What Happened to the “Knots Landing” Cast?

Makena GeraThu, August 6, 2026 at 10:30 AM UTC

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The cast of ‘Knots Landing’Credit: CBS/Getty

The majority of the Knots Landing cast remained in the Hollywood spotlight long after the beloved soap opera came to an end in 1993.

The Dallas spinoff aired on CBS from 1979 to 1993. Over the course of 14 seasons, the show followed the daily dramas of four married couples living in a coastal suburb of Los Angeles. After the finale, CBS released a two-part miniseries titled Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac that aired in 1997.

Though the cast of Knots Landing shifted over the years, many actors appeared in hundreds of episodes, including Michele Lee, Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, Donna Mills, Kevin Dobson and William Devane.

Mills most recently made headlines when she joined OnlyFans at the age of 85. Other Knots Landing alumni have led quieter lives since the conclusion of the show, such as Constance McCashin, who pivoted careers to become a therapist.

Here’s everything to know about where the cast of Knots Landing is now.

01 of 09

Michele Lee

Michele Lee in ‘Knots Landing’; Michele Lee in March 2026Credit: Getty(2)

Lee played Karen Fairgate MacKenzie in Knots Landing. She appeared in all 344 episodes of the soap opera and later returned for Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac, a two-part miniseries that served as a follow-up to the original show.

Lee was married to fellow actor James Farentino when she began Knots Landing, and even used her real-life wedding ring for an emotional scene related to her character’s husband’s death in season 2.

Lee and Farentino welcomed one child together, son David, before divorcing in 1983. Four years later, Lee married producer Fred Rappoport.

After the end of Knots Landing in 1993, Lee continued her acting career with a role in the 2004 rom-com Along Came Polly and appearances in TV shows like Will & Grace and See Dad Run. In the spring of 2025, she launched the We’re Knot Done Yet podcast with former Knots Landing costars Van Ark and Mills.

02 of 09

Ted Shackelford

Ted Shackelford in ‘Knots Landing’; Ted Shackelford in October 2013Credit: Getty(2)

Shackelford played Gary Ewing, a character who also appeared in Dallas. Originally played by Dan Ackroyd, the part was recast for the spinoff when the original show ended in 1978.

After Knots Landing ended, Shackelford joined the cast of another long-running soap opera: The Young and the Restless. The actor played twins William and Jeffrey Bardwell on the show from 2006 to 2015. He also appeared in a few episodes of TNT’s Dallas revival in 2013.

Shackelford was married to his first wife, Janis Leverenz, from 1976 to 1987. He tied the knot with Annett Wolf in 1991.

03 of 09

Joan Van Ark

Joan Van Ark in ‘Knots Landing’; Joan Van Ark in June 2024Credit: Getty(2)

Van Ark made her mark as Gary’s wife Valene on Dallas, Knots Landing and the Back to the Cul-de-Sac miniseries. The onscreen couple got married and divorced twice before tying the knot for a third and final time in season 12 of Knots Landing.

“It was a marriage made in heaven,” Van Ark said on theWe’re Knot Done Yet podcast in April 2025. “I love him so much. He was perfect, and I was my usual crazy.”

After the conclusion of the soap opera, the actress landed a recurring role on The Young and the Restless. She also appeared in one episode of the 2013 Dallas reboot, and currently hosts We’re Knot Done Yet alongside Lee and Mills.

04 of 09

Donna Mills

Donna Mills in ‘Knots Landing’; Donna Mills in April 2024Credit: CBS via Getty; Unique Nicole/Getty

Mills, who played Gary’s second wife Abby, “took off 18 years” after the conclusion of Knots Landing to raise her daughter, Chloe. The actress welcomed Chloe via adoption when she was 54 in 1994.

“I was very concentrated on my career, but at a certain point, I realized there was something missing — it was a child,” Mills told PEOPLE in May 2022. “So I went after it. I adopted her when she was four days old.”

Following her hiatus, Mills returned to the screen with roles in shows like Hilton Head Island and General Hospital. She also played Bonnie Clayton in Jordan Peele’s 2022 thriller, Nope.

More recently, Mills made headlines when she joined OnlyFans at the age of 85 in July 2026.

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“For me, it’s just one more way to spend quality time with the people who’ve made my career possible, while always staying true to myself,” she told PEOPLE.

05 of 09

Kevin Dobson

Kevin Dobson in ‘Knots Landing’; Kevin Dobson in June 2016Credit: Everett; Getty

Dobson, who played Patrick “Mack” McKenzie on Knots Landing, died on Sept. 6 2020, after a long career in Hollywood. His cause of death was complications of an autoimmune deficiency that led to heart failure, per his brother.

The actor joined the cast of the show in season 4 and went on to star in other soap operas like The Bold and The Beautiful and Days of Our Lives. He welcomed three children with his wife, Susan Greene, and also had five grandchildren, according to The New York Times.

“One of the truly good guys in the business,” Mills said in a statement shared with Entertainment Tonight at the time of Dobson’s death. “A wonderful actor. A shining presence on the set. Funny and fun to be around, I will miss him so much.”

06 of 09

William Devane

William Devane in ‘Knots Landing’; William Devane in May 2014Credit: Shutterstock; Getty

Devane joined Knots Landing as Greg Sumner in the show’s fifth season. He continued working in Hollywood after the show’s end and had roles in films like The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar.

The actor also appeared in several seasons of 24 as James Heller. Most recently, he played billionaire businessman Whitney Vance in the first season of Bosch: Legacy.

07 of 09

Nicollette Sheridan

Nicollette Sheridan in ‘Knots Landing’; Nicollette Sheridan in November 2023Credit: Getty(2)

Nicollette Sheridan, who played Paige Matheson on Knots Landing, found fame again on Desperate Housewives in the early aughts. The actress played Edie Britt in the latter series. After her character was killed off in 2009, Sheridan filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the show’s creator Marc Cherry and ABC, per Entertainment Weekly.

“I was the victim of assault and battery on the set of Desperate Housewives by the creator of the show, my boss,” Sheridan told the outlet in March 2018. “I reported him and was retaliated against for doing so and fired. That is against the law.”

Cherry, for his part, issued a statement via his reps to the outlet: “Nicolette Sheridan was not a victim at the hands of Marc Cherry — a court has already ruled to that effect after hearing the testimony of multiple witnesses.”

The lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in 2017. The following year, Sheridan joined the cast of Dynasty. She played Alexis Carrington on the Netflix drama from 2018 to 2019.

Sheridan was married to Harry Hamlin — who is now married to Lisa Rinna — from 1991 to 1992. In December 2015, Sheridan married actor Aaron Phypers, and the two separated in 2016. Their divorce was finalized two years later.

08 of 09

Constance McCashin

Constance McCashin in ‘Knots Landing’; Constance McCashin in April 2009Credit: Everett; Getty

McCashin, who played Laura Avery Sumner on Knots Landing, has since changed career paths to become a therapist.

McCashin starred in the show from 1979 to 1987. She was written off when her character died from a brain tumor in season 9. After Knots Landing, McCashin had a few roles in shows and movies like Family Ties, Brooklyn Bridge and In the Heat of the Night.

While filming Brooklyn Bridge in the early 1990s, McCashin went back to school and got her masters in psychology, followed by her masters in social work, per her LinkedIn. She currently works at a private practice in Newton, Mass.

09 of 09

Kim Lankford

Kim Lankford in ‘Knots Landing’; Kim Lankford in the 2015 HBO documentary ‘The Jinx’Credit: Everett; HBO

Kim Lankford played Ginger Ward on the first four seasons of Knots Landing and returned for the Back to the Cul-de-Sac miniseries.

In March 2025, the actress recalled getting written off the show in a conversation with former costar McCashin hosted by Type-Cast.

“There is the heartbreak when something that you think is going to move forward and develop is just cut short,” Lankford said. “I always loved going to work. I always loved being there. I loved my people, our cast — I loved everything about the show.”

After Knots Landing, Lankford had roles in Cheers, The Love Boat, Land’s End and Chicago Hope, among other shows. She also starred in the TV movie Dead of Winter: The Donner Party as Tamsen Donner in 2015.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”