Ex-'Falcon Crest' star will play Derek's rival

LOS ANGELES -- Catfight alert: The scheming fashion mogul played by Bo Derek in one of MyNetwork TV's telenovela-like shows will have an equally devious rival.

Morgan Fairchild, the '80s icon and former star of "Falcon Crest" and "Flamingo Road," has joined the cast of "Fashion House," one of two serial dramas that will launch MyNetwork in September. She'll play a character named Sophia Blakely, a power-hungry enemy of Derek's Maria Gianni.

("Fashion House" formerly went by the name "Secret Obsessions.")

MyNetwork TV is a venture by FOX owner News Corp. and is made up largely of stations (including several owned by News Corp.) that were cast off when UPN and The WB merged to form The CW. It will launch Sept. 5 with two telenovela-style shows, "Fashion House" and "Desire," that will run five nights a week for 13 weeks.

Fairchild's recent credits include a recurring part on "Friends" as Chandler's (Matthew Perry) mom and guest appearances on "7th Heaven," "Just Shoot Me" and "That '70s Show." She's currently filming the ABC Family movie "The Initiation of Sarah," a remake of a 1978 TV horror film in which she also had a role.