Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Writing Team Revealed: Michele Val Jean and Bob Guza Jr. Named Co-Head Writers; Ron Carlivati, Gregori Martin Among Breakdown Writers
Following the start of production and premiere date announcement, CBS’ new daytime series Beyond the Gates on Friday introduced its staff of writers. With show creator, executive producer, and showrunner Michele Val Jean and co-head writer and EP Bob Guza Jr. at the helm, the writers room is comprised of a diverse team of soap and television scribes.
In addition, other notable members of the team are very familiar to soap audiences for the work. They include: former Days of our Lives, General Hospital, and One Life to Live head writer, Ron Carlivati, and The Bay’s creator, Gregori J. Martin, as well as longtime writers from The Young and the Restless scribes, Sara A. Bibel and Theresa Zimmerman, plus soap journeyman, Christopher Dunn, Susan Dansby and more. Script writers include: Danielle Paige, Jazmen Darnell Brown, Cheryl L. Davis and Lynn Martin, among others.
Beyond the Gates is set to premiere on February 24th, 2025 as a one-hour soap opera. The new daytime drama series from the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture will air weekdays at 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT on CBS and will be stream Live and On Demand on Paramount+*.
Photo: CBS
Take a look below at the official writing team of Beyond the Gates; who will shape the characters and the story in daytime’s newest soap opera since Passions in 1999.
Michele Val Jean – Creator/Head Writer/EP/Showrunner
Credits: Script Writer, Generations; Script Writer/Script Editor, Santa Barbara; Associate Head Writer/Script Editor/Script Writer/Breakdown Writer, General Hospital; Script Writer, Bold & Beautiful, Consulting Producer/Script Writer, Ambitions, Jake & The Fatman (2scripts)
Bob Guza Jr. – EP/Co-Head Writer
Credits: Writer, Santa Barbara; Creator, Sunset Beach; Co-Head Writer, Loving; Head Writer, General Hospital
Susan Dansby – Script Editor
Credits: Story Consultant, Young and the Restless; Consulting Producer, Ambitions; Script Writer, Young and the Restless; Script Writer, Breakdown Writer, Assoc. Head Writer, As the World Turns; Director, Port Charles; AP, Director, General Hospital
Michael Montgomery – Continuity Producer
Credits: Script & Story Coordinator/ Breakdown Writer and Script Writer, Young and the Restless
SCRIPT WRITERS:
Judy Tate
Credits: Breakdown Writer/Script Writer, Another World, As the World Turns, Days of our Lives Feature Short, Keepers of the Flame
Danielle Paige
Credits: Script Writer, Guiding Light, Days of our Lives; Novelist, Dorothy Must Die, Stealing Snow, The Ravens, The Monarchs, Holos
Jazmen Darnell Brown
Credits: Staff Writer, BMF, Ambitions, Saints and Sinners
Cheryl L. Davis
Credits: Scriptwriter, As the World Turns, Days of our Lives; Staff Writer, Law & Order: SVU
Lynn Martin
Credits: Script Writer, The City, Port Charles, Another World, As the World Turns, Young and the Restless
BREAKDOWN WRITERS:
Ron Carlvati
Credits: Script Writer/Head Writer, One Life to Live; Head Writer, General Hospital; Head Writer, Days of Our Lives
Sara A. Bibel
Credits: Script Writer, Breakdown Writer, Assoc. Head Writer, Young and the Restless
Christopher Dunn
Credits: Breakdown Writer, Santa Barbara, General Hospital, Sunset Beach, Guiding Light, All My Children, Days of our Lives, Young and the Restless; Script Writer, Guiding Light, Days of our Lives
Gregori J. Martin
Credits: Creator/Head Writer, The Bay; Screenplay Adaptation, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven
Teresa Zimmerman
Credits: Breakdown Writer, Young and the Restless; Scriptwriter, Young and the Restless; Associate Head Writer, Bold and the Beautiful
Photo: CBS
Well… if ReRon is involved, that makes this show less of a threat to GH at least.
The irony of him and Bob Guza working together though…..
I hear you! Two different styles!
Lather, rinse, repeat. WHY do they keep regurgitating soap writers?
I’m sorry! Why Ron Carlivati????!!! Total camp!!
You spelled “crap” wrong.
No Satan, I am.saying his plate writing style is campy. Some folks love it, but it’s not my cup of tea. One Life to Live and GH totally changed under his tenure: and OLTL never recovered. Fortunately GH did.
I liked when Ron wrote for OLTL
I smell a woke soap and the woke world ended November 5th.
Keep dreaming – we’re not going anywhere. There’s a market out there for this. Money talks (as you should well know).
We’ll see.
The market is dominated by MAGA. Look at the ratings of the legacy networks, the spinoff of MSNBC because of a huge drop in audience and profits, the sale of ABC by Disney, and the rise of new 24 hours live streaming channels funded by conservatives.
How do you define “woke”? And what gives you the impression the soap will be “woke”?
Take your garbage to Fox News or X.
What garbage? Vote for Kameltoe and Walz 2024 signs? Gladly.
Leave the discussion to the adults in the room. That you have to resort to childish name calling is rather pathetic.
Mimi. You’re what’s wrong in this world. Enjoy your darkness and ugliness.
Fox News is globalist establishment media.
Spoken like someone who doesn’t know what the word means.
“Ooooh rush me to the Burn Center”
Can’t do that. It just got shut down because Bobby Brainworm doesn’t believe burns are real. Even though several famous members of his own family could testify otherwise, if you know what I mean.
Donald couldn’t give a shit about you or any of his supporters so it’s time to wake up to reality.
Neither does Kameltoe
You must be a rebellious 13 year old girl.. you have the mean spiritedness.. like crude name calling.. grow child grow… if you can
KAMALA baby! Get it right! If you love Donald good for you! No need to be rude and disrespectful.
Bulls-eye. No doubt about its commitment to wokeness….. the writing team and major sponsor are testimonies.
Denise, are you able to expound on what is meant by a “commitment to wokeness”? This is the second or third comment about it this new soap being “woke,” but no one has squarely defined it.
This list of writers is impressive to say the least. Yes, Ron and Bob are negatives to this writing team.
The “writer” yes, although, he’s only a breakdown writer so he has no control. Guza Jnr isn’t as bad as many believe him to be. He knows how to move a Sweeps storyline, and he’s been out of the game 13 years. I’m sure he has some solid ideas.
Guza is good I will say
Honestly, overall, this writing team is solid. Real solid. Michele Val Jean is class and our head honcho leader & Robert Guza Jnr, despite all of his faults, will bring some real excitement to Sweeps period, and they both worked together on General Hospital, so that’s a promising sign. Susan Dansby is finally getting her due as script editor⏤which means bullshit won’t be making it onscreen. And I’m happy they have a continuity producer. I don’t believe any other soap has one of those, especially the one with a “historian” as head writer.
The two names I don’t like seeing are Sara A. Bibel & Ron Carlivati, both of whom I’m at least in comfort knowing are breakdown writers, only. Their roles will be tight and restricted, thankfully. But, I love seeing an all-POC team of script writers, which will provide a very unique POV to American daytime viewers. Let’s go!!! Bring it on!!!!!!!
I hope this soap is about real issues and not science fiction/devil worship/return from the dead/who’s the daddy. These issues have been done to death. I hope Guza does an amazing job. I am intrigued.
I trust Val Jean and the vision she has for HER show. She is creator, show runner, executive producer AND head writer. She knows what she’s doing.
Hey, what’s wrong with Devil storylines? I did some of my best work on Days!
You were good on Dark Shadows, too! Pity you needed an assumed name and only got two days of work! Here’s looking at you, Diabolos!
People want romance on soaps real issues are boring. As for “devil” stories, Days devil story in the early 90s was basically told as a love story so I don’t mind the dumb storylines of they are done with that mind.
Just what I thought, a supposedly all Black cast but the entire writing staff is white. So it’s going to be the same old treatment of black people on American soap operas. The characters will be Black by face only and living a lily white life! To the writers, I don’t watch American soap operas anymore because you tend to turn the black characters into white characters. All the black men usually end up with white women and the black women be placed in the background. But, to Black viewers, I suggest you take a look at South African soapies on YouTube. These shows have black writers producers directors and have stories lines catered to blacks people which include cultural what we believe, good people, villains everything you want in a soap opera. Black people don’t continue to fall for this type of treatment.
Time will tell, but the track record of this crew supports everything you said!
LOL!!!! Black people are the ONLY minority who are overrepresented on TV at this point if you go by the percentage of how many black people there are in the country. And on GH? They are THE most represented minority with about 15 characters; all professional from doctors, heads of police, assistant to the mayor, head nurse, jazz musician, social worker, and now three doctors: TJ, Jordan, and Gannon. As for interracial dating, it’s the white guy with the black woman; there was AJ Quartermaine with Keisha, Nikolas with Gina, Spencer with Trina. “Acting white?” What is acting white? All the characters are educated regardless of race. There’s a definite dialect when Marshall and Stella speak, and they’ve infused race into some stories that shouldn’t even be there. And now…there’s going to be an American black soap centered around a black family. Not a Latin family, not Jewish family, not a Japanese family, but a black family. And yet the whining continues….
How does converting to the Jewish faith fit in ? I know of many black people who have converted. Just wondering…
Absolutely!
No. It’s not. Do your research.
Instead of speaking without knowing, you should do your research. Every single person listed as a script writer (the more important roles vs. breakdown) is a person of colour. That is FACT. So to say the ENTIRE writing staff is White is completely wrong, and you’re not the only one trying to sell this as fact when it’s completely false. Try again, Art.
I know they should try to have more black writers I am not sure that would make it better but I have a feeling this will be just white liberal gibberish. Guza is good tho he might make it work.
Go to Great American Family. You may be their target audience.
Ok anything American is fine with me! Like are darling president Donald Trump who I love more than anyone!
Poor you.
He’s the messiah for morons.
The creator and co-headwriter Michele Val Jean is a Black woman — she was the first Black head writer of any American soap opera (GH). She is royalty and made sure all her scriptwriters were also Black.
Shes royalty? How so?
Daytime soap royalty.
Mimi is a Trumpster and there’s no.getting through to her. Let her bask in the glow of her Messiah’s victory!
Leave it to P&G and CBS. This smacks of the eventuality of the wrong people taking over a soap they’ll have no business helming. Great idea. Poor choices. TPTB are in line to tank the first new soap in decades. Well done y’all. Well done. Round of applause please.
Well I hope since it’s a soap highlighting a family of color. There will be people of color working on scripts and behind the scenes.
There are! One of the two co-headwriters and the entire scriptwriting staff.
I am very disappointed in this writing team. It’s going to be the same old stuff that brought down all the other soaps: Evil twins, characters returning from the dead, campy comedy, unrealistic plot lines, and the list can go on…… I was hoping for good storytelling with interesting, well rounded characters.
And how do you know this, Phil? I highly doubt Michele Val Jean would do that to her baby.
Campy- Hmmmmmmm, i.wonder who Phil is referring to???? One guess!
I Love this production. I just have one suggestion, please, please don’t break up Ted and Vanessa. Let them stay together so Leslie/Dana, can get her face crushed, Even though the divorce papers are supposed to be signed already, it can play out that the papers were never filed or something, to keep them together, please!
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Daytime Emmy Winners Ambyr Michelle and Tamara Tunie to Chat Live on the Michael Fairman Channel
Just over a week ago, Beyond the Gates stars Ambyr Michelle and Tamara Tunie broke ground becoming the first performers in the history of daytime’s newest soap opera to win Daytime Emmys!
Michelle became the first, when she took home gold statuette earlier in the ceremonies in the Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series category. Later, Tunie joined her when she took home the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series, the first Emmy of her veteran career.
Now, both actresses visit the Michael Fairman Channel live for two separate chats! Ambyr Michelle will be with us on Wednesday, November 11 beginning at 6pm ET/3pm PT, while Tamara Tunie follows the next day on Thursday, November 12 beginning at 7pm ET/4pm PT.
Photo: CBS
Find out what happened on their Emmy night both behind the scenes and in front of the camera, and in the celebration afterwards, plus what’s next for Eva and Anita in story on the CBS soap opera.
AMBYR TOOK A ‘SEAT AT THE TABLE’
Daytime Emmy viewers will recall Ambyr’s heartfelt Emmy acceptance speech, when she shared, “I don’t just see an award. I see every audition, every rejection, every moment I questioned my artistry. And to Eva Thomas, thank you, girl. Playing your pain made me process my own.“
She ended her speech with, “To my beautiful Black women and girls, take up space, be undeniable, create your tables, and fill those seats. When the tables are full, and those seats are full, make the table even bigger. So that the women coming up behind you never have to ask permission to belong.“
Photo: CBS
TAMARA HONORED THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE HER AND HER MOM
Tamara Tunie received a standing ovation when her name was called after her win in an enduring career. Tunie began by sharing, “My heart is so full right now. This is the best welcome back to daytime ever, There is a host of Black actresses who paved the way for me, and I feel them as I stand here tonight, beginning with the legendary Cicely Tyson, the first Black woman to appear on a daytime television show, The Guiding Light.”
Tunie went on to thank her co-stars and everyone at Beyond the Gates and soap opera fans, plus getting to share the screen with the legendary Clifton Davis as Anita’s husband, Vernon Dupree. However, it was Tunie’s mother, who at 92, was with her on Emmy night that she thanked the most.
“There is one person who has been on this journey with me every single step of the way, who has traveled across states, countries and oceans to support my dream,” she expressed. “I would not be who I am as an actor or a woman without her love, support, encouragement and mere presence, She has been my example, my role model and my inspiration. I accept this honor on behalf of my mother … who, at 92 years young, crossed the country yet again to see me take this goal tonight. I love you, mommy!”
HOW YOU CAN JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Make sure to join us in the live chat with your questions for Ambyr and Tamara in what is sure to be emotional conversations.
If you cannot be with us live, but have a question you would like posed to either actress, make sure to drop in the comment section below and we just might pose it during the live broadcasts.
So, were you happy to see Ambyr and Tamara win Emmy gold? What are your hopes for Eva and Anita as the holiday season approaches and with 2027 just around the corner? Let us know in the comment section.
Next week on the Friday, November 13 episode of Beyond the Gates, Yvette Nicole Brown and her real life husband Anthony Davis guest star. In story, Brown takes on the role of Temeka the cousin to Shanice (Ernestine Johnson Morrison).
When Temeka comes to Fairmont Crest she will be accompanied by her husband, Tony, played by real-life hubby Anthony Davis. The castings come as the soap opera continues to expand the family of Shanice. Previously, we met her brothers, Cedric and Lamont.
As Shanice gets ready to head down the aisle with Dr. Ted Richardson (Keith D. Robinson) will the presence of Shanice’s family members actually deter the nuptials from ever taking place?
Photo: CBS
This now makes the third daytime drama appearance by Yvette Nicole Brown. She first popped up on The Young and the Restless in 2016 and 2017 as reporter Lois Thompson.
Then in 2023, she played a nurse on General Hospital when she appeared in the March 29, 2023 episode honoring her real-life friend, Sonya Eddy who past away in real-life in December of 2022, The soap honored her in death when her character, Epiphany died.
Photo: ABC
Brown and Eddy first met in 2003 while testing for an ABC pilot titled “The Four Divas” alongside Octavia Spencer and Carla Renata and became very close friends up until Eddy’s passing.
It was actually Brown’s character, who came forth to Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and shared that Epiphany died saving her life which gave some sort of solace to Elizabeth; knowing Epiphany died doing what she loved, helping people.
As for Anthony Davis, not only is he an actor, but a writer and minister known for TV and film roles including: He Wasn’t Man Enough (2025), The Family Business: New Orleans, and The Upshaws.
Brown is also recognized from her roles on: Community, The Odd Couple, The Mayor, That ’70s Show, The Office, Boston Legal, Chuck, Mom, Big Shot to name but a few.
So, looking forward to see Yvette Nicole Brown and her real-life husband, Anthony Davis on Beyond the Gates? Happy to see more family members from Shanice’s life showing up at Fairmont Crest? Do you remember the heart-tugging episode where everyone learned Epiphany had died on General Hospital and Yvette Nicole Brown’s part in the story? Let us know via the comment section.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
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