.
Dynasty became Dynasty in Season 2 when Joan Collins joined the cast as Blake’s ex-wife Alexis. She was the monster truck of ex-wives, and viewers tuned in to watch the classic catfight rivalry between Alexis and his new wife, Krystle. Their relationship was marked by emotional manipulation, public humiliation, constant scheming, and iconic physical fights. Their feud, along with their drummed-up personal animosity, made Dynasty a pop-culture legend as a glamorous, outrageous, and campy television phenomenon.
Later in the series, there was a California-based spin-off (The Colbys) and a reboot, but neither had the success as the original megahit.
Dynasty’s Main Characters
Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) – The powerful patriarch of the Carrington family and CEO of Denver-Carrington, Blake is determined to protect his business empire and family legacy at all costs. Proud, ambitious, and often domineering, he can be both a loving father and a strict, sometimes ruthless, leader. His personal and professional life is full of conflict, as he constantly balances loyalty, love, and the high stakes of the oil industry.
Krystle Carrington (Linda Evans) – Blake’s elegant and compassionate wife, Krystle serves as the moral center of the family. She possesses quiet strength and intelligence, often mediating conflicts between family members and standing firm against manipulation and deceit. Her devotion to Blake and her children, coupled with her grace under pressure, makes her both a stabilizing force and a character of deep emotional resonance.
Fallon Carrington Colby (Pamela Sue Martin / later Emma Samms) – Blake and Alexis’s ambitious, sharp-witted daughter, Fallon is determined to succeed in the family business and assert her independence. She is intelligent, stylish, and resourceful, with a tendency toward manipulation when it serves her goals. Despite her ambition and occasional scheming, she has a deep loyalty to those she loves and a desire to prove herself on her own terms.
Alexis Carrington Colby (Joan Collins) – Blake’s glamorous, cunning, and fiercely intelligent ex-wife, Alexis thrives on power, chaos, and intrigue. She constantly challenges Blake and other family members for control of both the family and Denver-Carrington, using charm, manipulation, and strategic alliances. Her wit, charisma, and ruthlessness make her one of television’s most memorable villains, feared and admired in equal measure.
Steven Carrington (Al Corley / later Jack Coleman) – Blake’s sensitive, idealistic, and often conflicted son. Steven struggles with the ethical compromises of the family business and frequently questions the morality of Denver-Carrington’s dealings. Thoughtful and intelligent, he often serves as the moral conscience of the family, though his idealism sometimes makes him vulnerable to manipulation and emotional turmoil.
Adam Carrington (Gordon Thomson) – The long-lost son of Blake and Alexis, Adam returns with ambition and a hunger for recognition and power. Calculating, strategic, and sometimes morally ambiguous, he challenges the family dynamic and adds tension to the Carrington household. His presence intensifies conflicts over inheritance, loyalty, and authority, making him a catalyst for much of the drama within the family.
Jeff Colby (John James) – Ambitious heir of the Colby oil fortune, Jeff is smart, charming, and often caught in the Carrington-Colby family drama. He marries Fallon Carrington, linking the rival families and navigating love, business, and scandal.
What is the role of the family business?
Because Dynasty is a soap opera, the family business element is treated less as realistic corporate drama and more as a vehicle for emotional conflict and spectacle. Business deals are highly personalized—takeovers, mergers, and boardroom battles are driven by grudges, love affairs, betrayals, and family loyalty rather than strategy or economics. Control of the company often shifts suddenly, allowing the plot to create shock twists and reversals instead of slow, logical development.
Blake’s relationship with his daughter Fallon Carrington is the most complex relationship with one of his children. Blake sees Fallon as intelligent and capable but often underestimates her because she is a woman, which fuels her drive to prove herself. Fallon craves her father’s respect and validation, frequently aligning with his business interests to earn his approval, yet resents his control and hypocrisy.
What sets Dynasty apart from other multi-generational family-owned businesses?
What sets Dynasty apart from other depictions of multi-generational family businesses is its blend of extreme glamour, high-stakes drama, and personal vendettas—all amplified by the 1980s prime-time soap opera style. Therefore, when a family issue arises, there’s no attempt to find a resolution to the issue, it’s purely about winning.
Nothing captures the Dynasty’s essence as the rivalry between Alexis Carrington and Krystle Carrington. Alexis, Blake’s ex-wife, is cunning, glamorous, and ruthless, always scheming to regain influence over the Carrington fortune and family. Krystle, Blake’s loyal and kind-hearted second wife, embodies grace, compassion, and moral integrity, often standing as the barrier to Alexis’s manipulations. Their feud drives much of the show’s tension including unforgettable “catfights,” making their rivalry one of television’s most iconic and enduring conflicts.
When television works, it both captures and defines an era because it shows the values people chase and the worries they live with. As a prime-time soap, Dynasty turned social tensions—like gender roles, family power, and class ambition—into constant drama, shaping how we think of the 1980s: flashy, competitive, and all about image as much as substance. It’s not like The Wire or Mad Men, which consciously reflected a time period, but maybe that’s why Dynasty feels like a pure snapshot of the 80s. It wasn’t trying to be serious—it just gave people what they wanted to see, and what they wanted says a lot about the era.
Allen Esrock is the Founder of NxtGen Nexus, a platform for the next generation of family business owners which is based on his experience of growing up in a family business. Prior to that he started Jitter Fingers, the first safe, social networking website for tween girls and their bffs with Jitter Finger clubs in 12+ countries and 250+ cities in the US.
