Pacific Palisades is an American soap opera that aired on Fox during prime time from April to July 1997. Produced by Aaron Spelling, the show was canceled after thirteen episodes despite a last-minute attempt to increase ratings by casting Joan Collins as Laura's mother.
The show was originally supposed to be a vehicle for Erika Eleniak. She was due to play the Laura Sinclair role, but turned it down due to the racy scene where the character described as "an aggressive real estate agent" seduces a client to secure an offer. The scene was eventually toned down, with Eleniak still passing, and eventually Kimberley Davies was cast.
Contents
Summary
Set in the Los Angeles district of the same name, the series follows the lives of young professionals who have it all, but haven't paid for it yet, on the Southern California fast track to fame, fortune, scandal and ruin.
The cast of characters includes Joanna (Michelle Stafford) and Nick Hadley (Jarrod Emick), a young married couple who left their native Midwest for the Pacific Coast where Nick has landed a job as an architect; Joanna's troubled teenage sister Rachel Whittaker (Natalia Cigliuti) – later discovered to be her illegitimate daughter at the end of the series; Rachel's friends Ashley (Jennifer Banko) and Michael (J. Trevor Edmond) who excel in sneakiness; Robert (Greg Evigan) and Kate Russo (Finola Hughes), whose sterling life is beginning to tarnish; Jessica Mitchell (Jocelyn Seagrave), a rising professional whose choice of men leads to trouble; Matt Dunning (Lucky Vanous), a construction businessman with a dark side; Laura Sinclair (Kimberley Davies), a real estate agent who does whatever it takes to close a deal; Cory Robbins (Joel Wyner and then Dylan Neal), a promising but manipulative plastic surgeon; and beautiful Beth Hooper (Brittney Powell), who rents an apartment from Laura and is being romanced by Cory.
Cast
Main
Natalia Cigliuti as Rachel Whittaker
Kimberley Davies as Laura Sinclair
Trevor Edmond as Michael Kerris (episode 7–13, recurring episodes 1–6)
Jarrod Emick as Nick Hadley
Greg Evigan as Robert Russo
Finola Hughes as Kate Russo
Dylan Neal as Cory Robbins #2 (episode 7–13)
Brittney Powell as Beth Hooper
Jocelyn Seagrave as Jessica Mitchell
Michelle Stafford as Joanna Hadley
Lucky Vanous as Matt Dunning
Joel Wyner as Cory Robbins #1 (episodes 1–6)
Joan Collins as Christina Hobson (episodes 4–6, 10–13, credited as "special guest star")
Recurring
Gianni Russo as Frank Nichols
Paul Satterfield as John Graham
Daphne Ashbrook as Julie Graham
Guests
Antoinette Byron as Hobson's daughter (1 episode)
Daniel Dae Kim as Kate's Attorney (1 episode)
Linda Cardellini as Sarah (2 episodes)