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Dynasty

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Elizabeth Gillies in Dynasty. (Netflix)
Elizabeth Gillies in Dynasty. (Netflix)

Show: Dynasty

Rating: 2/5 stars

Available on: Netflix (1 season, Weekly episodes)

What we thought:

With so many good quality shows on TV, it's not easy for a show to make my roster. The only thing I knew about Dynasty going in was that my dearly departed grandmother watched it and according to my mother "it came on after that show with JR". 

Well, the Dallas reboot didn't last very long being cancelled after three seasons. Will Dynasty last any longer? I'm not one for soapie type dramas but the premier episode of Dynasty wasn't much to write home about. I mean, I watched Gossip Girl back in its day so there is something to be said about over the top dramas. 

The story of the wealthy, rival Carrington and Colby families takes place in Atlanta, Georgia moving the action from the original oil fields of Denver, Colorado. But not much else has changed from the 1980s original. Aside from a few more people of colour and the modernising of social issues that is. 

The drama ball starts rolling with Fallon (Elizabeth Gillies) and Steven Carrington (James Mackay) being introduced to their father's new and younger fiancée. Some backstabbing, tomfoolery and hijinks ensue and the end of the premiere sees Blake Carrington (Grant Show) marrying his fiancée in a surprise wedding ceremony, side-lining his daughter for the promotion she had been promised, leading her to team up with his rival's son to start her own company. The drama!

The thing that immediately left a bad taste in my mouth wasn't the weird Gossip Girl like voice over in the very beginning but the almost proud references to other family dynasties such as the Trumps and Murdochs. Please, no. If those are the families that this show is meant to be emulating then I have far better things to do with my time. The white privilege is very real in this show.

The opulence in a time where most people in the world are in a financial crisis makes the characters seem not only unrelatable but also unlikable. When you don't even realise that someone has stolen wads of cash from your wallet and it's no big deal you make the viewer feel resentful. I might be projecting here but these characters just seem so far removed from reality even though they try to anchor themselves in reality by referring to real world events like the Kim Kardashian Paris robbery. It's a show about the 1%, which they point out via the character of new fiancée and pleb, Cristal (Nathalie Kelley).

If you want escapism though, this show is for you. Glitz, glam, good looking people and better looking clothes, ridiculous walks down the aisle, this show has it all.

The storyline, however, is not riveting to be honest and there are better things you could do with 40 minutes of your life. And even though the premiere episode ends on a rather over the top cliff hanger, it was not enough for me to want to watch the next episode.

The series is available on Netflix


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