Beyond the Gates matriarch Anita Dupree is played by veteran film and television actress, Tamara Tunie. Since premiering on the new CBS daytime drama, Tunie, who’s last soap role was that of Jessica Griffin on As the World Turns, has certainly had her moments to shine.
Michael Fairman TV caught up with Tamara at the recent CBS Atlanta Fest event which featured several of the stars from the CBS daytime line-up of soaps including: The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless as well as Tunie’s Beyond the Gates co-stars.
Recently, Tunie’s Anita delivered the bitch-slap heard around Fairmont Crest, when she hauled off and slapped Leslie Thomas in a showdown of all showdowns. Tamara shared what it was like to play the scene opposite Trisha Mann-Grant after Leslie throws her new found wealth in Anita’s face.
Courtesy/CBS
“Oh, it’s so much fun. I love slapping the (blank) out of Leslie,” joked Tunie. “It’s really great. I mean, it’s challenging because she plays this evil woman, you know what I mean? She’s always stirring up trouble. Anita has to kind of tolerate it, but she finally was able to let her have it, and it was pleasurable.”
Prior to the slap, Anita, the former lead singer of the R&B girl group, The Articulettes, reunited with two of the original members, Sharon and Tracy, for a one-night only concert. Leading up to the big event it was fraught with drama. Tunie recalled, “The reunion concert and leading up to it was all very challenging, very emotional, and the backstory, which finally came to light was very emotional.”
“Just preparing for the concert, I drilled my sisters every single day for that choreography and those vocals,” shared Tunie. “We have a great music team: Ashley Neumeister and Chance Parker, who’s here in Atlanta, and a choreographer. We really wanted to give an authentic performance. I was so pleased that we were actually able to go out of the studio into an auditorium and really make it look like a real performance in a real concert. It was a long, hard day, but it was worth it.”
Photo: CBS
Before the concert, Anita’s long-held secret came to light. The original ‘Articulette,’ Barbara Mitchell was kicked out of the group and blamed Anita, and she eventually ended her own life. Tamara explained, “That backstory: when the Articulettes were younger and we were able to step into a more professional world, we had a manager who felt that one particular ‘Articulette’ couldn’t cut it. So we said “okay, and kept it moving.” Barbara ultimately took her own life from depression, and she wrote Anita a letter saying, ‘You know, you were my sister and you did this to me, and now I’m stepping off because of what you did to me.’ So Anita was carrying that guilt and that burden with her for decades. And so to finally have it come out into the light, and for her sisters to come, and they’d find forgiveness with each other, it was fantastic.”
Photo: CBS
As it turns out, Barbara had a daughter, none other than Anita’s nemesis, the aforementioned Leslie Thomas, who wound up getting the money from the trust fund, Anita had set up.
Playing the matriarch on the first Black-led one-hour network daytime drama series, is not something Tunie takes lightly or working with her Dupree family co-stars! “Thank God, it worked out for Clifton to play Vernon (Dupree) and working with Karla Mosley (Dani) and Daphnee (Nicole), it’s fantastic. I mean, from the moment we met, we were like family. The chemistry is right there, and we love each other. So, it’s very easy to feel. I remember one scene with Dani, and Anita was talking to her and I patted Karla’s butt, like my mother pats my butt, you know? I was like, “Now I know we’re really a mother and daughter.”
So, did you enjoy Anita slapping Leslie? The story of the Articulettes? Tamara playing the Anita impersonator in Vegas? Let us know your favorite moments featuring Tamara Tunie since ‘Beyond the Gates’ premiered via the comment section.
Your favorite soaps operas on CBS, have a scheduling shift over the next few days for the network’s fifth annual broadcast for the UEFA Champions League Soccer games in Europe.
This will effect the Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29; and next week’s Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6 line-up of Beyond the Gates, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless.
First, and the most affected is all-new episodes of Beyond the Gates which will not air today or tomorrow. As well, game show Let’s Make a Deal will also be preempted. The two shows will also be fully preempted on May 5 and May 6.
Photo: UEFA
However, The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful will air as normal for East Coast viewers, but those on the West Coast in Mountain and Pacific Time Zones will have a full preemption. Only, the top-rated The Price is Right will air coast-to-coast with no interruptions because of its time slot of 11am ET/10am PT.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SCHEDULE
The UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, semi-final matches begin airing today on April 28 when Paris Saint Germain PSG plays a home game in France and goes up against Bayern Munich, and on April 29, viewers can look for Atlético de Madrid plays at home vs. Arsenal FC.
Next week, on Tuesday, May 5, Arsenal FC plays at home in England vs. Atletico Madrid, while Bayern Munich faces Paris Saint-Germain, on Wednesday May 6, in Munich, Germany.
CBS will air a one-hour UEFA Champions League Today before each of the matches at 2pm ET as the matches begin each day of the tournament at 3pm ET.
BEYOND THE GATES PREVIEW
When Beyond the Gates returns this Thursday, April 3o it will be the pick-up of the Monday, April 27 cliffhanger which found the Dr. Lia Whitmore (Cecelia Specht) threatening Grayson (Jordi Vilasuso) and Ashley (Jen Jacob) and Dani (Karla Mosley) becoming even more suspicious of Hayley (Marquita Goings) and her plans for Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett).
Photo: CBS
In addition look for, Leslie (Tricia Mann-Grant) to be confronted by Anita (Tamara Tunie), while exes, Ted (Keith D. Robinson) and Nicole (Daphnee Duplaix) share a close moment witnessed by Shanice.
For those wanting to catch all episodes of The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful if you are in the West Coast time zones and usually watch them during the day. you can catch the action via CBS.com, CBS app or Paramount+
As Beyond the Gates heats up with who’s behind and involved in the black market blood plasma snatching story, don’t forget to check out the Michael Fairman Channel’s recent interview with Cecelia Specht on all things Dr. Lia Whitmore below.
So, what do you think of the preemption schedule and how it may affect your viewing this week and next of Beyond the Gates, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Ashley Jones is the newest addition of CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates. The veteran soap actress has posted some teasey Instagran stories revealing the intel; especially her latest wearing a Beyond the Gates emblazoned robe while in her dressing room.
As to who Jones is playing that is still hush-hush. Ashley follows other former daytime notables to Fairmont Crest which have included Greg Vaughan (ex-DAYS, Y&R, GH) and Jordi Vilasuso (ex-Y&R, AMC, DAYS and GL).
A spokesperson for Beyond the Gates confirmed the news to Soap Opera Digest expressing, “We can confirm Ashley Jones will be appearing in Beyond the Gates.” It should be noted: Beyond the Gates does tape four months ahead of air.
Soap fans first met Ashley when she played Megan Dennison on The Young and the Restless (1997-2000). She then went on to The Bold and the Beautiful to play Bridget Forrester in her initial run from 2004-2010 and since then making recurring appearances throughout the next 15 years. In addition, Jones appeared on General Hospital in the role of Parker Forsyth from 2016-17.
Earlier this week, Beyond the Gates was renewed for two more consecutive seasons its 3 and 4th by CBS, giving the youngest soap on the air, a big confidence boost. The series debuted back on February 24, 2025 as the first hour-long Black-led soap opera, and which tapes in Atlanta, Georgia instead of Los Angeles, California.
Who do you think Ashley Jones will play on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts below.
Congratulations are in order for daytime’s newest drama series, Beyond the Gates. Today on April 15, the soap opera was officially renewed by CBS for two more seasons, its 3 and 4th.
The network revealed the renewal pick-up at a press briefing led by CBS Entertainment President, Amy Reisenbach. That show of faith takes the soap through the 2027-2028 television and streaming season, while the soap currently continues to air its second season.
Beyond the Gates creator, head writer and executive producer, Michele Val Jean took to X following the news of the pick-up and expressed her gratitude, sharing, “So this happened. Thank you to everyone involved, from the network to the crew, for the support, belief, hard work and dedication everyone has poured into this show. Beyond grateful.”
Photo: CBS
While Deadline was the first to break the news of the young soap opera’s latest accomplishment, Val Jean clarified that Tracey Thomson who is listed at the bottom of the article as one of the series executive producers along with Sheila Ducksworth, Julie Carruthers, Leon W. Russell, Derrick Johnson, Anna Saalfeld and Lela Coffey, is more than that.
Val Jean explained Thomson’s full involvement with Beyond the Gates, noting, “A credit egregiously missing on this article is Tracey Thomson’s. She’s been by my side cranking out these shows since episode 150. We just did 400. She’s my partner, my co-head writer and an executive producer and she deserves all the credit.”
Beyond the Gates is set in a leafy Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, DC, in one the most affluent African American counties in the United States; a posh gated community with winding tree-lined streets and luxurious mansions to call home. At the center of this community are the Duprees, a powerful and prestigious multi-generational family that is the very definition of Black royalty. But behind these pristine walls and lush, manicured gardens are juicy secrets and scandals waiting to be uncovered. And those who live outside these gates are watching closely. These are the places where our characters live, love, work and play. Those who have “made it” and those who haven’t are all trying to navigate life … and some with more grace than others.
The cast is led by the Duprees played by Tamara Tunie, Clifton Davis, Karla Mosley, and Daphnee Duplaix along with Brandon Claybon,Mike Manning, Trisha Mann-Grant, Ambyr Michelle, Colby Nixon, Arielle Prepetit, Sean Freeman, Timon Kyle Durrett, RhonniRose Mantilla, Keith D. Robinson. Jon Lindstrom, and more round out the cast.
So, excited to hear Beyond the Gates is keeping on keepin’ on with two more seasons coming your way after the completion of its current season? Let us know via the comment section. But first, check out our recent conversation on the Michael Fairman Channel with series stars Tamara Tunie, Sean Freeman, Clifton Davis and EP Sheila Ducksworth via the comment section below .
