Knots Landing

Knots Landing
Knots Landing Logo (Seasons 9–10)
Genre	Soap opera
Created by	David Jacobs
Starring	James Houghton Kim Lankford Michele Lee Constance McCashin Don Murray John Pleshette Ted Shackelford Joan Van Ark Donna Mills Kevin Dobson Julie Harris Claudia Lonow Douglas Sheehan Alec Baldwin William Devane Lisa Hartman Teri Austin Nicollette Sheridan Tonya Crowe Patrick Petersen Michelle Phillips Larry Riley Stacy Galina Kathleen Noone
Theme music composer	Jerrold Immel
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	14
No. of episodes	344 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	Roundelay Productions (1979–1982) Roundelay-MF Productions (1982–1993) Lorimar Productions (1979–1986) Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–1988) Lorimar Television (1988–1993)
Distributor	Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–1989) Warner Bros. Television Distribution (1989–present)
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	December 27, 1979 – May 13, 1993
Chronology
Followed by	Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac
Related shows	Dallas

Knots Landing is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of Dallas, it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles, and centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle. By the time of its conclusion, Knots Landing had become one of the longest-running primetime dramas on U.S. television after Gunsmoke and Bonanza.

Knots Landing was created by David Jacobs (one-time writer of Family and later producer of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) in conjunction with producer Michael Filerman (who would also later co-produce Falcon Crest). Although a spin-off of Dallas, the concept predates that series, and was initially rebuffed by CBS in 1977, as the network wanted something more "saga-like". Jacobs then created Dallas, which the network accepted and premiered in 1978. After Dallas became a hit, Jacobs was then able to adapt Knots Landing as a spin-off series by way of incorporating characters originally introduced in the parent series. The series was largely inspired by a 1957 movie No Down Payment but also by the 1973 Ingmar Bergman television miniseries Scenes from a Marriage. Storylines included rape, murder, kidnapping, assassinations, drug smuggling, corporate intrigue and criminal investigations. Though initially not as popular as Dallas, Knots Landing eventually outlasted it and garnered much critical acclaim. The series peaked during the 1983–84 season with a 20.8 rating (finishing in 11th place) and a 20.0 rating for the 1984–85 season (when it finished 9th). This can be attributed, in part, to more dramatic storylines as the series became more soap-opera like, and the gradual inclusion of newer characters to interact with the original cast. By the 1988–89 season, Knots Landing was ahead of Dallas in the ratings, though audiences for both shows by this time were less than their earlier years.