The Waltons Creator's Other Hit Show Was A Much Darker '80s Primetime Soap Opera

Looking back on the history of television, it's hard to imagine a more humble and well-meaning family than the Waltons. Across nine seasons of "The Waltons" on CBS, fans saw the titular family make the most out of what they had in the post-depression Virginia mountains. Created by Earl Hamner Jr., who also served as the narrator, the show was very wholesome, but the same cannot be said about his follow-up. In 1981, just a few months after "The Waltons" came to an end, Hamner Jr.'s new series "Falcon Crest" premiered. It was everything "The Waltons" was not: A primetime soap opera about feuding families fighting over immeasurable wealth in Californian wine country.

In an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, Hamner Jr. admitted that he intended to pull the rug out from under viewers with his next show, and it worked. He said: "Someone once said to me how can you do 'Falcon Crest' after 'The Waltons,' and I said, 'Everybody has a good side and a bad side, and this one comes from my wicked side.' But I loved doing it." Audiences loved it, too: Like "The Waltons," "Falcon Crest" ran for nine years, starting off as a top 20 show before moving into the top 10 by its second season. Mariska Hargitay had an early starring role in "Falcon Crest," which, paired with "Dallas," made CBS the undisputed leader in the primetime soap arena during the '80s.

The setting of "Falcon Crest" is Tuscany Valley, a fictional wine region located northeast of San Francisco that's quite overtly modeled on the real Napa Valley. Earl Hamner Jr. was inspired to create a soap opera set in such an intoxicating place after reading about the world of vineyards in California. "I remember that I read an article in Time magazine about the wine industry and it sparked an idea," he told the Television Academy Foundation. "And so I went up to the Napa Valley and spent a wonderful weekend. And I came back and created some characters."

One of those characters would become Angela Channing, who TVLine counts among the best television villains of all time. Jane Wyman was cast in the role, and she became vital to the show's success, providing some invaluable input after the first pilot failed to impress. "It was dreadful," Wyman said during an interview for "Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era," adding that she "virtually produced the second pilot," which featured a more formidable Angela. "She now only wore the best. Story lines were hardened."

Just like Angela Channing ruled over the Falcon Crest Winery, Jane Wyman was the boss on set. "When I was on that show, I said, 'I'm watching Jane, I'm a diva in training,' because she was both things: She did want to be with the crew and she knew everybody's name, but she was the queen of that show," co-star Susan Sullivan told Entertainment Weekly. Wyman died at the age of 90 in 2007, making her one of the greatest actors to never win an Emmy.