''Secrets of Midland Heights'' is an American nighttime

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

produced by

Lorimar Productions Lorimar Television, formerly Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969

after the success of ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

''. It ran on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

from December 6, 1980 to January 24, 1981 for eight episodes, with three episodes left unaired.

Series overview

''Secrets of Midland Heights'' was aimed at the teen audience, and featured romantic triangles and secrets among the teens and their parents who populated a fictional midwestern college town called Midland Heights. Aired on Saturday night at 10 pm EST/9 pm Central, the series never found an audience and was canceled after eight episodes. The show resembled a dark, 1980s-style '' Peyton Place'', both dealing with hidden secrets and scandalous affairs in a small town. Lisa Rogers (

Linda Hamilton Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. Known for portraying tough, resilient characters, she made her film debut in 1979 before achieving fame with her starring role as Sarah Connor (Terminator), Sarah Connor i ...

) juggled relationships with both college jock Burt Carroll (

Lorenzo Lamas Lorenzo Fernando Lamas (born January 20, 1958) is an American actor and producer. He is widely known for his role of Lance Cumson, the irresponsible grandson of Angela Channing—played by Jane Wyman—in the soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981� ...

) and fratboy Mark Hudson (Bill Thornbury, in a recurring role), good girl heiress Ann Dulles (

Doran Clark Doran Clark (born August 8, 1954) is an American actress. Early life and education Clark was born to actress/model Audrey Caire and William Clark. She has two sisters and two brothers, including actress Louise Clark Goddard (of the Harry and L ...

) secretly dated high school dropout John Grey (

Jim Youngs Jim Youngs (born October 13, 1956) is an American actor. Early life Youngs was born in Old Bethpage, New York, the brother of actor John Savage and journalist Robin Young. Career He appeared in such films as '' The Wanderers'', ''Footloose'' ...

), Holly Wheeler (played by Linda Grovenor in the pilot, and subsequently by Marilyn Jones) wanted to lose her virginity to her boyfriend Teddy Welsh (Daniel Zippi), but the teens were shocked to discover her mother Dorothy (

Bibi Besch Bibi Besch (born Bibiana Maria Köchert; February 1, 1942 – September 7, 1996) was an Austrian-American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Dr. Carol Marcus in the science fiction film '' Star Trek II: T ...

) was having an affair with Teddy's father Nathan ( Robert Hogan), a widowed professor at the college. There were also power struggles between the wealthy Millington family, one of Midland Heights' founding families, consisting of the widowed Margaret and her son Guy, and the equally wealthy and powerful Wheelers. The show was produced by David Jacobs, Lee Rich and Michael Filerman, all of whom worked on other serial dramas like '' Flamingo Road'' and ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...

''. When ''Secrets of Midland Heights'' was pulled from the schedule, the producers stated that the show would be retooled and make a return in some form. Many of the same performers and production staff returned to ABC the following season in the different serial ''

King's Crossing ''King's Crossing'' is an American nighttime soap opera which aired on ABC from January 16 to February 27, 1982 for seven episodes. The show was originally conceived by Lorimar Productions as a retooling of the cancelled CBS drama '' Secrets of ...

'', which similarly had a short run. After the demise of the series, actor Lorenzo Lamas would join the cast of the soap ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...

''.

Cast and characters

as Dorothy Wheeler *

Jordan Christopher Jordan Christopher (October 23, 1940 – January 21, 1996) was an American actor and singer. He was the lead singer of The Wild Ones, who recorded the original version of the rock classic " Wild Thing" after Christopher had left the band. Earl ...

as Guy Millington * Robert Hogan as Nathan Welsh * William Jordan as Martin Wheeler *

Mark Pinter Mark Pinter (born March 7, 1950) is an American actor best known for his numerous roles in daytime soap operas. Early life and education Pinter was born in Decorah, Iowa. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre arts from Iowa State Univers ...

as Calvin Richardson * Linda Grovenor (pilot only) & Marilyn Jones as Holly Wheeler * Daniel Zippi as Teddy Welsh *

as Ann Dulles *

as John Gray *

as Lisa Rogers *

as Burt Carroll * Stephen Manley as Danny Welsh *

Melora Hardin Melora Diane Hardin Jackson (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's ''The Office'' (2005–2013), Trudy Monk on USA Network's ''Monk'' (2004–2009), and Tammy Cashman o ...

as Micki Carroll *

Martha Scott Martha Ellen Scott (September 22, 1912 – May 28, 2003) was an American actress. She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille’s '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956), and William Wyler's ''Ben-Hur'' (1959). Martha played the mother of ...

as Margaret Millington

Episodes

References

{{reflist 1980 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings American television soap operas American primetime television soap operas Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios American English-language television shows