As the second week begins on the new CBS daytime drama, Beyond the Gates, viewers saw the reveal of what went down after Dani Dupree (Karla Mosley) fired a gunshot during the nuptials of her ex-husband, Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett), and the woman she blames for stealing his heart, Hayley Lawson (Marquita Goings).

While everyone survived, Dani’s latest stunt was captured unintentionally on a livestream on her daughter, Chelsea’s (RhonniRose Mantilla) phone, which now has the Dupree family about to hold a press conference to try to sort out the mess. The Monday, March 2nd episode continued to fuel the main story, which featured series stars, Karla Mosley, Marquita Goings and Arielle Prepetit (Naomi).

On Friday, February 28th, Karla, Marquita and Arielle participated in Beyond the Gates first-ever livestream conversation exclusively on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.  While many topics were discussed; as well as the three actresses fielding questions in the live chat from new fans of the show, below are just some of the notable and quotable quotes from the conversation below.

Photo: CBS

DANI DUPREE’S MENTAL STATE

After taking out a gun, and almost shooting Bill and Hayley, Dani is still mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore. Karla Mosley previewed, “I’ll say the violence does simmer down. So, she doesn’t go turn it to Rambo and enlist in the army or something, That part does simmer down, but she does not simmer down. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t take it well.”

Photo: CBS

EARLY GROWING PAINS IN PRODUCTION

With Beyond the Gates shooting in Atlanta as opposed to where the four other soaps are taped in Los Angeles, as the series was ramping up, there were still a few kinks to work out as with any new show. Karla Mosley shared, “I was sitting in front of Julie Hanan Caruthers, one of the producers, and she said that we didn’t have all our lighting equipment that first week. They were shipping it from Germany and it hadn’t arrived and CBS was like, full steam ahead. And we were like, “But, we have no lights.” We had cameramen who had never shot soaps before. So, we literally had a woman who came out of retirement for a month to month and a half, who was on set teaching them how to get their shots. It was amazing, but everyone was so down. Everyone was so patient and loving with each other and understanding. It did mean that we had to play some insane catch-up. A couple weeks ago I feel like we had material from 17 episodes or something in one week. It was bonkers. We almost all lost our minds. Now we seem to be settling into a more normal schedule of taping five to seven episodes per week.”

GETTING YOUR FEET WET IN THE WORLD OF DAYTIME DRAMA

This is Arielle Prepetit’s first foray into a network television soap opera, and she had high praise for her TV-mom, Karla Mosley: “I grew up watching soaps with my grandma. So, I’d seen Karla on-screen. I  know those eyes. I know that woman.  She’s set such an amazing example as someone who shows up to set and knows their stuff. I’m like, ‘that’s the model of being a soap actor’ because it’s kind of a new genre for a lot of us. Having someone like Karla who knows what she’s doing has been a blessing.”

Photo: CBS

HAYLEY’S STORY

While viewers learn very fast that Hayley is the nemesis of Dani Dupree, there is still a heart to the character. Marquita Goings shared, “I feel like Hayley’s story is so many women’s story out there. We may not know those stories, or they could be kept on the low, but I feel like it needs to be told. But as the nemesis, there’s always a bad guy in someone’s story, I’m just happy that we finally can let everyone know what we all have been working on. It’s just amazing”.

IS DANI DUPREE ‘BEYOND THE GATES’ ANSWER TO REVA SHAYNE, ERICA KANE or BETTE DAVIS?

During the first six episodes of Beyond the Gates, the character of Dani has literally delivered bitch-slaps, cleared a desktop with golf club in anger, threw a drink in her husband’s face, hit the sheets for a one-night stand with a hot photographer, and eventually tried a full takedown at the nuptials of Bill and Hayley. So, how does Karla Mosley view Dani? “She’s not just insane and she’s not just a villain. She’s a mom and she’s very much a part of the family. She makes mistakes and she makes them loudly. I think she’s been asked many times in her life to make compromises, to go along, to get along with her family whereas her sister, Nicole (Daphnee Duplaix), probably just did it pretty easily and was fine. Dani was probably the one to show up hung over to the the church service at the National Cathedral.”

Photo: AP

Karla continued,“Michelle Val Jean (creator, head writer, executive producer and showrunner, Beyond the Gates) mentioned Bette Davis in passing. I will say there is a little Easter egg there. Dani orders a vodka martini very dry. She does that a couple times, which is a call out to Bette Davis. I’m taking that to heart because what I love about these women including Katherine Hepburn, and of course Susan Lucci (ex-Erica Kane, All My Children) and Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva Shayne, Guiding Light), is these women play characters don’t mind, making things uncomfortable and being unlikeable and who make weird choices that are so interesting and fun I think being allowed to do that is such a gift.”

HOW GUIDING LIGHTS’S CHRISTINA AND THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL’S MAYA AVANT PREPARED KARLA MOSLEY FOR BECOMING DANI DUPREE

When daytime fans met Karla Mosley in 2008-2009, she was playing pre-med student Christina Boudreau on Guiding Light. Later, she went on to The Bold and the Beautiful as Maya Avant from 2013-2019, who ultimately was revealed in story to be a trans woman. “I think I couldn’t have played Dani with the same freedom and depth 20 years ago. I think that each of these characters came at a time and sort of paved the way for me to play Dani,” shared Mosley. “Guiding Light’s Christina was sort of really sweet and an introduction to daytime for me, and also to be on such a long running show that we all loved and cherish. I got to meet Lawrence St. Victor (Carter, B&B) there, who is still a dear friend. Then, to move over to The Bold and the Beautiful to play Maya and have an iconic storyline that married my activism, my own identity, it helped me come to terms with many things that I was exploring and wondering about myself during that time. So Maya really grew me, Then, I had two kids and becoming a mother changed me, entirely, It helped me to know myself in a very different way and the depth of what I can do, how I relate to people in the world, and how I stand up to people. I think that strength has prepared me to play Dani.”

Photo: JPI

Mosley also shared that she had wished The Bold and the Beautiful would have recast the role of Maya with a trans actress, when she exited the show, sharing, “That’s my personal wish, but it doesn’t always happen that way. I think that it did open up the space for more trans actors to be able to be working.”

HOW THE LAUNCH OF BEYOND THE GATES IS IMPACTING SOAP FANS

Arielle Prepetit revealed that the excitement and response for Beyond the Gates has been overwhelming and positive, “People are saying, ‘I’m so excited to have my own stories to watch and start from the beginning.’ These shows are legendary, and a lot of people couldn’t have started them from the beginning. So, to have people say that, and even DM me, ‘I love that I get to watch this from the start, ‘ it’s really, really touching for me. So, I get emotional almost every day.”

Photo: CBS

Watch the full conversation with Karla, Marquita and Arielle below.

Now, let us know, how do you view the characters of Dani Dupree, Hayley Lawson and Naomi Hawthorne Hamilton? What have been your favorite moments on ‘Beyond the Gates’ thus far? Weigh-in via the comment section.