was written off the series in season four.
Development Dynasty was renewed for a fourth season on January 7, 2020. Production of the
third season was suspended in March 2020 as a direct result of the
COVID-19 pandemic, and the filming of only 20 of the 22 ordered episodes of the season had been completed at that time. It was later confirmed that the 20th episode of the season, "
My Hangover's Arrived", would serve as the season three finale.
Showrunner Josh Reims, hoping to use reworked versions of the two unproduced scripts to start the fourth season, said in May 2020 these episodes feature Fallon and Liam's wedding; Blake going to war with Alexis, Jeff and Adam; Sam's new relationship with Ryan; and the return of the Moldavians. It was reported that if production resumed by late fall 2020, season four would be expected to premiere in spring 2021 or later, and The CW's president
Mark Pedowitz announced that all of the network's series would be producing "our normal episodic counts" for the post-pandemic season which indicates a full season of 22-24 episodes. Production on the fourth season officially began on October 15, 2020. On November 5, 2020,
Daniella Alonso revealed on a podcast that she was pregnant with her first child; she further verified her real-life pregnancy would not be affecting Cristal's storyline in any capacity, and she would go on maternity leave a week prior to production shutting down for winter hiatus. On February 3, 2021, ahead of its fourth season premiere, The CW renewed the series for a fifth season. On April 28, 2021,
Variety announced
Elizabeth Gillies would make her directorial debut during the season.
Grant Show directed the sixteenth episode of the season. On September 10, 2021, Gillies made her directorial debut with the eighteenth episode of the season. On June 3, 2021, showrunner Josh Reims described the fourth season as a "rollercoaster ride" for Cristal, "She and Blake have to figure out how to move forward in their marriage after both cheated; her brother Beto will pay a surprise visit, upending her life and bringing out the dark side of Cristal once more; and in her biggest challenge yet, she has to deal with a medical situation that becomes much worse than anyone expected..."
Casting Alonso had previously been the third Cristal cast in as many seasons. In May 2020, Reims confirmed that she would be back for season four, saying "I kind of wanted to do this thing—which I still might do—where we pretend at the beginning of the season that we're getting another new Cristal. But I don't want to scare Daniella. She's so great in the role, and I'm so excited that she's coming back." The casting of Kara Royster as Fallon's new assistant, Eva, was announced in May 2021. In June 2021, showrunner Josh Reims revealed that
Geovanni Gopradi would return as Cristal's brother, Beto.
Michael Fairman also reported
Laura Leighton's casting in the guest role of Corinne Simon, an
SEC officer. Original cast member Dale's character Anders was killed off in the August 2021 episode "
Go Rescue Someone Else", but the actor continues to appear on the series as a fantasy of other characters. The casting of
Eliza Bennett as Alexis's secret daughter by Blake,
Amanda Carrington, was announced in August 2021.
NeNe Leakes appeared as a version of herself in the August 2021 episode "
The British Are Coming". ==Broadcast==