Ok, I don’t remember the name of it. I know that it was an hour-long series, but not really a “drama” - more like an extended length sitcom.
The premise was that there was this postage-stamp sized European country - kind of like Monaco - ruled by an elderly, not-quite-all-there monarch. The king had no heirs, nor was there any immediate or extended family members to pass the crown to, so the helpful major domo (kind of like an upper-crust Bosley from “Charlies’ Angels”) went searching the royal family tree and discovered that a long-lost royal family member had emigrated to America many generations ago. Some detective work turned up four remaining descendants of that R.F.M. - a mature southern gentleman, a handsome playboy, a feisty but hot woman, and a small-time (black) con-man.
The four descendants were rounded up and informed that one of them would be named the successor to the crown of the country. To determine which one, they would have to undertake a series of tasks. The king would name a specific location somewhere in the world (he’d throw a dart at a world map) and the four rivals would have to race to get there, using only their wiles.
Each weekly episode would start out with the king selecting a new location, the four each vying to get there, and getting into wacky hijinks along the way. It would typically end with the exasperated “Bosley” bailing them out of the trouble they got into en route.
Complicating matters further, there was a villain named something like “Dardenay” pursuing them. He was the descendant of a royal family member who’d staged a failed coup, and so his family line was banished from the kingdom. If none of the four contestants proved worthy, then he would inherit the crown. He therefore did everything he could to sabotage the four members’ competitions.
The show was a little unusual for an early 80s show in that it was shot an hour-long, shot on film, used a lot of location work but was light-hearted and humorous rather than serious. (At that time, formats for types of shows seemed very specific - sitcoms were videotaped, set-bound & half an hour in length. Dramas were filmed on location and were an hour long.) I remember it being a pretty witty, clever and fun show but for some reason didn’t catch on. It lasted about a half a season. I asked some folks at dinner the other night, and nobody remembered it. Does this sound familiar to anybody?