Donna Mills is best known for her portrayal of Abby Fairgate Cuningham, the manipulative sister of Valene Ewing, a role she began to play in 1980 when she joined the cast of the Primetime television series Knots Landing in its second season. Her character quickly gained acceptance and was as a matter of fact named the Best Villainess three times in a row by the Soap Opera Digest. Despite her success and recognition on the show, the 84-year-old left abruptly at the end of the 10th season.
In a new interview, Mills recently opened up about her reasons for stepping away from the hit ’80s soap and her thoughts on a potential reboot.
Donna Mills explains the reason she left ‘Knots Landing’
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During her appearance on Harvey Brownstone’s Podcast, Mills revealed the primary reason for leaving the popular sitcom. She explained that after eight to nine years of playing the same role, she noticed that the writers were struggling to develop fresh and compelling storylines for her.
Mills acknowledged that the writers had simply exhausted their ideas for Abby, leaving little room for further growth or engaging narratives. She decided to step away honorably because she could not wait to see her character undergo a decline in quality or stagnate due to lackluster writing.
Donna Mills shares her idea about a possible reboot of ‘Knots Landing’
With reboots of previous shows now dominating modern entertainment, fans of Knots Landing have long wondered if the soap would make a comeback.
The fans are not alone in their thoughts as Mills also revealed that she has, over the years, reflected on the potential of reviving the iconic show, especially with hopes that the writers could make use of a storyline that she has in her mind. The Secret Storm actress explained that the narrative could be woven around her character, Abby, who has now fallen on hard times, having lost her way in the business world and ending up homeless. She is of the belief that this plot twist would create an engaging arc, allowing audiences to witness Abby’s courage and determination as she struggles to pick up her life from the ground up.