Breaking News
George Cheeks, CBS President & CEO, on Timeline to Launch New Daytime Drama, ‘The Gates’: “We’re So Focused on Getting it Right”
March 2024 will be remembered in the TV and soap world when the news broke that CBS is prepping a brand new daytime drama. Many had thought a major network would never bring a new daytime soap into the world, given that the last time it was attempted was 25 years ago when the now defunct Passions bowed on NBC.
However, The Gates is definitely in development and moving forward with some major players associated with it including: Michele Val Jean as The Gates writer, showrunner and one of its executive producers, and Sheila Ducksworth from NAACP Venture
Now, for the first time since its announcement, George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer for news and sports at Paramount+, spoke on the project that will feature a Black family as its central focus who live in a wealthy gated community.
Photo: NAACP
Speaking with Vulture, and when asked if The Gates is really something that truly has a chance of getting on the air, Cheeks clarified, “It’s super real. And just to give you a little bit of the backstory, when we hired Sheila Ducksworth to run the NAACP Venture, she and I had multiple meetings talking about what different genres she was going to lean into, and we talked a lot about daytime.”
Cheeks added, “One of the things that the data made very clear to both of us is that daytime soap operas over index with Black women, and yet when you look at soap operas, it’s usually sort of a white-led family with supporting characters that reflect more of our society. So we just thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to flip that and make the core anchor family a Black family, and then make the other characters reflect more the broader scope of society?”
Photo: JPI
The CEO gave props to Michele Val Jean, and how Ducksworth came to the table with the former B&B and GH writer. “She found this great writer, Michele Val Jean, who’s been in the soap opera space for 30 years. She came up with a pitch, and we loved it,” shares Cheeks. “We brought Procter & Gamble into it as well, because if there were going to be (product) integrations, we could do it more holistically and organically. All of that is to say, we did a lot of work on the front end to put this together. So while yes, it’s development, it’s accelerated development.”
When prodded on the timeline of when The Gates could come to full fruition, Gates related, “The actual timeline and when we’re going to do it is still uncertain, because we want to get this right. I mean, there hasn’t been a new soap opera launch since I can’t even begin to tell you when. But we have great success with Bold and the Beautiful and Young and the Restless, and so we think we’re the right folks to be launching a new soap. I wish I could tell you more about exact timing, but we’re so focused on getting it right, and that will dictate when we’re ready to launch it.”
The CBS exec also shared that whether The Gates will wind up an hour soap or half-hour is not yet determined, but that it is being developed as an hour show.
So, after reading what George Cheeks, the CBS President & CEO had to say about ‘The Gates’, are you even more excited for what looks to the first new network soap in 25 years? Comment below.
I hope they do get it right, because if they do, this could really be a hit. But we also cannot deny the core soap-viewing audiences. Changes need to be made for the FUTURE of soaps, and it needs to be catered to that. No tropes, no recasting, no melodramatic music. Do this the RIGHT way!
So many, many, many years from now. LOL!!! Too bad he wasn’t (maybe he was) about releasing, streaming all the cancelled P&G soaps?! How big is their library?
P&G, not CBS, controls the library of their soaps. This includes:
Another World
As the World Turns
The Edge of Night
Guiding Light
Search for Tomorrow
Texas
Bring back guiding light with the Shayne’s the Lewises and the Spauldings!
Those people are long gone
It just wouldn’t be the same with different actors
How about the Bauers, can you imagine someone other than Charita playing Bert?
Or do you mean bring back repeats?
I just don’t see this succeeding. People don’t have the time to invest in daytime dramas any longer. Y&R and B&B are getting lower ratings than GL and ATWT got when they were canned over a decade ago. The viewers are just not there.
Network TV ratings are down regardless of the time of day. Over the last ten years, it should be noted that daytime ratings have declined at a slower pace than primetime. Any of the 3 remaining network soaps pull in some numbers that are equivalent or higher than some 10pm dramas.
The backing of P&G with their ad spend is another plus for The Gates. Still weird to speak of P&G again in a positive tone when it comes to soaps.
Scheduling may also be key. If they shift B&B later and sandwich The Gates between Y&R and B&B, that adds to potential viewership.
It’s an uphill battle but definitely not a lost cause.
I totally agree!
I believe if there is still equality in nationalities, it should be a hit. perhaps at more Christian families value to daytime since people are getting closer to God.
#BARF
There used to be a “Christian” soap called “Another Life” on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. And unholy shit, was it ever BORING.
Yes I know that my comments will be considered “biased” because I’m the Devil, but seriously… it was bad.
I watched some of “Another Life.” You’re right–incredibly bad.
They are? News to me.
I’ve recently started attending church again myself, after years away, but everything I read says the opposite of what you’re stating: church attendance remains at historic lows and on a downward trend. Organized religion does not, for the most part, speak to younger people (or if it does, it speaks very negatively). Given what passes for the public face of Christianity today, it’s hardly surprising. I still can’t fathom how good Christians (who I still think make up the majority) have let the extremists speak for all Christians.
Maybe you mean they’re doing it, but not in an organized way?
Even in the golden age of daytime dramas it was notoriously difficult for a new soap to build and sustain a loyal fanbase which is critical for a soap’s success.
History is not on the side of this new soap unless it is more like those limited episodes per year soaps found online or primetime. A 5 day a week, all year long soap is a different beast and the last new soap like that to beat the odds was B&B. Mind you B&B was created by a soap artist Bill Bell and not a bunch of suits trying to manage a show to appeal to their target demographic.
One is storytelling and other one is marketing — and when the business end over shadows the creative end, you rarely get a hit show from it, yet I hope to be proven wrong on this.
I too wonder about the approach and what he means by “getting it right.” The number of corporate entities involved also makes me nervous. The last thing any new soap needs is to be meddled to death from above. I hope they work out the basic approach (in particular, they figure out how this new approach to marketing is going to function in an organic way) and then back the hell off and let Ms. Val Jean tell her stories. If they don’t–if they keep up the micromanaging of the last three decades–I don’t have a lot of hope.
Any Soap or Series can be good if it has the right actors so I’m hoping at least for a few familiar faces , something that will give us the incentive to watch and don’t care, really what color they are.
BTW,I am really enjoying The Black Hamptons a nighttime drama that started a few years back and then it got “put aside”, the producer says it was not canceled but is now back and as a not black person, I thoroughly enjoy it, great and familiar actors, specially the men, wow! See, even a 91 yr.old can enjoy as much as the younger people.
Focusing on getting this right? Great. How about focusing on doing the same for their current soaps? B&B has a 9 toe fetish, and Y&R is hanging on by a thread with their shoestring budget and their terrible green screen. Both shows also need a new head writer, but especially Y&R.
Breaking News
Jacob Martinez is ‘Days of Our Lives’ New Javi Hernandez Replacing Al Calderon in the Role
Finally! The casting has been revealed as to just who would be Al Calderon’s successor in the role of Days of our Lives, Javi Hernandez. On Friday, April 30, the long-running soap opera revealed Jacob Martinez is taking on the part and he will first be seen this coming June 30th and then on all-new episodes streaming on Peacock.
As previously reported, the popular Calderon exited the soap opera last year to join the cast of the NBC primetime medical drama, Brilliant Minds as nurse Nico Silva, who in May will air the remainder of their second season. The series has been on the bubble for renewal by the network. His last episodes as Javi will also air this May on DAYS.
Since DAYS tapes ten months ahead of streaming, Martinez has been secretly ensconced in all the drama in Salem for quite some time. When viewers see the new Javi in story, we should learn what will happen in Javi’s relationship with Leo Stark played by Emmy winner, Greg Rikaart, plus his continued relationship with his relatives in the Hernandez clan. Currently, when Javi returned to Salem after taking care of his ailing father, and after the bust-up of his marriage to Leo thanks to Dimitri (Peter Porte), he claimed he had moved on with someone else while he was away from Salem.
Photo: JPI
Like Calderon before him, Martinez is a multi-talented actor and singer. Jacob’s resume is impressive having appeared in the musical In Pieces: The Musical at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater and he was hand-picked by Joey Contreras to play the role of Grey. Other credits include: the short film, Memory Swim and the play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage.
Martinez hails from Norfolk, Nebraska and appeared when he was very young at the Johnny Carson Theatre, and as DAYS fans know, Jacob is now working at the Days of our Lives studios, right where the “Tonight Show” is filled. In addition, Jacob Martinez is a graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA).
Taking to his Instagram on Thursday, April 30 once the news of his casting was revealed, Martinez, expressed, “Way too many people to thank in one post, so I’ll just say THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART to each and every person who continues to pour into me and encourage me to chase my dreams. I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am. I already feel beyond blessed, supported, and loved. See you all in Salem ⏳”
Jacob Martinez appeared on Friday on the Days of our Lives Instagram account announcing his casting. You can check it out below. Deadline was the first to report the casting switch.
So, excited to learn who is the new Javi Hernandez? Please welcome Jacob Martinez to the role and be on the lookout for his debut on June 30. Comment below.
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This week starts with heartbreaking news. Patrick Muldoon, best known for his roles as the original Austin Reed on Days of Our Lives and later as Richard Hart on Melrose Place, died on Sunday, April 19, at the age of 57. Reports indicate his death was sudden following a heart attack.
Muldoon’s sister, Shana Muldoon-Zappa, told TMZ on Monday more details on her brother’s death, “Patrick went to take a shower Sunday morning after drinking coffee with his girlfriend in their Beverly Hills home. His girlfriend decided to check on him after he was taking too long and found him unconscious on the bathroom floor?” Shana added that paramedics rushed over and tried to revive Patrick, but there was nothing anyone could do.
Soap fans first saw Muldoon as Kate’s (Lauren Koslow) son on DAYS back in 1992, where he quickly became a fan favorite during the on-screen love story between Austin and Carrie Brady (Christie Clarke). Patrick left the series in 1995. He later made comeback for appearances in 2011 and 2012.
Photo: JPI
On Melrose Place, he played bad buy Richard Hart from 1995-1996. Patrick launched his acting career while in college landing the role of Matt in the 1990 sitcom Who’s The Boss? alongside the likes of Judith Light (ex-Karen, OLTL) and Tony Danza. Following his graduation, Patrick nabbed a recurring role as Jeffrey Hunter in Saved By The Bell by 1991.
Throughout his decades long career, Muldoon also starred in several motion and TV series including his leading roile in Starship Troopers (1997). He also had parts in Deadlock (2021), Vanquish (2021), Dakota (2022), Marlowe (2022), and Murder At Hollow Creek (2023).
Photo: JPI
Not only was Patrick an actors, but a producer and a musician and singer. He often made appearances and put out music with his band, The Sleeping Masses. Muldoon was the band’s lead singer and guitar player. Patrick was also a producer of TV and film projects.
At the time of his death, Patrick was also an executive producer on a the movie “Kockroach,” which is currently in production.
Taking to his Instagram, just a few days before his death, Muldoon expressed,“So excited to be a part of this amazing project KOCKROACH directed by Matt Ross starring Chris Hemsworth, Taron Edgerton, Zazzie Beetz And Alec Baldwin. Filming now in Australia,” he captioned his post.
Sadly, on April 24, Muldoon can be seen in his 2025 film Dirty Hands also festuring Denise Richards (ex-B&B, RHOBH), which will be released on digital streaming platforms on VOD.
Muldoon is survived by his partner, Miriam Rothbart; parents, Deanna and Patrick Muldoon Sr.; his sister and brother-in-law, Shana and Ahmet Zappa; and their children, Muldoon’s beloved niece Halo and nephew Arrow Zappa.
Share your remembrances and condolences on the loss of Patrick Muldoon via the comment section, which is followed below by the trailer Dirty Hands due out later this week on digital platforms.
All My Children and Hallmark alum, Jonathan Bennett has been cast in the newly-created role on General Hospital as Joe Fitzpatrick.
Look for Bennett to make his debut on the ABC soap opera next month in May. Bennett is very familiar to daytime fans for his work as JR Chandler on All My Children from 2000-2001. Later, he landed the part of Aaron Samuels in the motion picture, Mean Girls in 2004 starring Lindsay Lohan, which would become his breakout role.
Jonathan would go on to star in seven Hallmark Channel movies and then hosting and producing the network’s reality competition show Finding Mr. Christmas, Bennett has also appeared as a contestant on Season 19 of Dancing with the Stars, plus Celebrity Big Brother in 2019, and he starred on Broadway in Spamalot.
Courtesy/ABC
Frank Valentini, the executive producer of General Hospital shared to Deadline who first reported the casting news, “We’re so excited to have Jonathan joining our cast. He’s a tremendous talent and will be a fantastic addition to ‘GH.’
After the news broke, Bennett took to his Instagram and shared, “There’s a new guy in town…” Meanwhile, the official General Hospital account shared a pic and expressed, “He’s already tired of us telling him his hair looks sexy pushed back. Welcome to the family, Jonathan Bennett.
Bennett is married to Jaymes Vaughan. Back in 2022, they became the first gay couple to appear on the cover of the wedding magazine, The Knot.
So, what do you think of the casting of Jonathan as Joe Fitzpatrick? Is he the new man for Lucas? Share your thoughts via the comment section.
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