Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Stars Open Up About How They Landed the Lead Roles of the Duprees
When you set out to launch the first network television daytime drama in over 25 years, and one that will be forever historic featuring a central and wealthy Black family at its epicenter, with predominantly an all-Black cast, you know that casting the key roles is of utmost importance. Such is the case with CBS’ new soap opera, Beyond the Gates.
When the series premieres on February 24 at 2PM ET/1PM PT on the CBS television network and streaming on Paramount+, viewers will be introduced to the Dupree family and the drama that ensues, and of course, the soapy tangled web they weave.
Beyond the Gates is the brainchild of noted soap opera writer, Michele Val Jean and CBS Studios/NAACP venture’s Sheila Ducksworth, and after the series was given the green light, the casting process began to fill the roles of the matriarch and patriarch, Anita and Vernon Dupree, and their two daughters, Dani and Nicole.
Photo: CBS
During a media press conference which included Michael Fairman TV, the stars of the series, Karla Mosley (Dani), Tamara Tunie (Anita), Clifton Davis (Vernon) and Daphnee Duplaix (Dr. Nicole Duplaix Richardson) spoke to how they landed their roles on the series; after Fairman asked about the road that led them to Beyond the Gates. Here’s what each had to share below.
KARLA MOSLEY (ex-Maya, B&B and ex-Christina, GL): “I have been friends with Michelle Val Jean since working on The Bold in The Beautiful. She was always saying, ‘You know, I’d love to rope you in on something.’ But, of course you hear that in the industry time and time again. Then, I saw her at her belated birthday party last spring, and she said, ‘It’s happening. Karla, it’s really happening.’ I was just over the moon for her and so excited. Then she said, ‘It’s shooting in Atlanta.’ I was like, ‘I’m not moving to Atlanta.’ However, a couple months later they sent a script. I read the script and I read Dani. I texted her and I was like, ‘Michelle! I think it’ll be fun because she’s a departure from anything I’ve played before, and that’s really exciting.”‘
Photo: CBS
TAMARA TUNIE (ex-Jessica, ATWT): “At the end of August/early September, I got a call from my rep saying there is a new African-American soap that they’re going to be shooting in Atlanta, and they’d like to offer you the role of the matriarch. I said, ‘Let me read something and then let me sleep on it.’ I woke up the next morning and what was uppermost in my mind was the historic nature, and the glass-ceiling breaking of this project. An affluent African-American family leading a daytime drama for the first time in history was enticing to me. Michele Val Jean sent a lovely little note along with that invitation to join a Zoom call with her and Sheila Ducksworth to get more insight, and for me to also share what was going on in my life right now. Michele and Sheila told me about where the story was going, who my character was, and what was she’s involved with, her history, etc. In the end, I said, ‘If we can work around those things that I have on my calendar, then we can continue this conversation. And so we did, and over a period of time, we came to an agreement.”
Tunie was also instrumental in the casting her leading man, Clifton Davis. She explained, “I sent an email to Michelle and Sheila and said, ‘By the way, I just spent five days with Clifton Davis and Winston Salem international Black Theater Festival. If you’re still talking to him about (taking on the role of) Vernon Dupree, just know we’ve connected. We are friends, we’ve got a nice chemistry, and I’m just throwing it out there. A week or so later, Clifton and I did a camera test together over Zoom, which was fun and the next morning he was Papa Dupree!”
Photo: CBS
CLIFTON DAVIS: “It was in June that my agents called me and said, ‘We just got an availability check to see if you would be interested in doing a daytime drama?’ I had a career of 40, 50 years of primetime television. That being said, I had looked at this and thought, ‘Let them know that I will be available,’ because I had been sitting on my sofa in Florida, and other than that playing golf, I was going crazy, missing work and I just loved to work. I was so grateful to getting the call. They said, ‘We’ll be back in touch with you.’ So, another month went by and another month, and I said, ‘This ship has sailed.’ However, my agents found out that I was still in the running for the part. Then, I heard from Tamara Tunie, and she talked about how she was being offered the role of Anita. As it turns out, a couple weeks later, I did get that call that for the chemistry read with her. I genuinely admire and respect Tamara, and she feels the same way about me. That’s how I got into being on Beyond the Gates. I’m just proud to be here.”
DAPHNEE DUPLAIX (ex-Valerie, Passions, and ex-Rachel, OLTL): “My manager actually had a little birdie tell her about this series getting the green light, right around the summer. She was like, ‘I think this part, it’s yours. I can just feel it’. I was like, ‘OK,’ because of course, that’s what all agents and managers tell you. Then it was the same story for me as Clifton. I hadn’t heard anything. At the end of August, I get the audition. I put myself on tape, and it included two scenes. However, the next day, they asked, ‘Do you have your soap opera reel? We need it right now!’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t. It’s been years, but let me throw something together really quickly.’ So, I did and then I didn’t hear anything. I felt like I was being tortured… every week, every Friday hit, and still I heard nothing. Then one day, my manager sends me a text and he said, ‘Pop a bottle! It’s yours.’ When I really thought about the magnitude of what we were creating with Beyond the Gates, and what Sheila Ducksworth and Michelle Val Jean had put together, I was like, ‘Oh, my God! This is really big.’ I’ve just been so excited and so proud to be a part of this groundbreaking show.”
So, what do you think about the casting of Karla Mosley, Tamara Tunie, Clifton Davis and Daphnee Duplaix as daytime drama’s newest major on-screen family? Excited to see their performances when Beyond the Gates makes it debut? Comment below. But first, in case you missed it, check out the most recent extended promo for the series.
Can’t wait for the premiere! The cast sounds fantastic. Clifton Davis is one of my favorites. I saw him on Broadway in “Two Gentlemen from Verona” when I was a teen.
Monday on Entertainment Tonight, the second set of nominations for the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced which included the highly-coveted Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actress and Outstanding Daytime Talk Series.
ET followed suit after Extra announced the nominees, as previously reported, in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actor and Outstanding Daytime Talk Host.
Now, five leading ladies of the soaps are vying for the gold for Lead Actress and the category marked the first-ever nominations for CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates when two actresses made the final cut. Only General Hospital is not represented among the actresses this year after Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) took home the trophy last year.
Photo: NATAS
THE FIVE LEADING LADIES OF THE SOAPS ARE …
The 2026 Lead Actress nominees are: Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives, Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless, Heather Tom (Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree), Beyond the Gates.
This marks the first Daytime Emmy nominations for Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie. In addition, this marks the first-time in her career that Stacy Haiduk had received a Lead Actress nod after two Supporting Actress nominations.
Meanwhile, Michelle Stafford had previously won 3 Emmys – 2 for Lead Actress and 1 for Supporting, but this recognition makes it her 11th overall nomination.
Heather Tom currently is tied for the most all-time Daytime Emmy wins with One Life to Live alum and General Hospital guest star, Erika Slezak. The B&B star has 19 nominations throughout her career.
Photo: ABC
DAYTIME TALK SERIES
In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series category, the nominees are: 3rd Hour of Today, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, Today with Jenna and Friends and The View.
“We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,” NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement on the nominations. “As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”
The rest of the nominations will be revealed tomorrow on Tuesday July 14 starting on The View and then the full list of nominees in both the main and creative arts will be released by NATAS. The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are slated for October 30th in Hollywood, California.
So, what do you think about the women who are vying for the Lead Actress Daytime Emmy? Happy with who got in? Who do you feel got snubbed? What do you think of the nominees for Daytime Talk Series? Weigh-in via the comment section.
It’s Daytime Emmy nomination week, and as previously reported things kick-off on Monday, July 13 when Entertainment Tonight (7pm ET) will announce the nominees for Lead Actress category and Daytime Talk Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. In addition on Monday, Extra (7pm ET) will reveal the nominees for Lead Actor and Daytime Talk Host.
On Tuesday, The View (11am ET) starts things off with their announcement of Daytime Drama, Entertainment News program and Outstanding Daytime Personality-Daily. That is followed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) full reveal of all the categories beginning at 12noon ET/9am PT on their website and their official social handles on X and Instagram.
Then, Tuesday night at 8pm ET/5pm PT join Michael Fairman as he hosts his 12th annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026 live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel where he will chat with some of the just announced nominees as we celebrate the hard work of the men and women in front of the camera who will be going for gold.
WHEN ARE THE DAYTIME EMMYS?
This year, the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be handed out on October 30 in ceremonies in Hollywood, California (Venue yet to be revealed). At that time, as like last year, both the major categories and creative arts will be presented. There is no word yet on a broadcast partner for the annual celebration of daytime programming, or if it will soley be streamed on NATAS’ watch.theemmys.tv and various apps and platforms.
WHO WILL BE APPEARING ON THE DAYTIME EMMY NOMINATIONS SPECIAL 2026?
Throughout Tuesday, keep an eye on Michael Fairman TV’s social media handles on X, Facebook and Instagram, for updates of who will be expected to appear on our live show.
If you have a question or comment for one of the nominees, or on the nominations, we can encourage you to join us in the live chat on Tuesday night.
So, who are you hoping lands a nomination from Beyond the Gates, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Bay, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless? Let us know via the comment section. More Tuesday!
Beyond the Gates
‘The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards’ Nominations Announcement Date Revealed: Who Will Be Going For Gold?
The nominations for the 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are just around the corner. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will reveal the full list of those who will be vying for daytime’s biggest prize on Tuesday, July 14.
Michael Fairman TV has confirmed that nominations in the fields of daytime drama, talk show, lifestyle and entertainment programming and all of the creative arts categories and more will be announced on Emmy nominations day.
As had been highly-anticipated, the 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will mark the first year that Beyond the Gates is eligible for the competition because the eligibility period spans the calendar year of 2025 of January 1 to December 31.
Photo: CBS
WHEN ARE THE DAYTIME EMMYS
The gold statuettes will be handed out in a ceremony to be held on Friday, October 30 in Hollywood, California, although the actual venue has not yet been announced.
In addition, there is no word yet on whether NATAS will have a network television partner to broadcast the ceremony or if it will be streamed via the organizations watch.theemmys.tv and various apps and platforms.
This year’s nominations contain a few shifts in the eligibility rules for specific categories including Guest Performer, Writing and Directing in a Drama Series and a change to episode-based submissions for craft categories where Instead of honoring an entire team for a single entry, the new format focuses on individual episode work.
WHO COULD BE NOMINATED?
Now daytime TV fans, it’s time for you to weigh-in on your think deserves nominations in Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama Series, Supporting Actor and Actress in a Drama Series, Emerging Talent, Guest Performer and Talk Show!
With nominations expected for all five soaps: Beyond the Gates, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives, and possibly the streaming series, The Bay, plus talk shows such as The Jennifer Hudson Show, Kelly Clarkson Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, The Drew Barrymore Show and more, it’s anybody’s guess who will fill the top spots in the major categories.
So, excited to learn the Daytime Emmy Nominations are next week? Who do you hope lands a nod from your favorite soaps or daytime programs? And be on the lookout for tune-in info for Michael Fairman TV’s annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Special live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel the evening of July 14th when we talk with some of this year’s nominees!
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