“Love and Secrets of Sunset Beach” (actors: L. Gatterman, S. Ward, C. Robertson, S. Buxton, S. Behrens) is an American television “soap opera” that centered on the life of a group of people from the city of Sunset Beach located in California.
The most expensive TV project of the 90s
The daytime series was another attempt by television people of the 90s to raise the declining popularity of “carts,” oriented primarily to young audiences. Together with NBC, the project was produced by the well-known Aaron Spelling. The production budget at the time of the broadcast was a million dollars a week, the soap opera was considered a potential hit, so it went all the way through the channel. Being the most expensive series for that time period, Love and Secrets of Sunset Beach (actors, creators, producers, the entire crew) instantly attracted the attention of the media and viewers in the first months after the broadcast, but quickly lost its ratings. However, he managed to win two Emmy awards and was marked by various awards and nominations, their number exceeded thirty.
Plot
In the center of the story is the story of a three-year period from the life of the inhabitants of Southern California. The main characters are the wealthy Richards family, the loving but unhappy beauty Meg Cummings and the mysterious Ben Evans, the Torres family and their environment. The feature of the series was a sharp contrast between horror and fun, tragedy and comedy, sarcasm, irony, nightmares of life and mental torment, fantasy and sketch parody. That is, the characters alternately experienced ups and downs: when one half triumphed, had fun and enjoyed life, the second experienced a real nightmare, and later the situation turned completely opposite. Such was the structure of the narrative of the series Love and Secrets of Sunset Beach. The actors involved in the work on the project were pleased with the opportunity to show their dramatic talent to the fullest.
Acting casting. Largest star
Aaron Spelling's name as executive producer played a role. The television series gathered a brilliant casting for his launch, which was not previously observed on the daytime broadcast. The most famous star was deservedly considered Leslie-Anne Down, who more than successfully starred in big movies and all kinds of TV shows of the 70-80s. The actress received a personal offer from Spelling to take part in the filming. Perhaps, to some extent, the choice of producer was due to the fact that she lived near the planned location of the shoot. Moreover, after the fleeting success, Leslie in the 90s played the roles of girlfriends or wives of the main characters, moreover, in failed films, which affected her fees. Leslie-Anne Down throughout the series played the role of Olivia Blake Richards - a socialite, suffering from alcoholism. Many leading film critics compared her character with Alexis Colby performed by Joan Collins from the grandiose soap opera of the 80s Dynasty. According to Down herself, at the beginning of her career she was really often confused with Collins, maybe because both actresses are from England.
Constellation of scene masters
Sam Behrens, an American television actor, previously known as the new husband Valin Ewing (Joan Van Ark) in the television project Quiet Pier, was convincingly played by Olivia’s wife, Gregory Richards. He is known to the viewer for his roles in the daily television series Hope Ryan, “Main Hospital” and, of course, “Love and Secrets of Sunset Beach.” Actors working shoulder to shoulder with eminent performers, also boast of achievements in the acting field. Taylor-Young Lee, Emmy Laureate, played the role of Olivia's girlfriend Elaine Stevens. Acting casting was adorned by Kathleen Noon from Quiet Wharf as Betty Katzenkazarkkhakh and Carol Potter from the popular youth Beverly Hills, who played the character Joan Cummings.
Main protagonist
For the role of young heroes, for the most part, much less well-known performers were invited. Susan Ward, who became famous after playing the villain in the series “The Coast of Malibu,” in “Sunset Beach” got the role of the main protagonist Meg Cummings. The young actress, like her heroine, truly believed in love, which conquered Spelling at the interview. The series became for her the most significant starting point in her acting career, he made Susan a star. To participate in the project, the girl had to move to Los Angeles.
Protagonist and villain
The main male role was played by British television and film actor Clive Robertson. He came to Hollywood on vacation, for three weeks did not receive a single offer, and before leaving decided to go to the casting for Spelling. The producer at the last moment approves the actor for the role. Clive played not only Ben Evans, but also another character - Derek's twin brother. After the show, Robertson was included in the list of the sexiest television actors. And the main villain, inciting hostility and provoking a quarrel, was Sarah Buxton, who played the role of the extraordinary Annie Douglas Richards.