Corley noted, "what attracted me was playing a gay character ... The only gay television character I knew about at the time was Billy Crystal's gay character Jodie Dallas on ABC's "Soap", which was a dark comedy." "Dynasty" co-creator Esther Shapiro noted in a 1981 "Esquire" magazine article that the character of Steven "was, is, and always will be gay", but explained that she initially intended for him to be confused about his sexuality for two seasons before ultimately becoming a "well-rounded gay character". With "Dynasty" becoming one of the 20 highest-rated American prime time series by the end of its second season and eventually rising to #1 in 1985, Steven "had great potential for breaking through the usual stereotypes" and his life "could have been explored in storylines in which sexuality did not necessarily have to be problematized." However, it has been noted that with "interference" from network Broadcast Standards and Practices and "pressure from the religious right", this potential was never fully realized. Walters writes that Steven—"stalwartly manly and deeply troubled by his homosexuality"—led viewers on a "Hollywood tour of homosexuality" over eight seasons, "from tortured closet case, to 'cured' heterosexual husband, and finally to a vague approximation of gay and proud." She adds that the character's "persistent attempts to 'go straight' and the adamant avoidance of any gay milieu or culture" paint "Dynasty" as "flawed and compromised", but acknowledges that the series remains a staple of gay iconography despite its primary gay character being "hardly a role model of self-acceptance and pride."