TV Show review
Review basis: 5 seasons, 108 episodes · through September 16, 2022
October 11, 2017 · 43 min · TV-14 · Canceled
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Dynasty is a five-season CW soap opera reboot that follows two wealthy families, the Carringtons and Colbys, as they feud over money, power, and control of their business empire in Atlanta. The story centers on ambitious Fallon Carrington clashing with her father's new wife Cristal and various relatives scheming for advantage. The reboot deliberately updated characters for diversity, including making Cristal a Hispanic woman from Venezuela and changing the original Sammy Jo into a gay Latino man named Sam with major romantic plots. Creators and marketing highlighted these changes to reflect modern America and add race and class tensions. Prominent gay and lesbian relationships appear across the seasons as part of the family drama.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Dynasty.
Woke representation / casting
Clear audience-visible patterns of diverse casting in prominent roles. Cristal is a Hispanic woman in the central stepmother rivalry with race and class tensions noted in marketing. Sam Jones is a gender-swapped gay Latino man with major arcs and romance plots. Black actors play Jeff Colby and Michael Culhane in key positions. Creators and cast discussed the updates as reflecting modern America and adding diversity.
Woke political dialogue
Limited to occasional character traits like Steven's environmentalist views clashing with his father's energy business and light class or immigrant background references. Dialogue stays mostly within soap opera territory of schemes, insults, and personal drama with no heavy activist speeches.
Identity-driven story themes
The show normalizes gay relationships for Steven and Sam early and includes a lesbian character Amanda later. Cristal as an outsider Hispanic woman in a wealthy family adds an identity layer. These threads are noticeable but secondary to classic power struggles, betrayals, and romance plots across all five seasons.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Standard soap opera portrayal of rich people behaving badly with corporate backstabbing and family greed. Occasional nods to business excess or one character's green energy views. Not presented as systemic critiques of capitalism, patriarchy, or Western culture in activist style.
Woke character or canon changes
Multiple deliberate identity-driven changes to the 1980s source material. Cristal's ethnicity was changed from white to Hispanic/Venezuelan with added race and class conflict. Sammy Jo was gender-swapped to a gay Latino man. Colbys and Culhane were recast Black. Creators explicitly framed these as updates for more inclusion and tolerance.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Very little evidence of complaints treating the show as pushing woke, DEI, or identity politics. Occasional scattered fan comments on forums called it "super woke" alongside other gripes. No widespread news coverage or campaigns.
Creator track record context
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage built careers on teen dramas like The O.C. and Gossip Girl with class and social themes but primarily entertainment focus. Sallie Patrick co-developed the reboot with noted inclusion goals. Writer Ali Adler has credits on Supergirl and the queer-centered The New Normal. Original producers Esther and Richard Shapiro focused on classic entertainment soaps. Moderate liberal industry pattern with targeted modernization.
Production
