Sammy Jo Carrington

Original series

Heather Locklear first appeared as Sammy Jo in the 1981 season two episode "Reconciliation". The character recurred until the end of season five, after which Locklear was promoted to a permanent cast member. Sammy Jo remained on the series until its finale in 1989, with Locklear reprising her role for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.

Storylines

After traveling the amateur race car circuit with her stepfather, Frank Dean, young Sammy Jo Dean is sent to Denver to stay with her aunt, Krystle, who has recently married millionaire Blake Carrington. Sammy Jo becomes romantically involved with Blake's son, Steven, who has been struggling with his sexuality. Neither Blake nor his ex-wife, Alexis, particularly care for Sammy Jo, who is a bit common for their tastes. Sammy Jo and Steven elope, much to the disapproval of the rest of the family. It soon becomes clear that Sammy Jo has married Steven for his money, as she starts buying expensive clothes and charging them to Blake. Sammy Jo overhears Steven talking with Alexis about the secret possibility that Blake is not Fallon's biological father. Later, while drunk and arguing with Fallon at a party, Sammy Jo confronts Fallon with this revelation. A pregnant Fallon drives off upset and crashes her car, resulting in an emergency C-section. When Alexis learns that it was Sammy Jo who told Fallon that Blake was not her father, she offers Sammy Jo a check for $20,000 to sign a declaration stating that she and Steven never consummated their marriage so that it can be annulled. Sammy Jo refuses to sign, and instead blackmails Alexis by threatening to show Steven the declaration. Sammy Jo takes the $20,000 and leaves Denver. Steven follows her to Hollywood, but she rejects him, telling him that he cannot give her the material things that she wants.

While Steven is missing and presumed dead in an oil rig explosion, Sammy Jo returns to Denver with a baby, Danny, who she claims was fathered by Steven. Sammy Jo leaves the baby with Blake and Krystle, and moves to New York to pursue a modeling career. When Steven turns up alive, he goes to New York and suggests that they marry. Sammy Jo refuses.

Steven's new wife Claudia starts receiving gifts and phone calls seemingly from her presumed dead ex-husband, Matthew Blaisdel. Steven and Claudia eventually track the ruse to Morgan Hess, a private investigator with ties to Alexis. However, it is Sammy Jo who has employed Hess, and she returns to Denver to fight for custody of Danny.

Sammy Jo tricks Steven's brother, Adam, to take her to the airport, allowing her to kidnap Danny. She demands $30,000 a month for his return. Blake comes up with a plan that involved Adam getting Danny back. Adam does, and Sammy Jo returns to New York, defeated. Later, Krystle comes to visit Sammy Jo with Daniel Reece, who she says is Sammy Jo's biological father. Daniel dies soon afterward, leaving his wealth to Sammy Jo. However, Krystle is executor and refuses to disburse the inheritance until Sammy Jo "straightens up". Furious, Sammy Jo returns to New York, vowing revenge. When her actress friend Rita Lesley practices a new role in a blond wig, Sammy Jo realizes she is a lookalike for Krystle.

Reboot

A pilot for a Dynasty reboot for The CW was announced in September 2016, and Rafael de la Fuente was cast as Samuel Josiah Jones, a gay male version of Sammy Jo, in March 2017. The new series premiered on The CW on October 11, 2017.

Characterization

The nephew of Cristal Flores (Nathalie Kelley), a Latino version of the original series' Krystle, Sam is a "cute schemer" who is romantically connected to Steven Carrington (James Mackay). Executive producer Stephanie Savage said, "With Steven Carrington out and proud, it makes sense for Sammy Jo to be a man." Executive Producer Sallie Patrick said that Sam has "every bit of the pot-stirring troublemaker vibe that Heather Locklear had on the original." De la Fuente said of the character, "His heart is in the right place, but he's had a rough upbringing and he's had to figure out how to survive. Sometimes he's a little bit naughty, a little bit of a schemer, but he's not a bad guy. He's not trying to harm anyone." According to de la Fuente, "He's not really a villain, but he does naughty stuff. I think audiences are going to like him because he has a way about doing the things he does that is just very funny and charming. He uses his natural sexuality and charm to get away with murder, and it's fun to watch because he's a little bit outrageous sometimes. A lot outrageous." Sam is also devoted to his aunt Cristal, with whom he shares a mysterious past in Venezuela.

Patrick said of Sam, "It felt right to make him [Steven's] soulmate." De la Fuente noted, however, that Sam's relationship with Steven will be a "rollercoaster" that will "take quick, sharp turns". He said of the attraction between the characters:

Steven's buttoned up-ness and just like how much of a good boy he is, I think, amuses Sam, and Sam thinks it's funny and finds it really entertaining to try to push him out of his box and mess with him. And I think Steven is incredibly interested by how in the moment, sometimes even reckless, Sam is because he's so square and such a good boy. So it's a fun, interesting dynamic because they're polar opposites.

Patrick said of Sam and majordomo Anders, "We've introduced their friendship, and I totally 'ship them together. Locking them in the basement was so much fun ... Sammy Jo is always getting in over his head, so it made sense for him to be the first one knocked out. And the funniest person to lock him in the basement with seemed to be Anders."

An intoxicated Sam marries a stripper named Scorpio during Fallon's bachelorette party in "My Hangover's Arrived". Showrunner Josh Reims explained, "We went into the episode with Sam thinking, 'I'm never going to have another relationship again.' So even though he got married under the influence, it showed that—deep down—he does want a relationship, whether he knows it or not." The episode was later confirmed to be the season finale, since production of Dynasty was suspended in March 2020 as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming of only 20 of the 22 ordered episodes of the third season had been completed at that time, and Reims said he hoped to be able to use reworked versions of the remaining two episodes to start season four. He explained, "We were going to bring back Ryan (aka 'Scorpio') for Episodes 21 and 22, and we were going to explore the idea of Sam trying to have a relationship with this guy. It was going to be an interesting triangle if we were to bring back Fletcher, Sam's married ex-boyfriend."

Storylines

In the premiere episode "I Hardly Recognized You", Sam has a one-night stand with Steven, and helps himself to some of the cash in Steven's pocket. Later, they meet again as both men realize that Sam's aunt Cristal is Steven's new stepmother. Steven tries to uncomplicate matters by keeping his distance from Sam, who is staying at the mansion, but is won over by Sam's compulsive honesty and thoughtfulness. Meanwhile, Sam's mother Iris is in trouble and needs money, but Cristal is unable to send any without Blake finding out. To secure the money, Sam arranges for a friend to steal Cristal's engagement ring and other valuables during a charity gala in "Guilt is for Insecure People". An incriminating phone that had been in Blake's possession is stolen as well, and Sam goes to Steven for help retrieving it in "Private as a Circus". Sam gets mad when Steven involves the police without telling him, but just as they are about to reconcile, a repentant Sam admits his complicity in the robbery to a furious Steven. In "Company Slut", Carrington majordomo Anders manipulates Sam into the path of Steven's ex-boyfriend Ted Dinard. Steven is thrown to find that Ted and Sam have slept together, and a remorseful Sam explains to Steven that he has struggled so much to survive that he has trouble turning down opportunities. In "The Best Things in Life", Cristal remembers how Sam's abusive father Alejandro caused her miscarriage when she tried to protect Iris from him. Iris comes to Atlanta for the holidays in "Rotten Things", and Sam is shocked by the revelation that Cristal killed his father Alejandro while defending Iris in Venezuela. In "A Well-Dressed Tarantula", Sam is icy to Cristal for letting him believe that his father abandoned the family. Alive and scheming with Iris, Alejandro reveals himself to an emotional Sam, who has no idea that his parents are extorting Cristal to push through their shady deal with Carrington Atlantic. Sam helps Cristal and the Carringtons turn the tables on Alejandro and Iris by taking his father's phone and impersonating him to his minions.

Sam and Steven move out of the mansion to live together as platonic friends, and Fallon hires Sam as her assistant. In "Nothing but Trouble", a distraught Ted shows up at their apartment and, using drugs and believing that Steven and Sam are romantically involved, stages a scuffle with Sam and leaps out of an upper story window. Sam admits to Steven that he is in the country illegally in "The Gospel According to Blake Carrington", so Steven lies his way to Ted's hospital bedside to retrieve an earring that links Sam to the accident. Anders sets Sam up with an immigration lawyer to begin the citizenship process. In "Our Turn Now", Sam is hurt when Steven puts a stop to rekindling their romance, and has Fallon set him up with a date for her wedding. Steven is jealous watching Sam get to know his date, Liam Ridley, but eventually Steven and Sam decide to get back together. With Sam facing deportation, Steven sleeps with Senator Daniels' wife Melissa, with whom he had an affair 10 years before, to help him secure an O-1 visa for Sam in "Poor Little Rich Girl". Steven proposes marriage to Sam while eulogizing his grandfather, Thomas. Believing Sam to be a poor match for her son, Steven's newly returned mother, Alexis Carrington, tries to frame Sam for shoplifting in "Don't Con a Con Artist". Fallon thwarts the plan, and Sam assists her in a plot to expose Alexis' machinations to Steven. Steven and Sam marry in "Dead Scratch", but the Carringtons are subsequently trapped in a fire. Sam escapes, but Steven is nowhere to be found.