TV SERIES · 1979– · USA
Knots Landing
85 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (85)
- #001
Two actors remained with Knots Landing from its first episode in 1979 to its final episode in 1993: Michele Lee and Ted Shackelford. Lee is the only actor to appear in all three hundred forty-four episodes, a record for a female actor in a prime-time series at the time (though it has since been surpassed by S. Epatha Merkerson, who appeared in seventeen seasons and (at least) three hundred ninety-one episodes of Law & Order (1990)). Joan Van Ark appeared in every season of Knots Landing, but only in the final episode of the show's last season.
- #002
Although Knots Landing outlasted all of its contemporaries (even Dallas (1978)) and still ranked among the top forty, the network and the producers mutually agreed that the fourteenth season (1992-93) would be the last, since staying on the air for a fifteenth season would have required further budget cuts. The producers and the network decided to make fewer episodes for the final season (nineteen), and to save money every actor had to be absent from at least some episodes. Michele Lee, however, offered to give up her usual salary and film some episodes for union scale. That is why she became the only actor to appear in all three hundred forty-four episodes.
- #003
The cul-de-sac Seaview Circle, the series' signature setting, was actually Crystalaire Place in Granada Hills, a suburban street in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley about twenty miles from the Pacific Ocean. The opening title sequence of the first two seasons was arranged so that the cul-de-sac would appear closer to the ocean. The homeowners allowed filming on the exteriors of the houses, but all interior scenes were shot on a studio sound stage.
- #004
In the first few seasons there was a certain amount of interaction between this series and Dallas (1978), of which it was a spin-off. Gary (Ted Shackelford) and Val (Joan Van Ark) appeared in Dallas' final episode in 1991, when an angel showed J. R. (Larry Hagman) how different their lives would have been if J. R. had never been born.
- #005
At the start of the third season, Don Murray (Sid Fairgate) had decided to leave the series to focus on other projects, though some sources say he left the show because of a contract dispute.
- #006
David Jacobs explained how he came up with the title: "I couldn't find anything to name it, and in my head I was basing it on 'Palos Verdes,' a little peninsula south of Los Angeles that has cul-de-sacs. But it seemed like it could be called a Landing; there are a lot of places in America called a 'landing' on bodies of water, and 'Knots' was a little joke, married people."
- #007
Knots Landing (1979) and its sister series Dallas (1978) each ran for fourteen seasons.
- #008
After Lisa Hartman-Black's character Ciji Dunne was killed at the end of the '82-'83 season, the show was flooded with letters from viewers asking for Lisa Hartman to be brought back. The following season they brought her back as Cathy Geary, a woman who resembled Ciji.
- #009
Joan Van Ark left the series at the end of the thirteenth season to take a role in a sitcom that NBC did not pick up. As a result, she returned a year later for the series finale.
- #010
Although on camera Abby was not a very good friend to Karen or Val, off camera Donna Mills remains close friends with both Michele Lee and Joan Van Ark.
- #011
In February 1992, while Larry Riley had been on the series for five years, viewers were shocked by his gaunt appearance after the show took a five-month break. Riley explained that he had lost eighty kilos (from two hundred twenty) because of a kidney condition he attributed to high blood pressure, and that he would spend the rest of his life on dialysis. After his death four months later, his widow Nina revealed that Larry's kidney failure had actually been caused by AIDS.
- #012
Nearly a year after the series ended, Kevin Dobson (M. "Mack" Patrick Mackenzie) and Nicollette Sheridan (who played his on-screen daughter Paige Matheson) attended the funeral of Telly Savalas, who died of prostate cancer in January 1994. Long before his role on this series, Dobson had starred alongside his mentor in Kojak (1973), and Sheridan was Savalas' real-life stepdaughter.
- #013
Michele Lee (Karen Fairgate MacKenzie), Ted Shackelford (Gary Ewing) and Joan Van Ark (Valene Ewing) are the only actors to appear in both the first and last episodes of the series: Pilot (1979) and Just Like Old Times: Part 2 (1993).
- #014
Lisa Hartman-Black and Stacy Galina played characters who were killed off. They later reappeared in subsequent episodes as new characters. The physical similarities between their characters were part of their storylines.
- #015
Donna Mills claimed that she did all of her own makeup for her character Abby Ewing. In the 1980s, Mills launched her own eye makeup line and training program, The Eyes Have It.
- #016
The ninth-season episodes Noises Everywhere: Part 1 (1987) and Noises Everywhere: Part 2 (1987) were the series' 200th and 201st episodes, respectively. The episodes dealing with the death and funeral of Laura (Constance McCashin) were devised by the cast, who spent a weekend at executive producer David Jacobs' ranch and improvised before filming the scenes.
- #017
A new arrangement of the series' theme music, composed by Jerold Immel, was produced for each season.
- #018
For many years Knots Landing lived in the shadow of its parent show Dallas but never reached the same ratings. However, in the 1988-89 season Knots Landing was ahead of Dallas in the ratings. Dallas was cancelled in 1991, while Knots Landing continued until 1993.
- #019
Before creating Dallas (1978), David Jacobs came up with the concept for this series (five families living on a cul-de-sac) and tried to sell it, but the networks wanted something more saga-like. When Dallas became a success, the network wanted a spin-off. Jacobs abandoned this series idea by making Gary and Val Ewing one of the families.
- #020
When this show first aired, the series did not receive very high ratings, so the producers thought they would bring in several guest stars from Dallas (1978). This did not work either, and it came close to the brink of cancellation.
- #021
After Don Murray left the series, the show's producers wanted Michele Lee's character to remain single for a year, and she did. The producers then hired Kevin Dobson to play her second husband on the series. He stayed until the series was cancelled.
- #022
In Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again (2005), Michele Lee admitted that she fell in love with Kevin Dobson when he started on the series.
- #023
This popular soap opera premiered on CBS on Friday, December 27, 1979, at 10:00 PM EST/9:00 PM PST in the time slot following Dallas (1978). Shortly afterwards, it moved to Thursdays at 10:00 PM EST/9:00 PM PST for the rest of its run.
- #024
Karen is the only character who lives in the same house, in the middle of the cul-de-sac, throughout the entire series.
- #025
The story of the Gary, Val and Abby love triangle was raised by Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark when Donna Mills joined the series. The producers initially postponed the story for more than a year and continued it in 1982.
- #026
Joan Van Ark, whom producers David Jacobs and Michael Filerman had first and only chosen for the role of Valene Ewing starting with Dallas (1978), had not wanted to work in television before that. She did commercial work for Estee Lauder in New York City, and that worked out.
- #027
In an interview, Donna Mills said she chose to leave the series because she was tired of her character. She felt she was no longer challenged enough.
- #028
Speaking to TV Guide, Ted Shackelford said that after receiving offers from NBC or ABC, he requested a place to play a role in his own series. Shackelford planned to leave the series toward the end of the fifth season because his character believed he was dead. However, he later explained that he knew his character was alive, because he still had several years left on his contract until the end of the series.
- #029
When the series first aired, the episodes were largely standalone rather than serialized. From the second season on, the series adopted a hybrid format that was both episodic and serialized, compared with its parent show Dallas (1978), which became fully serialized by the end of the season. Knots became fully serialized in its fourth season.
- #030
Nicolette Sheridan later appeared in Desperate Housewives (2004), where her character resembled Paige Matheson.
- #031
The producers initially had Sid Fairgate survive the car accident. Don Murray asked for his contract to be terminated, so they killed Sid off. Murray later regretted his decision to leave.
- #032
Many famous names began their careers on this series, among them Ted Shackelford, Lisa Hartman-Black, Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton, Alec Baldwin, Marcia Cross, Nicolette Sheridan, Brian Austin Green and Gary Sinise.
- #033
Michele Lee (Karen Fairgate MacKenzie), Ted Shackelford (Gary Ewing) and Joan Van Ark (Valene Ewing) are the only actors to appear in 300 or more episodes of the series: Lee in all 344, Shackelford in 330 and Van Ark in 317.
- #034
In the series' final years, Kevin Dobson had great on-screen and off-screen chemistry with Nicolette Sheridan. In an interview he said he had known her as a little girl through his mentor Telly Savalas.
- #035
The series was the longest-running live-action spin-off in American prime time television history until Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) overtook it with the start of its fifteenth season in September 2013.
- #036
Michele Lee (Karen Fairgate MacKenzie), Ted Shackelford (Gary Ewing) and Joan Van Ark (Valene Ewing) are the only actors to appear in all fourteen seasons. In second place is Pat Petersen (Michael Fairgate), who appeared in every season except the last two.
- #037
After Dallas (1978) ended on 3 May 1991, "Knots Landing" became the longest-running American prime time scripted series then on the air. It held that status until its final episode on 13 May 1993 and was the last series to have premiered in the 1970s. It was succeeded by Cheers (1982), which held the status for only one week before its final episode aired on 20 May 1993.
- #038
M. Patrick MacKenzie's first name is Marion.
- #039
Before the series, Kevin Dobson worked with Joan Van Ark in an episode of Kojak (1973). Van Ark played the female detective who joined the team, to Kojak's horror.
- #040
In the thirteenth season the series suffered a major ratings drop after writers/producers Bernard Lechowick and Lynn Marie Latham left to create Homefront (1991) and creator David Jacobs suffered a health crisis and withdrew from production. Jacobs publicly revealed that he knew the series was in trouble when the waiters at his favourite restaurant, where he had heard gossip about Knots Landing every Friday in past seasons, suddenly stopped discussing the series in late 1991. On 20 November 1991 he halted production, fired head writer John Romano and replaced him with Ann Marcus in an attempt to save the show's reputation.
- #041
The writers wanted Larry Riley to follow Lynne Moody, since Frank Williams' recurring role only a few episodes earlier had been their own recommendation. Moody stayed until her departure in 1990, while Riley was promoted to a regular cast member until his departure in 1992, when he was dying of AIDS.
- #042
The series was up against Hill Street Blues (1981) with its strong male demographic, and it had an almost entirely female cast, so both David Jacobs and Michael Filerman had to find a way to build a male cast, and fortunately hired Kevin Dobson before William Devane joined the cast the following year.
- #043
Since joining the cast for the fourth season, Kevin Dobson appeared in every episode up to the fourteenth and final season, and was asked to take a break for the last four episodes: The Invisible Man (1993) (which he directed), Call Waiting (1993), Hints and Evasions (1993) and My Kingdom for a Horse (1993).
- #044
Constance McCashin was pregnant in real life during each of her storylines. The first was the final title sequence, in which a shot was shown of Daniel (1982) with her real-life son Daniel Weisman, born five months before her on-screen baby Daniel, and the second was in Parental Guidance (1987), when she gave birth to a daughter born only two months before her on-screen baby Marguerite (known as Meg).
- #045
John Pleshette left the series towards the end of the fourth season after writing 8 episodes, hoping to direct the series. When David Jacobs and Michael Filerman would not allow him to direct, Pleshette went elsewhere. He would take the director's chair when he appeared as a guest actor in a two-part episode of the series in the ninth season.
- #046
For the kidnapping storyline Karen had to cut her hair because the actress Michele Lee had cut her hair between seasons.
- #047
Kevin Dobson, a big fan of the series from the beginning, took on the role of M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie, Michele Lee's second husband, in the fourth season after ending his long-term contract with Universal, since he was himself under contract to CBS.
- #048
Before writer Peter Dunne had Linda Gray play the alcoholic storyline on the main Dallas (1978) show, the writers gave Ted Shackelford's character a similar storyline on this series to coincide with Ciji's murder.
- #049
Gary Ewing's real name is Garrison. He was named after his mother's brother.
- #050
After Donna Mills left the series, the Val/Gary story was reworked because viewers were ready to see them together again after their third separation.
- #051
The producers wanted to bring John Pleshette back toward the end of season 13 as part of the Mary Roberson story. Those appearances did not happen because of prior commitments.
- #052
It is the first and only soap opera about middle-class families.
- #053
In addition to stars such as Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark, who played the same characters on "Dallas" and "Knots Landing," many other actors took smaller roles or appeared once on both series as different characters, often many seasons apart. Well-known actors who played different characters on the two series include Brian Dennehy, Clyde Kusatsu, Howard Duff, Joseph Campanella, Dennis Haysbert, Lance Guest, Russell Johnson, Jerry Hardin, Richard Herd, Priscilla Pointer and Edward Winter.
- #054
Across the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, only six actors played the same character on the series: Michele Lee (Karen Fairgate MacKenzie), Ted Shackelford (Gary Ewing), Joan Van Ark (Valene Ewing), Claudia Lonow (Diana Fairgate), Steve Shaw (Eric Fairgate) and Pat Petersen (Michael Fairgate).
- #055
Steve Kahan later played another character, Nick Morrison, on Berrenger's (1985). Like Knots Landing (1979), Berrenger's (1985) was produced by Lorimar Productions. Berrenger's (1985) creator, Diana Gould, was the executive story consultant on Knots Landing (1979) and wrote numerous episodes of the series.
- #056
When Kevin Dobson joined the series, he was initially unhappy with the role. However, his popularity among the cast grew, especially alongside Michele Lee. He worked through his objections and stayed with the series until the end.
- #057
Although Karen Allen was the series' first guest star, Patrick Duffy was also among the first guests in the same episode, though his role was limited.
- #058
Both Mack MacKenzie and Greg Sumner had the same girlfriend, Anne Winston, but Anne gave birth to Paige Matheson, whose father is Mack. Greg later married Anne.
- #059
Michele Lee had a great deal of fun working with Kevin Dobson, and in later years the two created a lot of comedy both on and off camera. In an interview she said he was very sweet, that in real life he absolutely protected his character and himself, and that he was always honest with himself. They remained close friends until his death in 2020.
- #060
Miss Ellie (Gary's mother) was referenced many times on the series, but Barbara Bel Geddes never appeared as a guest star.
- #061
Encouraged by her longtime friend and protector Joan Van Ark, Julie Harris took on the role of Lilimae Clements, Valene Ewing's mother. Initially a recurring role, it became a regular series role in season 4.
- #062
Michele Lee allowed the entire cast to be creative, and when David Jacobs and Michael Filerman found things that did not seem right, they backed off as well.
- #063
When Kevin Dobson learned he would be joining the series, he called Telly Savalas, his mentor from Kojak, to tell him. Savalas was very proud of Dobson for getting the job.
- #064
Bruce Greenwood played Democratic U.S. President John F. Kennedy in the film Thirteen Days (2000). He and William Devane, who played JFK in The Missiles of October (1974), are two actors who have portrayed this American president and who both worked together on the long-running show Knots Landing (1979).
- #065
At first Michele Lee did not want to do the drug story, saying Karen did not have an addiction problem. In the end it was David Jacobs's call that she do the story.
- #066
Chynna Phillips (Michelle Phillips's real-life daughter) was the producers' first choice for the role of Paige Matheson. The role ultimately went to Nicollette Sheridan (Telly Savalas's real-life stepdaughter). Beginning as a recurring role, she took on the lead in season 10 and stayed with the series throughout.
- #067
Before the series, William Devane worked with Joan Van Ark on the TV movie Red Flag: The Ultimate Game (1981). Van Ark played one of the long-suffering wives of two fighter pilots living on the ground. On this series, although both Van Ark and Devane met in season 5 and shared scenes from season 8 onward, they rarely exchanged dialogue with each other.
- #068
The law school professor of Mack and Greg was named Jacobs, a nod to series creator David Jacobs.
- #069
When production on the series was about to begin, David Ackroyd, who had originated the role of Gary Ewing on the parent series Dallas (1978), was unavailable for the part. Ted Shackelford replaced Ackroyd and first appeared in the Dallas episode Return Engagements (1979), which led to this spin-off series.
- #070
The writers said they wanted Karen to talk about what was happening in the world so that Michele Lee could voice her Pollyanna speech.
- #071
At the end of the season, when it aired on CBS, Michele Lee announced a large part of the preview for the two-part series finale, which was broadcast two months after the penultimate episode.
- #072
Kevin Dobson came up with the name Marion Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie because he has a daughter named Mariah and a son named Patrick in real life, and that was how he thought up the two different names he would use when he joined the series.
- #073
So that William Devane could play Senator Gregory Sumner in the series' fifth season, the show had to resolve and complete some of the previous season's exciting storylines, including John Pleshette's departure from the series, even though Devane technically did not join the cast until three episodes later. His character was intended to be a guest star for only 8 episodes. His chemistry with the cast and his popularity among fans changed the producers' minds, and they decided to keep him on the show. Devane stayed until the end of the series.
- #074
Throughout the series, Val and Greg were the only two characters to marry four times; Val married Gary twice. Abby was also a character who married 3 times, to 3 different men.
- #075
Sid Fairgate's real name was William.
- #076
Ted Shackelford (Gary Ewing), Joan Van Ark (Valene Ewing), Larry Hagman (J. R. Ewing), Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing), Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing), Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard) and Eric Farlow (Christopher Ewing) are the only actors to play the same character in both Dallas (1978) and Knots Landing (1979). Except for Crosby and Farlow, all of them also played the same character in Dallas (2012).
- #077
Karen Fairgate MacKenzie's maiden name was Cooper.
- #078
Between seasons 3-8 and 11-14, both the opening and closing title sequences were filmed near the real-life park of the scenes: Torrance Beach in Torrance, California.
- #079
Michele Philips' daughter Chynna would eventually marry William, Alec Baldwin's brother.
- #080
The series began with Gary and Val Ewing's departure from "Dallas." Therefore, because the actors were billed alphabetically, it is ironic that Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark were always (or almost always) last in the cast list.
- #081
Before working at Lotus Point, Karen Fairgate MacKenzie was also a community activist; she was also a member of Knots Landing's environmental board and was working as the manager of Knots Landing Motors when Sid died.
- #082
The house Miss Ellie gave Gary was right next to the home of Karen and Sid Fairgate (later Mack MacKenzie). It was yellow throughout the entire run, but in real life it was silver.
- #083
Richard Avery's law firm did some work for a company connected to Gary Ewing's family, a nod to Dallas (1978), the parent show of Knots Landing, also created by David Jacobs.
- #084
In the same situation as Michele Lee's character, when Don Murray left the series 11 seasons earlier and after Joan Van Ark's departure from the cast, the producers wanted Ted Shackelford's character to remain single in the final season, and unfortunately he stayed that way until Van Ark's signature character returned as a guest star in the series finale.
- #085
For the series' 14th and final season, the production team brought back the classic, sweeping orchestral theme song (first introduced in 1983 during season 5), primarily as a nostalgic nod to the series' glory years and to honor its long legacy as it approached its end.
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