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The CW has announced Telenovela star Ana Brenda Contreras (Lo imperdonable, Blue Demon) will join the cast of Dynasty as the “real” Cristal Flores for the second season. The recast twist follows the exit of original star Nathalie Kelley in the season one finale.
In June, Kelley surprised Dynasty fans when she revealed her shock exit in interview with E! Australia, saying: “I won’t be returning for season 2…I don’t know storyline[-wise] what they’ll do. Is it a coma? Is it death? Is it who knows? I actually don’t know, but I know that I’m not going to Atlanta in July, that I’m staying here [in L.A.], and I’ve got my life back.”
CW president Mark Pedowtiz commented on Nathalie Kelley’s exit and the decision to recast during an executive session at the summer Television Critics Association. “We were a little surprised she spoiled the surprise.”
He noted the plans to recast Crystal came up midseason. “It’s a wild soap. It’s like a telenovela. You do things that make sense for the moment based on where the storyline’s going. That’s really all it’s about.”
During the first season, it was revealed that Kelley’s Cristal Flores was really Celia Machado. Celia fled Venezuela to America after mistakenly believing she murdered her brother-in-law, took on a new identity and tried to erase her past. Contreras joining as the “real” Cristal sets up a possible explanation as to how Celia assumed her identity. In the season finale, Celia/Cristal was shot and left to die in a fire by an unhinged Claudia (Brianna Brown) as payback for the Carrington’s machinations against her family.
Contreras recently starred in the Univision drama Por Amar Sin Ley.
Dynasty returns October 12.
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