Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ EP’s Preview What Viewers Will Experience with the Landmark Daytime Drama
Beyond the Gates is set to premiere on February 24th on CBS (2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT), making it the first new soap opera launched on network television since Passions in 1999.
The soap will speak to a “different side of the Black experience,” as expressed by two of the series, executive producers, Michele Val Jean and Sheila Ducksworth, in their first joint interview.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, series creator, Michele Val Jean noted, “We wanted to have a show on the air that spoke to a different side of the Black experience Not the downtrodden, not the ghettoized. We wanted to show rich, Black people doing messy things.”
Photo: CBS
The series is set in a rich gated community of Maryland and centers around the main Black family, known as the Duprees. Ducksworth shared, “In these Maryland suburbs, there were some of the most affluent African American counties in all of America. So looking at that and the wealth of everything at Howard University, I felt that this was an area that was ripe for the picking. You get the upstairs, the downstairs of it all. It’s true to life.”
Val Jean spoke of her experience as a staff writer for Beyond the Gates’ predecessor, Generations, which ran from March of 1989 to January of 1991 on NBC. “We were the little soap that couldn’t, really, because we were opposite the last half hour of (The) Young and the Restless. Generations was very much ahead of its time. When it got canceled, to me personally, it felt like a death because I was so happy there.”
Photo: CBS
Now decades later, Michele shared that her new show will feature, “secrets and lies and betrayals and love and friendship.” Ducksworth expressed that Beyond the Gates will feature a, “really complex web of people and places and things that all intersect in a way that you would never believe. It’s incredibly unpredictable and really fresh and new.”
Val Jean teased, “This is a different kind of world. The characters are different from anything that I’ve seen in daytime. That’s what I’m excited about. We’re presenting something that hasn’t been done before.”
The fact that the series even got the green light was an amazing accomplishment in itself, given that no one ever thought with only three daytime dramas left on network television and only one on streaming, someone would take a chance on what has been perceived as a dying genre.
Ducksworth noted that getting greenlit was ‘revolutionary,” adding, “Nobody is making soaps anymore. The courage and belief that there could be something new that hasn’t been done in over a quarter of a century, it feels great that the people behind us recognized the need and wanted to make this happen.”
So, after checking out the thoughts of the premise of ‘Beyond the Gates’ from two of its EP’s, Michele Val Jean and Sheila Ducksworth, are you more excited than ever for February to come and to usher in a new soap to our daytime family? Comment below.
Hopefully this will be far more than what’s described, because casting people of color as rich characters doesn’t account for innovation. It’s not like there never have been any on TV. Primarily, this is an opportunity to be bolder and more relatable in storytelling. That may mean integrating characters of lesser means. But it’s a missed opportunity if we’re just getting more baby switches, back from the dead plots and psycho villains. Cue the rebuttals of “that’s what soaps are for.” According to whose rules?
100% agree. It really sounds more of the same.
I couldn’t have said it better but with veterans from the industry i doubt it will change
The show hasn’t even aired yet and people are already clutching their pearls.
They are Black Americans not people of color. The latter includes all people of color. And why isn’t it innovation? GH has a whole black family that they don’t even write for.
This is landmark! Daytime is a vital genre, its programs much more desired the repetitive talk, recycled news, badly behaved courtroom denizen, and reality reruns. Why wouldn’t any entity not get behind something new and fresh?!? I am so hopeful!
Why is it “landmark?”
My excitement for Beyond the Gates is hitting an all-time high point, and hearing both Sheila Ducksworth & Michele Val Jean speak about it in their interview with Entertainment Weekly is getting me beyond pumped!!! This is what we’ve been asked for in American daytime, and I just know we’re about to be given something special!
While I would rather Guiding Light be revived, I’m hoping for nothing but success for this show! Could soaps be alive and well. Here’s hoping!
This quote, “We wanted to have a show on the air that spoke to a different side of the Black experience Not the downtrodden, not the ghettoized. We wanted to show rich, Black people doing messy things.”
Correct me if I’m mistaken but when has any character on daytime soaps been characterized as “downtrodden and ghettoized?” On GH alone we have Portia co-head of GH, Jordan the ex-head of police now working with the mayor, Trina the intelligent, art aficionado, Felix the nurse, Epiphany head nurse, Curtis, detective and now CEO of Aurora, Stella the social worker, TJ the doctor, Isaiah Gannoln the doctor, back-in-the-day Edward Quartermaine’s son the lawyer, etc, etc. And on most shows today black people are always presented as wealthy and professional. Sorry excuse for a black soap with that rationale…
I don’t think they meant in concerns to daytime; I think they meant in general to how the GP see’s things. What’s sorry is “people” (and I purposefully use quotes) trying to tear down something before it even debuts, and a lot of it comes down to the ethnicity of cast, etc.
Please; black people are portrayed as extremely successful on GH as I mapped out. And the showrunners were referring to the soap genre. And even if they weren’t? We can all name a LOT of shows or films where black people are portrayed as successful or moreso than other races. Stop living in the past. This emphasis on race, which this show seems to be all about, annoys me. I’m sorry if that doesn’t sit well with you. I’ve given my reasons many times on different threads, and you can’t grasp it because it’s not your experience. If you want to jump up and down and roar with delight because a soap is about black people; have at it. I’ll still wait for ONE Jewish character to find their way to any of the remaining soaps; and one that’s not Sonny’s Jewish stereotypical, accountant, “Bernie.”
I’ve given my reasons many times on different threads, and you can’t grasp it because it’s not your experience.
No offense, but who said it wasn’t my experience? I’ve never once, on this site, disclosed my race. A generalization, such as this, is highly dangerous. I am not living “in the past” as many do on this site and in general, re: soap operas.
Note to you: when referring to one’s race, the first letter should be capitalized, ie: White, Black, etc.
Says who?
Names of racial and ethnic groups are treated as proper nouns, which means they are capitalized (e.g., African American, Asian American, Black, European American, First Nations, Hispanic, Native American, Latin, White). You learn that in school, Bill, when learning about nouns, etc.
Bye Racist.
Love it! Can’t even express an opinion about a black soap without being called a racist. Rhank you fir not disappointing. Lemme guess. Are you one of those people who jump to defend against perceived racism but tell Jews what antisemitism is or isn’t?
“This emphasis on race, which this show seems to be all about, annoys me.”
This comment is what makes you a racist. Do you get annoyed about other soaps that place emphasis on white characters? Rhetorical question.
Glad someone called them out on it!
And I’d repeat my feeling and it’s STILL not racist! The premise of the show, however, could be considered racist! To top it off, I’m kinda sick of hearing complaints that there aren’t enough black characters on GH, or each time a black character has a story where he or she loses the guy, or is in jail, or is framed, it’s because the character is black. When Esme set up Trina the accusation was because she’s black. Sean was in jail it’s about race. It’s like viewers never watched similar story lines happen to white characters for decades.
And as I’ve said before, diversity on soaps shouldn’t be just about adding black characters. GH, for example, has one trans, three gay characters, one Asian. No Jewish characters or characters of any other background or faith. So this emphasis on JUST the black race as far as inclusion goes, annoys me. That doesn’t make me racist. That makes me angry and resentful. I had one black viewer jacka-s tell me here that “Jews need to wait their turn.” I didn’t see you or anyone else telling him that comment was out of line. But suspicion of “racism?” That gets many of you clutching your figurative pearls
If there were zero gay characters, zero black characters, zero Latino characters, and the show kept adding more and more Jewish characters, I just bet all of you from the black, gay, Asian, and every other community that’s not represented would be jumping for joy, right? And then if a Jewish organization said we’re going to have an all Jewish soap, I bet you all would be be exclaiming your excitement and your “can’t wait to watching it feelings,” right?
Get outta here. The one-way street when it comes to diversity has been stacked for years now. And when one of the explanations of a primarily black soap is to show “non ghettoized, non downtrodden” black people, when black people are never portrayed that way on soaps, is a ridiculous statement.
I’m going to wager–though I have no inside knowledge of this–that the reluctance to feature identifiably Jewish characters on soaps comes from the same fear (or whatever it is) that’s driving the reluctance to identify the religious identity of most characters with any specificity. I think we’re led to believe, in a vague way, that most of the characters are Christian, but “Christian” covers a lot of territory, and being a Baptist isn’t the same as being a Catholic, or a Lutheran, or an Episcopalian, etc. And we rarely see any of them practicing their religion; we may see them in church at a wedding or a funeral, but their religion doesn’t play a significant role in their lives day to day. It’s always been that way, at least as long as I can remember (and I’ve been watching since the mid-70s), and the only reason I can think of would be fear of offending someone, though I don’t see why that would necessarily happen.
The only real exceptions I can think of were both ABC soaps. Ryan’s Hope’s core family was identifiably Catholic, and there was at least one identifiably Jewish character along the way, Dave Greenberg (there may have been others), though he didn’t last very long. One Life to Live’s Vega family was identifiably Catholic, and Nora Buchanan (nee Hanen) (and her sister, who appeared for short while) was Jewish, though as I recall that was largely ignored after her first few years on the show. Andrew appeared (to me at least) to be an Episcopal priest (and Viki an Episcopalian), though I don’t recall this ever being stated. (I might have missed it.)
But the rest of the soaps have largely stayed away from the whole subject, other than in a generic way. Harding Lemay even talks in his book about his time on Another World about specifically being directed to change Iris’s biological mother’s faith from Jewish to nonspecific to avoid possibly offending people.
None of that’s an excuse, by any means: I think a soap that had an identifiably Jewish family, for example, would provide a nice contrast and give the writers a different perspective from which to approach some of the standard soap storylines. TPTB are just too risk-averse to try it, or they have been so far, anyway, which strikes me as ridiculous in the twenty-first century. Or how about exploring atheism or agnosticism, especially with a growing number of young people rejecting traditional religion and churches facing a struggle to stay open in some cases because of the membership decline? The possibilities are there, and heaven knows we need some fresh storyline possibilities from somewhere, but I just don’t see it happening.
Hi Michael (not Fairman) Notice, though, the comment by “Dennis” below mine who has stated that “black people” built America.” I’m not sure if he’s the same poster that I had an altercation with on another thread but he told me that black people were American and Jews weren’t (shows the utter ignorance) and that Jews “had to wait their turn” to be on soaps. And THAT is what I’m also talking about. Between that and the antisemitism in the black community, I’m not jumping on and down for The Gates, nor do I jump up and down with every new black character GH adds. There’s a catering to one minority above all others. And if you’re not in a minority, especially one who many in the black community spew hate for, you wouldn’t be able to understand that.
Thank you though, for your polite and respectful reply.
Jewish isn’t a race. Black ppl built America before you or other minorities even arrived here. Please stop the racist nonsense.
General Hospital is not the barometer to which everything is measured. She is describing her vision for a new series, not a counterpart to General Hospital.
They were interviewed regarding the soap’s entry into the daytime soap genre.
In their first joint interview. Michele Val Jean noted, “We wanted to have a show on the air that spoke to a different side of the Black experience. Not the downtrodden, not the ghettoized. We wanted to show rich, black people doing messy things.”
Any black character I’ve seen on soaps is successful; not downtrodden or ghettoized.” But if we want to look at prime time? Who was the lead (the lawyer, the professor )and who were a few of her law students on How To Get Away With Murder? Who was the very successful, very sought after lead character in Scandal? Successful main cast in Black-ish? Queen Sugar? Queen Charlotte? Who’s the Queen in Bridgerton? The hero in Lupin? So many shows with black characters and/or black families in prime time, as well as films, that have successful, and/or powerful, black, characters. That’s not to say they shouldn’t create this soap. If it’s written well, no doubt it’ll be successful.
YES! I am so ready for “Beyond the Gates”
I just saw a commercial for this show (hurray!) last night while watching a nighttime show on CBS.
I have to say: the publicity so far is pretty concerning. The commercial basically looked like “Hey look: Black people behaving in over-the-top fashion instead of White people!”, and the interview presented here kind of leaves the same impression: “Black characters with money doing basically the same things White ones have been doing!”
I feel certain, given the involvement of Michele Val Jean and other people I respect, that this isn’t doing the show justice, it’s just the PR angle that’s being chosen. I sure hope so, anyway. There has to be more to BTG than what we’re being told/shown. And I don’t think it’s exactly clutching pearls to be concerned, given what’s happened to soaps over the last 30 years or so; the last four left are pretty poor, in my opinion (with occasional moments that still remind me why soaps once were great, and of course still any number of actors who knock my socks off), so I don’t think it’s out of line to wonder if executive meddling is going to wreck this one too, particularly given the number of cooks in the kitchen already (how many executive producers does it have, again?).
I will grant, absolutely, that having powerful, affluent Black characters in the majority, driving a soap, rather than being add-ons or periphery to White characters, will be an important point of departure; I only hope enough people will actually tune in to make the show viable and keep it around for a while. I trust that MVJ and the rest of the team, if given the chance, will give us a rich canvas with meaty stories and memorable characters–but you’d never know it based on the publicity I’ve seen so far.
They had me the moment they cast Tamara Tunie (OK, they had me the moment they said, “New soap, first one in 25 years” and “Michele Val Jean is the creator,” but having TT back on my soap screen sealed the deal); I’m still looking forward to it. But I’ll admit I’m concerned.
Beyond the Gates
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Scores Third Most-Watched Week Since Its Premiere With ‘The Young and the Restless’ Crossover Event
The tornado that ripped through Fairmont Crest and put the lives of the characters of Beyond the Gates and several from The Young and the Restless in jeopardy had viewers tuning-in for the week of June 8-12.
The highly-publicized crossover event kicked off on the Tuesday, June 9 episode of Beyond the Gates where six residents of Genoa City came to to visit the D.C./Maryland country club for a fundraiser for Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon), only no one expected a twister to tear into the proceedings, leading to several storylines intersecting as people were trapped with one another with Eva Thomas (Ambyr Michelle) being the most severely injured and now requiring a liver transplant to survive.
According to the ratings report from CBS and Nielsen ratings and as supplied to Variety, Beyond the Gates brought in on average 1.8 million viewers throughout the wee. That is up 11% from its season-to-date numbers and it makes the crossover/tornado episodes its third most-watched week for the soap since Beyond the Gates premiered back on February 24, 2025.
Photo: CBS
A GENOA CITY TOUCHDOWN
With the strength of the story, its special effects and bringing over cast of the top-rated, The Young and the Restless which included: Eric Braeden (Victor Newman), Michael Mealor (Kyle Abbott), Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott), Susan Walters (Diane Jenkins), Melissa Ordway (Abby Newman) and Bryton James (Devon Hamilton), the Thursday, June 11 episode was the week’s most-watched.
According to the numbers, the Wednesday June 10 episode brought in the most total viewers for the week with 1.87 million (up 17% week-to-week), followed closely by the Friday, June 12 episodes which had 1.84 million watching.
Photo: JPI
Over on The Young and the Restless, the week of June 8-12, also saw an increase based on the early return that week of Shemar Moore as Malcolm Winters wrapping up his leg of the story where viewers learned he had a son Holden Novak (Nathan Owens) with Stephanie Simmons (Vivica A. Fox), and survived his bone marrow transplant surgery thanks to Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn).
Y&R scored 3.11 million viewers for the week up 2% from its season average with the June 8 and June 9 episodes featuring Moore averaging 3.2 million viewers and up 9% year-over-year.
So, did you enjoy the tornado episodes of Beyond the Gates and seeing the residents of Genoa City crossover to Fairmont Crest? Share your thoughts via the comment section on the latest ratings for the two CBS daytime soaps.
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Karla Mosley Weighs-in on Dani Dupree’s Love Life Endgame: Are You Team Bill or Team Andre?
Last week, viewers of CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates watched as a tornado ripped through Fairmont Crest. In its wake, people were trapped with one another or seriously injured.
For Dani Dupree (Karla Mosley), she found herself stuck in an elevator with her ex-husband, Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). And wouldn’t you know, one thing led to another, and the two gave into their unresolved feelings for one another and did the deed.
Meanwhile, Dani’s current husband, Andre Richardson (Sean Freeman) suffered a minor injury to his leg, and was worried sick in the ballroom because he had no idea where Dani was after the twister decimated the place. Eventually, Dani and Bill part ways go back to their families and act like nothing happened.
Photo: CBS
When Dani is reunited with Andre, he professes his love for her even more than ever. As for Bill’s current wife Hayley Lawson (Marquita Goings), she could care less because she was making out with Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor, Y&R) in a closet at the country club!
THE TORNADO MAY HAVE CHANGED DANI’S HEART
For months, Beyond the Gates viewers have found themselves torn; rooting for Dani and Bill to get over themselves and get back together, or rooting for Dani and Andre, because its clear he truly loves her, even though their marriage may not have started out as the greatest love affair of all time.
Karla Mosley opened up to PEOPLE on Dani’s romance plight and who the writers of the soap might ultimately pair her with, expressing “I cannot say. I honestly have no idea.”
As it seems now, this triangle of Andre/Dani/Bill is about to heat up even more following Dani’s elevator exploits. However, according to Mosley, the popularity of Dani and Andre came as surprise to the writers, which has led to the romantic drama. “The writers did not think Dani and Andre were gonna pop off the way that they did,” explained Karla. “Originally, they thought Bill and Dani would be back together by the end of season one. And then it was like, ‘wait, what is happening?’”
Photo: CBS
WRITERS ARE TAKING THE PULSE OF THE FANS
The decision to not have Dani and Bill reunite within season 1 or half-way though season 2, Mosley shares is a sign of the times: “The old soap trope is the torn woman who goes back to her man. But I think there are enough women now who are like, I want to see her win.”
In the end, Karla believes that in this case, fans speaking up, can also translate to the writers room and influence their potential decision of who should be the ultimate man for Dani. She tells Beyond the Gates viewers, “Keep talking about it, y’all.”
Meanwhile, questions remain: Could Dani and Bill’s elevator sex find her pregnant with his child, which would make this whole situation more messy? Stay tuned.
Now, let us know, who do you want to see Dani ultimately with … Bill Hamilton or Andre Richardson? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
Beyond the Gates
Phillip Boyd Makes His Debut on ‘Beyond the Gates’ in Recurring Role of Dr. Miles Arnold
A new face emerged on today’s episode of CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates when actor, Phillip Boyd made his debut in the recurring role of Dr. Miles Arnold.
In story, Dr Arnold is a doctor and surgeon and on the June 16 episode, Miles had to sadly deliver some disappointing new. Neither of Eva’s (Ambyr Michelle) parents, Ted Richardson (Keith D. Robinson) or Leslie Thomas (Trisha Mann-Grant) is a donor match for the life-saving transplant surgery Eva desperately needs.
Eva, among others, was injured in the tornado that ripped through Fairmont Crest and its devastating aftermath. She sustained critical injuries during the storm and was trapped with her half-sister, Kat Richardson (Colby Nixon).
Courtesy/CBS
Phillip Boyd recently appeared on The McCord List, where he talked about his career between working in Los Angeles and Atlanta and said about his latest acting gig, “Dr, Miles Arnold works in the hospital. There’s something that happens, a natural disaster and a lot of the characters on the show are at this event and something tragic happens and they’re rushed to the hospital.”
The actor is also appearing in the final season of Tyler Perry’s Netflix series Beauty in Black where he shows up in 7 episodes. Boyd previously appeared in short term roles on General Hospital, The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives. In primetime, he also played the role of Mitch on 90210 and played Oscar in Tyler Perry’s The Haves and Have Nots for five-seasons.
So, so you think Beyond the Gates might make Phillip Boyd’s role bigger over time on the soap? Will Kat be the match that Eva needs? If not, who? Many people were ruled out on today’s episode. Drop you thoughts and picks for the donor via the comment section.
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