Steven Carrington
Steven Daniel Carrington is a fictional character on the American prime time soap opera Dynasty. Steven is noteworthy as one of the earliest gay main characters on American television. Despite identifying as homosexual, Steven has relationships with both men and women throughout the series.
The role was originated by Al Corley in the show's first episode in 1981. Corley left at the end of the second season in 1982, and the role was recast in 1983 with Jack Coleman, the change in appearance attributed to plastic surgery after an oil rig explosion. Coleman remained on the show until 1988, but Corley returned to the role of Steven for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion when Coleman was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts.
In the 2017 reboot of the series, Steven is played by actor James Mackay.
Original series
The role of Steven was originated by Al Corley in the show's first episode in 1981; Corley left at the end of the second season in 1982 after complaining about Steven's "ever-shifting sexual preferences" and wanting "to do other things." The character was recast in 1983 with Jack Coleman, the change in appearance attributed to plastic surgery after an oil rig explosion. Coleman remained on the show until 1988, but Corley returned to the role of Steven for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion when Coleman was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts.Impact and criticism
Making television history
Steven has been called the first openly gay character on a prime time drama series, and remains one of the most well-known of the earliest gay characters on television. Suzanna Danuta Walters writes that because of the character, "in the annals of gay TV history, the '80s will be remembered as the Dynasty years." Initially the only son of series patriarch Blake Carrington, "handsome, blond hunk" Steven was a regular character featured in front-burner storylines for his entire run on the series. In contrast to his ruthless, warring parents and promiscuous sister, the character was poised as "the moral conscience of the family." Still, he was defined primarily by his sexuality, his struggle against it, and the conflict it created within his family.Potential and execution
Corley noted, "what attracted me was playing a gay character... The only gay television character I knew about at the time was Billy Crystal's gay character Jodie Dallas on ABC's Soap, which was a dark comedy." Dynasty co-creator Esther Shapiro noted in a 1981 Esquire magazine article that the character of Steven "was, is, and always will be gay", but explained that she initially intended for him to be confused about his sexuality for two seasons before ultimately becoming a "well-rounded gay character". With Dynasty becoming one of the 20 highest-rated American prime time series by the end of its second season and eventually rising to #1 in 1985, Steven "had great potential for breaking through the usual stereotypes" and his life "could have been explored in storylines in which sexuality did not necessarily have to be problematized." However, it has been noted that with "interference" from network Broadcast Standards and Practices and "pressure from the religious right", this potential was never fully realized. Walters writes that Steven—"stalwartly manly and deeply troubled by his homosexuality"—led viewers on a "Hollywood tour of homosexuality" over eight seasons, "from tortured closet case, to 'cured' heterosexual husband, and finally to a vague approximation of gay and proud." She adds that the character's "persistent attempts to 'go straight' and the adamant avoidance of any gay milieu or culture" paint Dynasty as "flawed and compromised", but acknowledges that the series remains a staple of gay iconography despite its primary gay character being "hardly a role model of self-acceptance and pride."Corley left Dynasty at the end of the second season in 1982, after complaining publicly in Interview that "Steven doesn't have any fun... He doesn't laugh; he has no humor". Corley also lamented Steven's "ever-shifting sexual preferences", and stated that he wanted "to do other things". The character was recast in 1983 with Jack Coleman, the change in appearance attributed to plastic surgery after an oil rig explosion. Coleman remained on the show until 1988, but Corley returned to the role of Steven for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion when Coleman was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts.
In a 2006 interview with TV Guide, Coleman reaffirmed that having a gay main character on a prime time drama in the early 1980s "was quite daring at that time. I think the only other gay character in a series was Billy Crystal on Soap, and that was a comedy. But was so timid by today's standards, especially looking at what's on cable, with The L Word, Queer as Folk and shows like that. Dynasty now seems unbelievably quaint." Commenting on Steven's romantic relationship with Luke Fuller, Coleman noted, "It was very much The Donna Reed Show in terms of four feet on the floor, nobody actually ever touching."
Legacy
It has also been suggested that the increased visibility of gay characters like Steven on network series in the late 1970s and 1980s sparked a backlash from "fundamentalists who complained to advertisers", and by the spring of 1991 there were no gay characters in evidence at all. This ultimately paved the way for a reversal of the trend and Ellen DeGeneres' watershed coming out in 1997, the subsequent "steady stream of... well-developed, three-dimensional gay and lesbian characters" on television, and the relative "open door" of the 2000s. David Bitler of MTV's LGBT-targeted channel Logo said in 2005 that "today's youth generation is more accustomed to seeing gay characters on television, because gay visibility in pop culture has only increased exponentially during the last 10 to 15 years" with the depiction of gay and lesbian characters on shows such as Dawson's Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Real World and Road Rules becoming commonplace. Comparing Steven's 1981 confrontation with his father over his sexuality to the 2005 coming out of Desperate Housewives teen Andrew Van de Kamp to his mother, Damon Romine of GLAAD noted in a 2005 PlanetOut.com article that though both Blake Carrington and Bree Van de Kamp encourage their sons to "change"—which is not possible—in 1981 this was presented as a "serious suggestion", whereas in 2005 the idea is "ridiculous". Romine added, "That's progress, even though we still have a long way to go." In the same article Jenny Stewart of PlanetOut.com posed the question of whether Steven Carrington "was a groundbreaking first who blazed a trail for the must-see gay TV of the new millennium or a last gasp of the traditional 'gayness as tragedy' storyline."Storylines
Season 1
As Dynasty begins on January 12, 1981, Carrington heir Steven returns to Denver from New York City to attend the wedding of his father, powerful oil tycoon Blake Carrington. Though the details are at first unclear, father and son are somewhat estranged, and their reunion is an awkward one. The Carrington family dynamic is soon established; thoughtful and sensitive Steven resists his father's pressure to step into his role as the future leader of Blake's empire, while his spoiled sister Fallon, better suited to follow in Blake's footsteps, is underestimated by—and considered little more than a trophy to—father Blake. Steven is devoted to and loved by Fallon, who sees the differences between her brother and Blake but does not understand why they cannot be reconciled. Steven, knowing Fallon's devotion to Blake, is hesitant to open up to her. Steven befriends Krystle, Blake's former secretary and future wife, who is adjusting to life at the mansion despite chilly receptions from Fallon and the Carrington household staff. At the end of the three-hour premiere episode "Oil", Steven finally confronts his father, criticizing Blake's capitalistic values and seemingly-amoral business practices. Blake explodes, revealing the secret of which Steven thought his father was unaware: Blake is disgusted by Steven's homosexuality, and his refusal to "conform" sets father and son at odds for some time.To Blake's chagrin, Steven goes to work for Walter Lankershim, a small-time oilman and rival to Blake, and his new business partner Matthew Blaisdel, Steven's old friend and Blake's former employee, who had previously been involved with Krystle. Though Walter brings Steven to a brothel in a fatherly attempt to resolve his sexual confusion, he and Matthew are unfazed by Steven's supposed preference for men, and Matthew even defends him against the homophobic glares of other oil rig workers. Steven finds a kindred spirit in Matthew's fragile wife Claudia, who is trying to put her life back together after a mental breakdown, and they secretly kiss in "The Chauffeur Tells a Secret". Steven is framed for an accident at Walter's oil rig and fired. He is offered his job back when his innocence is later proven, but declines; after beginning an affair with Claudia in "The Necklace", Steven decides to work for Blake at Denver-Carrington. Despite Fallon's machinations to keep him away, Steven's ex-lover Ted Dinard appears, hoping to reconcile. Steven spends the night with Ted, soon deciding he must break it off with both Ted and Claudia. As Steven and Ted are saying their final goodbyes in "The Separation", Blake enters to find them in a chaste embrace. Blake, whose discomfort with Steven's sexuality manifests itself in rage, angrily pushes the two men apart. Ted falls backward and hits his head; the injury proves fatal and Blake is arrested and charged with murder. Angry and upset, Steven testifies that Ted's death had been the result of malicious intent, which infuriates Blake and Fallon. A veiled surprise witness for the prosecution appears in the season finale "The Testimony", and Fallon gasps in recognition: "Oh my God, that's my mother!"