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Flamingo Road was supposed to spin out of Knots Landing?

posted 8 years ago by engle_james
6 replies | jump to latest

I just read that KL producer Michael Filerman pitched a spin-off to CBS that dealt with construction and land deals, but they passed, so he took the idea to NBC and they bought it and eventually the show became Flamingo Road. The character of Sam Curtis was originally named Paul Fairgate, and he was a relative of Sid and Abby's. This character did appear in the second season of KL. Sam was a very moral man, much like Sid Fairgate.

I also read an incredibly fascinating interview with Cristina Raines, who played Lane Ballou. She retired from acting and now works as a nurse! She spoke about each one of her roles, and she was very honest. She said she got along with everyone on the show but one other person... guess who!?! She also said she was in a relationship with co-star Mark Harmon for 4 years, and that FR producer Michael Filerman blamed their real-life romance for the show being cancelled.

[–] paranoja 8 years ago

Never heard it was thought as a spin-off from Knots Landing. That show was stable, but never the run-away hit that Dallas or Dynasty were, so it makes sense that CBS passed on it. Also, out of the "big four" (Dallas, Dynasty, Knots, Falcon Crest) I feel it's closer in style to Falcon Crest.

Yeah, Cristina Raines supposedly didn't get along with Morgan Fairchild, though it doesn't sound like there was a catfight rivarly going on, just two entirely different people in the same place whose personality type don't mesh well.

[–] radrobd 8 years ago

This was posted on the Knots board. It's not true. Flaming Road was a remake of an old Joan Crawford movie, based on a novel.

When Flamingo Road was being developed, Knots was still in its first season. The pilot of Flamingo Road aired as a 2-hour TV movie in May 1980, two months after Knots' first season ended.

The series actually premiered the following season, but was delayed due to an actor's strike, so the series didn't premiere until January 1981.

[–] engle_james 8 years ago

Michael Filerman did in fact have an idea for a series that had the lead character involved in construction and land deals in a small town. He pitched it to CBS but they weren't real interested in the concept. At the same time, the article said someone, I think Rita Lakin, was working on a remake of Flamingo Road and the two combined their ideas and NBC bought the movie. The series was not a definite until the movie premiered and got great ratings. Once the series got the go, Filerman still used his initial idea on Knots in the form of Sid's brother or cousin, I forget, who appeared once.

So it is true. The title wouldn't have been Flamingo Road, the characters would have had different names, but much of the basic concept would have been the same. The characters of Constance, Lute Mae, Skipper, and Sam, for example, probably came from Filerman's pitch and were incorporated into Flamingo Road, which would have had Lane, Titus, Field, and Elmo.

[–] radrobd 7 years ago

Once the series got the go, Filerman still used his initial idea on Knots in the form of Sid's brother or cousin, I forget, who appeared once.

It was Sid and Abby's nephew, Paul Fairgate (played by Kale Browne), who appeared in one episode of season 2 during the 1980-1981 season. Again, the nephew character appeared on Knots AFTER the TV pilot for Flamingo Road had aired in May 1980, the prior TV season on NBC (while Knots aired on CBS).

Also, the episode featuring Sid and Abby's nephew first aired on Thursday, February 12, 1981, a month AFTER the TV series had already debuted on January 6, 1981.

So it is true. The title wouldn't have been Flamingo Road, the characters would have had different names, but much of the basic concept would have been the same. The characters of Constance, Lute Mae, Skipper, and Sam, for example, probably came from Filerman's pitch and were incorporated into Flamingo Road, which would have had Lane, Titus, Field, and Elmo.

The TV series Flamingo Road was based on the original novel by Robert Wilder and the 1949 movie starring Joan Crawford. I've never read the book, but the characters of Sam and Constance were in the movie, but Sam was called Dan and Constance was called Annabelle.

[–] engle_james 7 years ago

I may not be explaining the scenario well. Michael Filerman had an idea for a show about land deals, gambling, construction, etc. He wanted it to originate on Knots by featuring a relative of Sid Fairgate (probably the character of Sam Curtis) and spin into it's own series. CBS declined his idea but instead of tossing it out, he took it to NBC, where he was paired with Rita Lakin, who was preparing a remake of Flamingo Road. They combined their ideas for the new soap and NBC optioned it.

I have no idea how realized Filerman's version was, but as you pointed out, Sam and Constance went by different names in the movie. Plus, Annabelle was only in a few small scenes in the movie and was nothing like Constance, who was a self-absorbed B and was one of the main characters. Even Dan Reynolds was very different from the tv version of Sam Curtis. The character of Paul Fairgate was left over from Filerman's idea, and KL went ahead and used him in the second season.

[–] Jeepster (1026) 20 days ago

What I do remember is that this had some tie ins with “Knots Landing” as in Howard Duff’s character was supposedly the father or step father of William Devane’s character on Knots who played Greg Sumner. Exactly how else it ties in I do not know.