Donna Mills Reveals Why She Left – and Returned – to ‘Knots Landing’
What To Know
- Donna Mills left Knots Landing in 1989 to exit her character Abby while she was still strong and “on top.”
- She returned for the series finale out of love for the show and its creator, David Jacobs.
- Mills has reunited with her Knots Landing co-stars for the podcast “We’re Knot Done Yet,” and continues to engage with fans who remember Abby’s iconic moments and lines.
Knots Landing is not only considered by many to be the best of primetime serials of the 1980s and early 90s, but it’s also the nighttime soap opera that had the best finale!
Not only was Valene (Joan Van Ark) revealed to be alive, but Abby (Donna Mills), who had moved to Japan at the end of Season 10, returned to Knots Landing and was revealed as the business partner of Season 14 villain Nigel Treadwell (Daniel Gerroll).
The threat of Treadwell was removed, and Abby, appropriately, returned to the cul-de-sac, moving into Claudia’s (Kathleen Noone) old house. Val gripped Gary’s (Ted Shackleford) arm a little more tightly, and Karen’s (Michele Lee) knowing look into the camera was the perfect chef’s kiss!
ReMIND Magazine caught up with Mills on the red carpet at a screening of A Murder Between Friends, which stars Joan Collins (Alexis, Dynasty) and Jacob Young (ex-Lucky, General Hospital) to chat with her about Knots Landing.
“I’m here for Joan,” Mills told ReMIND with a smile. “We’ve been friends for a long time.”
CBS /Courtesy Everett Collection
What’s keeping Mills busy? She’s reunited with her Knots co-stars Lee and Van Ark for the podcast We’re Knot Done Yet.
Knots Landing fans can relive Gary and Valene moving into the cul-de-sac, Sid Fairgate’s (Don Murray) death, Karen moving forward and finding love again with M. Patrick “Mac” McKenzie (Kevin Dobson), the kidnapping of Val’s twins, Laura’s (Constance McCashin) death, and much more!
In 1993, after 14 seasons, it was time for Knots to conclude. Some nighttime serial finales left viewers feeling unsatisfied. Leading up to finales, beloved characters had been killed off or written out as budgets began to shrink. Knots, however, gave us the ending we wanted in a two-part finale, appropriately titled “Seems Like Old Times,” with the returns of Val and Abby.
CBS / courtesy Everett Collection
Why did Mills reprise Abby for the finale?
“I always loved the show,” Mills says. “I love David Jacobs [the series late creator/executive producer], and I would have done anything for him. When I left [in 1989], I said to him, ‘You know, I really want to leave. I don’t want to renegotiate.’ He said, ‘Okay, but if you ever want to come back…’”
Mills wanted Abby to leave while she was still in the winners’ circle. “The character was always so strong,” she says. “I thought, ‘I want to leave her on top.’”
After leaving TV’s most famous cul-de-sac, Mills went on to star in and produce some nighttime movies, including The World’s Oldest Living Bridesmaid, Runaway Father, In My Daughter’s Name, and My Name Is Kate.
Mario Casilli / TV Guide / ©CBS / courtesy Everett Collection
Mills also returned for the 1997 reunion mini-series Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac. Her other credits include General Hospital (as Madeline Reeves), Nip/Tuck, Dirty, Sexy, Money, and Doctor Odyssey.
All 14 seasons of Knots Landing being available (on streaming and for purchase) has helped fans of the show remember Abby’s classic zingers. Mills says that occasionally devotees of the show will ask her to recite a famous line or two, like “the Abby scale” line.
That, of course, refers to the time Abby told Paige (Nichollette Sheridan) that her shenanigans had earned her a “6” on the “Abby scale.”
A six! Wasn’t that, well, a tad generous given how epic Abby is?
“In hindsight, yes, it was,” chuckles Mills.
A Murder Between Friends is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and other VOD (Video on Demand) platforms.
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