The Hamptons is a prime-time soap opera which ran for five episodes on ABC during the summer of 1983. The show centered on the wealthy Chadway and Duncan-Mortimer families, who commuted between the affluent Long Island community, and their jointly owned department store chain in Manhattan.[1]
The show aired Wednesday nights ahead of reruns of Dynasty. Its storylines were driven by the rivalry between the Chadway and Duncan-Mortimer families, as each family aimed to gain control of the Duncan-Chadway department chain. The Chadways included Peter Chadway, managing director of Duncan-Chadway, his wife Lee, son Brian and daughter Miranda. The Duncan-Mortimers were headed by Adrienne, an alcoholic heiress, her husband Jay, president of Duncan-Chadway, and Tracy, her daughter from a previous marriage who is engaged to Brian.[3] Also featured were Dr. David Landau, his lawyer girlfriend Cheryl Ashcroft, and rival businessman Nick Atwater of the Syndrex conglomerate. Fran Carlon appeared in a recurring role as Ada, the family housekeeper.
By the fifth and final episode, Peter Chadway was accused of murdering Penny Drake (Jada Rowland), the store's personnel director, and Jay Mortimer was exposed as having forced his stepdaughter Tracy into an incestuous relationship. It was hoped if that if ratings were strong, the series would return to the ABC schedule at some point. However, no further episodes were produced and the cliffhangers were left unresolved.[4]
^Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Ballantine Books, 2007.
^Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.