The series certainly started out with its share of deception. Desperate to cling to the only love she had ever known, Monica Crawford devised a way to pull Bo Coleson away from his wife, Lindsey and this time it would be for good. Her plan to artificially inseminate herself with his sperm would be quite a dangerous task- but knowing Monica, no task was too big to handle. In a loveless marriage to Sam Crawford, Monica positioned herself to break away from the Crawford name by carrying a Coleson child (A family which had deep turmoil with the Crawfords).
At this time, Monica already had two children she was caring for. Adam, whom had just turned nineteen, was only in his first year of college and still wasn't sufficient enough to live on his own. Meanwhile, Kaylee, at the tender age of sixteen, had enough spunk of her own and craved independence like her mother. At the formative age of sixteen, Kaylee would have her share of luckless romances that forced her to have trust issues at quite a young age.
Kaylee's first boyfriend, Brandon, would eventually come out of the closet as bisexual. Although the revelation hit her like a ton of bricks, she eventually came through things with her head held high and the two would become friends. Meanwhile, her own brother Adam was dealing with his own sexuality. At the time Adam was dating Mindy Harbor, a childhood friend that had stayed close with him all of these years. She could have never imagined that she would catch her boyfriend with another man by the time the year came to a close.
The other man that Adam was found with was none other than the grandson of an infamous mob family, Tony Maravalli. Forced into the closet by a very unforgiving family, Tony felt his share of torture as he lived a life that he never felt comfortable with. The two eventually fell in love, and by the end of the year, Adam and Tony would pursue a relationship still in the closet, mind you.
Tony's last name, meanwhile, would strike fear in many of South Beach's residents when spoken. While a string of Mob activity was once again present in the community, Officer Bo Coleson would do all he could to fend off the likes of mob boss, Dinah Maravalli. Nearing the age of sixty, Dinah was as clever as she had always been known to be as she devised new ways to play with South Beach's elite- most notably the Coleson family.
Desperate to rid the community of her presence, Bo Coleson waged an all-out war with Dinah and her men. Meanwhile, his wife Lindsey was growing tired quite quickly as the war meant that their twins , Luke and Leslie, and the rest of the family could be in danger at anytime.
When it was finally revealed that Monica had inseminated herself with Bo's sperm, Lindsey faced a new grim reality would Monica be in their lives forever now? Desperate to prove that Bo wasn't the Father and that this was all a charade, Lindsey (with the help of Aunt Barbara) went on a crusade to prove everyone that the newborn, Sarah, was in fact not a Coleson. Eventually a paternity test was completed and Sarah was indeed proven to be a Coleson. For some time, Lindsey's world grew dark as she realized the hard truth.
Other members of the Coleson clan were also feeling the fear as Dinah started sending a string of cruel mentions to certain people namely, Barbara's son, Drake. Its interesting to note that Monica and Bo weren't the first connection between the two rival families, but it was Drake who began courting Karen Crawford. Drake and Karen soon fell in love and, after much adversity, Drake finally popped the question. Karen gladly accepted the proposal, and on the same night she informed him that she was pregnant.
The two would set a wedding date for March of 20001; Karen wasn't due until mid-summer. While Karen would show slightly at her wedding, the two were quite eager to tie the knot as Dinah's threats became harsher over time. Bo would soon assign officers to be on patrol wherever Drake and Karen went as the two became the focal attack of Dinah and other members of her family.
While
the wedding would be low-key and in a secret place where Dinah and her men could hopefully not find, the wedding day proved to be disastrous when their location was obtained by an insider and Dinah's men showed up at the ceremony. After a lengthy shoot out, Drake appeared to have been shot and was carted away by one of Maravalli's men.
The Colesons would soon become desperate to prove that Drake was alive, yet Karen seemed to give up hope and realized that she would be raising their child alone. At this point, Karen's absentee mother, Kimberly, came back into the picture. This was just the stress that Karen needed as her Mother became persistent that she would once again have a favored position in Karen's life.
By the end of the first season, Adam would eventually come out of the closet to the utter shock of everyone in the Crawford family. His father Sam had the biggest problem with his sons sexuality as it left a lot of unanswered questions that would turn into Sam blaming himself and turning his back on his son. Monica, meanwhile, grew close to Adam and made him realize that she would love him unconditionally. His sister Kaylee was quite supportive as well
Then the family realized who Adam had been dating all alone.
It was a Maravalli...the mere mention of the name sent shockwaves through the
family.
South Beach has a rich history that spans nearly ten years. First premiering in February 2000, the series has seen many changes that include the production of a mini-series in 2000, a spin-off series in 2001, and an extended hiatus that lasted for quite some time.
Make sure to check out the yearly summaries to your left to catchup on many storylines and learn about your favorite characters.
We are also pleased to release a special timeline that details the changes the series has seen over the years!