Nicollette Sheridan leaving Dynasty: What could be next for Alexis Carrington?

Dynasty is losing its biggest star, as Nicollette Sheridan has recently announced she is leaving to care for her terminally ill mother. What could be next for this CW reboot?

On Tuesday, Nicollette Sheridan announced that she is leaving Dynasty to care for her terminally ill mother. According to TV Line, the former Desperate Housewives star is permanently leaving the show, not taking personal leave time, per her public statement.

Will there be a new Alexis Carrington?

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According to Nicollette Sheridan’s statement, there will be another Alexis Carrington, as she encouraged fans to “embrace” her replacement.  She is clearly the biggest star of the CW reboot. They will need someone of her star power to portray Alexis.

Could the Dynasty producers perhaps convince Madeleine Stowe to return to television? Dynasty executive producer, Sallie Patrick, was both a writer and producer on Revenge. Stowe starred in Revenge portraying the diabolical and complex, Hamptons mama bear, Victoria Grayson. She would be perfect as Alexis.

Who else is possible? Melinda Clarke, who portrayed the social climbing Julie Cooper on The OC, a show that Dynasty executive producer Josh Schwartz created. It would be a rather fun inside joke to see her play Alexis to Alan Dale’s Joseph Anders, as the two played a married couple on The OC and would be the parents of Steven Carrington on Dynasty.

Another gem would be Tricia Helfer, who portrayed Six on Battlestar Galactica, and Lucifer’s mom on Lucifer. She has proven she has the star power and the acting chops to elevate the role of Alexis. Helfer also has a solid fan base that may be appealing to the Dynasty producers.

Original Dynasty had major cast changes

Major cast changes appear to be in the Dynasty DNA. In the original series that starred Linda Evans as Crystal Carrington, Joan Collins as  Alexis Carrington, and John Forsyth as Blake Carrington, both the Fallon character and the Steven character experienced major casting changes. Both of these changes were due to the character’s storyline, not for personal reasons, nor were they fired.

The original Fallon was Pamela Sue Martin, who left the show just after a few seasons. According to USA Today, the former Nancy Drew star departed because she felt that her character was overly victimized.

In swooped in British star, Emma Samms, to replace the American, Martin, complete with an unexplained British accent. The very popular Samms had previously portrayed Holly Sutton Scorpio on General Hospital, amicably leaving the day soap for the more prestigious evening soap.

Meanwhile, Al Corley, who portrayed Steven, didn’t hold out as long as Martin. After just a couple of seasons, Corley left the show because he felt the writers were trying to “straighten out” the gay Steven. He was replaced by Jack Coleman, but Corley returned to reprise his Dynasty character in later specials after the show ended.

Numerous cast changes on the Dynasty Reboot

Now that Nicollette Sheridan is leaving the CW show, it makes three major cast changes. Nathalie Kelley left first, happily announcing her spoiler departure early summer. Univision star, Ana Brenda Contreras, joined the cast in Season 2, as the “real” Cristal Carrington.

James McKay, who portrays Steven Carrington, clearly did not instigate his departure from Dynasty per his social media. He told his followers:

"“While Steven had a choice to leave, unfortunately I didn’t. There’s a lot of decisions involved in making television, and sometimes they just don’t go your way and you have to live with it. So for now, all love and on we go.”"

Currently, he is in a guest star role, although it appears that Steven is currently missing somewhere that is not Paraguay.

It remains to be seen how the Dynasty writers are going to deal with Nicollette Sheridan’s departure. As for now, it remains a mystery on whether Alexis Carrington will return in the form of another actress, or if they will find another character to antagonize the Carrington clan. The show has been renewed for a third season, so it is very possible that the Dynasty producers and writers are currently scrambling for a lasting solution.

After a five-week hiatus, Dynasty is returning to the CW on Mar. 15, with the episode entitled “Parisian Legend Has It….”