‘Dynasty’ Loses Original Cast Member After Creative Overhaul

The CW’s Dynasty reboot, now in its second season, lost another original cast member as the show undergoes a creative overhaul. James MacKay announced on Instagram Friday night he was leaving the series.

MacKay, who played Steven Carrington, made the announcement before Friday’s episode aired, alongside a behind-the-scenes photo with his co-star and on-screen sister, Elizabeth Gillies.

“All new Dynasty tonight, but, yep, sorry to say without yours truly,” MacKay wrote. “While Steven had a choice to leave, unfortunately I didn’t. There’s a lot of decisions involved in making television, and sometimes they just don’t go your way and you have to live with it. So for now, all love and on we go. Hope you all enjoy the show.”

Dynasty went through a major overhaul between seasons one and two, notes Deadline. Nicollette Sheridan joined the show as Alexis Carrington late during season one. Meanwhile, Nathalie Kelley, who played Cristal Flores Carrinton, left before season two and was replaced by Ana Brenda Contreras as the “real Cristal Flores.”

MacKay returned for the second season, but only in a reduced, recurring capacity. In the Nov. 2 episode “Snowflakes in Hell,” his character, a gay environmentalist who runs a foundation, said he was moving to Paraguay and promised he would be back for Christmas. Although MacKay made it appear that he would never be back on the show, Deadline reports he might be back for a “surprising plot twist” before the season is over.

Outside of Dynasty, MacKay had roles in the movies Battle of the Sexes, Hacksaw Ridge, The Dressmaker and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Dynasty is a reboot of the beloved 1981-1989 ABC prime time soap opera. Like the original series, it centers on the rich Carrington family, but modernizes the story and characters. The new show is also set in Atlanta instead of Denver, and was developed by Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage and Sallie Patrick.

Although the first season earned low ratings, the show was picked up for a second season thanks to The CW‘s relationship with Netflix, which distributes CW shows internationally. This week’s episode earned just 640,000 total viewers and a 0.2 18-49 rating, reports TV By The Numbers.

The rest of the main Dynasty cast includes Robert Christopher Riley as Michael Culhane, Sam Adegoke as Jeff Colby, Rafael de la Fuente as “Sammy Jo” Jones, Alan Dale as Joseph Anders, Grant Show as Blake Carrington, Ana Brenda Contreras as Cristal Jennings and Maddison Brown as Kirby Anders.

New episodes of Dynasty air on The CW Fridays at 8 p.m. ET.

Photo credit: Instagram/James MacKay