Elizabeth Gillies’ viral meme made me watch Dynasty, and I regret nothing

Dynasty star Elizabeth Gillies became a viral meme on Twitter and brought attention to the underrated reboot you should be watching.

Never underestimate the power and influence of virality. As much as we would like to admit that we aren’t swayed by subliminal marketing, there are some tactics that even the strongest among us can’t resist. For some, it’s product placement, but for others, it’s Elizabeth Gillies tweeting an accidental viral meme and using a trending sensation to push the second season of Dynasty.

In case the meme didn’t make its way into your timeline, on Sept. 28, Gillies posted a simple but fierce video on Twitter. The seven-second snippet features the actress dressed up in her Fallon Carrington best and strutting on set in a sparkly red dress to the tune of an electronic instrumental.

Clearly, it’s the stuff memes are made of. And oh, did the internet have some fun.

https://twitter.com/LizGillies/status/1045792885319323648

Not long after Gillies’ video made the rounds, hilarious captions went equally as viral, such as this scorching roast of middle-aged white women yelling at cashiers.

This self-aware spin on theater kids.

This truthful take on everyone catching multiple showings of A Star Is Born.

And even this incredible commentary on Taylor Swift’s political Instagram post.

But the best “meme” to arise from the original video came from Elizabeth Gillies herself. One week after the clip took on a life of its own, amassing almost 30 million views (for those keeping score at home, that’s about 29.5 million more viewers than Dynasty gets per episode), Gillies suggested her followers keep the momentum going for The CW’s underrated reboot.

https://twitter.com/LizGillies/status/1049104658684424192

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“My darlings… If you enjoy this 7 second video of me walking as much as you all seem to, I’d recommend watching #Dynasty,” she wrote. “It’s basically this same video on loop except with a wider variety of outfits and backdrops.” And that’s about the best promotion the series — with its built-in but waning buzz — has gotten since its debut last fall.

While shows like fellow CW staple Riverdale might have received a generous ratings boost from streaming on Netflix over the summer, Dynasty hasn’t enjoyed the same level of post-season success. That is, until now… maybe. Anything can happen in the age of the internet. A meme could very well raise interest and viewership in a struggling series.

Well, I’m here to tell Liz that her grassroots efforts have worked. I started watching the deliciously addictive Dynasty because of her viral video, and it’s probably the smartest TV decision I’ve made since getting into 9-1-1 for Jennifer Love Hewitt. (What, I’m a fool for ratings stunts, okay?)

If you’ve liked, retweeted, or even chuckled at one of the various iterations of Gillies’ video swirling around Twitter, then the series should earn a place on your watch list. Sure, it’s not the kind of high-brow entertainment we’re “supposed” to be consuming in these hallowed days of Peak TV, but that only makes it the perfect escapist antidote.

There’s a wedding, a death, and an arrest all within the span of the first three episodes of the first season. Off the top of my head, I can’t name another current drama series with such unapologetic narrative pacing. Think of the Dynasty reboot as Gossip Girl meets Revenge, which is probably wildly ignorant to say as a millennial who’s never watched a single frame of the 1980s classic.

Without having any knowledge of the Aaron Spelling-produced original, it’s not difficult to see that executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (The O.C., Gossip Girl) and showrunner Sallie Patrick (Revenge, Limitless) have updated the dated ’80s elements tenfold. From diversity to a lighter energy, Dynasty reaps all of the benefits of modern guilty pleasures while staying true to its iconic characters and nothing’s-off-limits storytelling.

It’s not every day that a popular meme can carry over into traditional media, but this one has unprecedented and rewarding layers. If you’re anything like me, you’ll toss a few laughs at the memes and also heed Elizabeth Gillies’ advice to tune into her giving you all that viral video attitude and then some on Dynasty. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Dynasty airs Fridays at 8/7c on The CW.