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Falcon Crest

Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest.jpg
Main title card (season 8)
Genre Soap opera
Created by Earl Hamner, Jr.
Starring Jane Wyman
Robert Foxworth
Susan Sullivan
Lorenzo Lamas
David Selby
Abby Dalton
Margaret Ladd
William R. Moses
Ana Alicia
Chao-Li Chi
Theme music composer Bill Conti
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 9
No. of episodes 227 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Earl Hamner
Michael Filerman
Joanne Brough
Jeff Freilich
Camille Marchetta
Jerry Thorpe
Producer(s) Malcolm R. Harding
Barry Steinberg
Robert McCullough
John F. Perry
Phil Parslow
Running time approx. 50 minutes
Production company(s) Amanda & MF Productions
Lorimar Productions (1981-1986)
Lorimar-Telepictures (1986-1988)
Lorimar Television (1988-90).
Distributor Lorimar-Telepictures (1986-1989)
Warner Bros. Television (1989-Present)
Release
Original network CBS
Original release December 4, 1981 (1981-12-04) – May 17, 1990 (1990-05-17)

Falcon Crest is an American prime time television soap opera that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. The series revolved around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the Californian wine industry. Jane Wyman starred as Angela Channing, the tyrannical matriarch of the Falcon Crest Winery, alongside Robert Foxworth as Chase Gioberti, Angela's nephew who returns after the death of his father. The series was set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley (modeled after the Napa Valley) northeast of San Francisco.

The show was created by Earl Hamner, Jr., who had previously created The Waltons, which had just finished its final season in 1981. Hamner wanted to create a family drama involving the wine industry entitled The Vintage Years. An unaired pilot episode was produced, but CBS requested that Hamner make the show more along the lines of Dallas, which was the network's biggest hit at that time. The script was rewritten and several cast members changed for what became Falcon Crest. The series first aired in December 1981, when CBS scheduled Falcon Crest at 10 pm on Friday nights, right after Dallas. The Dallas-Falcon Crest one-two punch proved lucrative for the network and Falcon Crest was a top-20 show in the Nielsen Ratings for several years. Both shows (like The Waltons) were produced for CBS by the same company, Lorimar Productions.

At the center of the action is Angela Channing (Jane Wyman), a corrupt, tyrannical matriarch who rules the Falcon Crest vineyards with an iron fist. When her brother Jason Gioberti (Harry Townes) dies from a fall in the winery, his son Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth) arrives to claim his inherited portion of Falcon Crest. The rivalry between Angela and Chase — whom Angela sees as an interloper — sets the tone for much of the series.


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Wikipedia

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