When the Dynasty reboot came to life in 2017, there were several noticeable differences between the original and the remake, one being that one of the main characters in the series, Sammy Jo, did not only gender swap, but Sam is a gay Latinx man. Sam was first introduced in season 1, episode 1, “I Hardly Recognized You.” Born in Caracas, Venezuela, he was raised by his mother and aunt, Celia Machado (better known as Cristal). Sam travels to the United States to attend Cristal’s wedding to the billionaire, Blake Carrington. On this trip, he meets his eventual first husband, Steven Carrington.
Sam and Steven first meet at a bar that leads to a spontaneous hookup while Sam is looking for a way to get into Cristal’s wedding. This doesn’t go exactly as planned, as they develop feelings for one another and Sam moves into the Carrington residence permanently to be with Steven. The pair share several ups and downs including, Sam finding himself in a sticky situation when Ted Dinard, one of Steven’s long-term exes, comes to town looking to rekindle his relationship with Steven. Sam ends up having a one-night stand with Ted. However, in the season finale of season 1, Sam and Steven officially get married.
But during season 2 of the show, their relationship gets tested once again. Steven suffers from drug issues as well as rumored infidelity, having a child with a woman; Steven is later proven innocent as he is not the biological father of the baby. However, when Sam is looking for a nanny to take care of the baby before Steven’s innocence is proven, he enlists the help of his tattoo artist, Manuel. Sam fights his temptations hard and ends up firing Manuel. He loves Steven and doesn’t want to hurt him. However, they decide to file for divorce so that Steven can focus on himself. In episode 18, Sam throws a masquerade party to unmask his new identity as a single man.
In season 3, to celebrate Fallon’s bachelorette, Sam tags along on the trip but they get an unwelcomed gift when they are roofied by Mistress Delphine. Because of this, they don’t remember anything that happened the night prior when they wake the next day. Soon they find out that Sam had gotten married to Ryan.
As far as season 4 goes, so far, Sam has rekindled his relationship with Ryan. As we previously mentioned, the two were briefly married in season 3 before Sam suggested an annulment. It doesn’t last very long because they quickly get back together to see where it can really lead them this time. It’s clear Ryan wants to take it slow while Sam wants to give him all the glitz and glamour that money and life can offer, but Ryan teaches him how to refrain and just focus on the two of them.
Sam has undergone a tremendous amount of growth as a character in just four seasons. He is a successful businessman and a caring friend to those around him. Now that he’s got everything money can buy, he wants what it can’t, also, and that’s real true love. After Sam and Steven’s divorce, Sam nor his sexuality were put on the backburner. The original Dynasty was one of the first prime-time television shows to put a bisexual (later coming out as gay) man on television. Decades later and Sam is a main character not sidelined for the sake of inclusivity.
One of the admirable things about the way the writers chose to portray this version of Sammy Jo is that there is no question that Sam is gay from the very beginning, and his family nor the Carringtons have any reservations about this fact. A stark contrast to the original when Blake had a disdain towards his son Steven for being gay. And, because the importance can’t truly be emphasized enough, Sam is a Latinx man. The community is chock-full of diversity with a vast amount of cultures and identities that deserve to be championed on screen as well.
Stay tuned for the next installment of our Pride Month series tomorrow!
