The creator of this new CBS soap takes viewers Beyond the Gates
It’s no secret that soap operas are no longer the cultural force they once were. That was evident back in 2011, when ABC made the still-controversial decision to shutter All My Children and One Life to Live. Now, less than a handful of daytime soaps remain: General Hospital on ABC, while CBS airs The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and, as of last year, a new entry: Beyond the Gates.
Debuting a new five-days-a-week soap at a time when the genre seems on the path to extinction was a bold move for CBS. That said, having recently celebrated its first anniversary, Beyond the Gates has gained a loyal following, breaking new ground as the first soap in TV history with a predominantly Black cast while earning a spot in Entertainment Weekly’s top 10 TV series of 2025.
According to series creator Michele Val Jean (a seven-time Emmy winner who’d previously written for The Bold and the Beautiful), she envisioned a multi-generational family drama based on a singular premise: What if the matriarch of that family had been Diana Ross?
Ross, of course, went on from her role in The Supremes to a successful career as a solo artist and Oscar-nominated actress, and inspired Val Jean to create Anita Dupree (played by Tamara Tunie), a fictional diva with a showbiz career mirroring that of Ross. Also in the mix is her husband, Vernon Dupree (Clifton Davis), and their extended family, who all live in a Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, D.C. — one of the most affluent African-American enclaves in the entire U.S.
“Here you’ll find a posh gated community with winding tree-lined streets and luxurious mansions to call home,” reads the series logline. “At the centre 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.”
It’s an audacious concept, which was a big part of the appeal for Val Jean. “For me, what makes it different is that there’s never been a soap that has been so centred around rich Black people,” she says. “And so, that gives it its own unique flavour. And then we’re trying to bring something different, something new, something modern, somebody maybe you’ve never seen before to the canvas. I think that makes it unique.”
As executive producer Sheila Ducksworth adds, it’s the authenticity that Val Jean brings to her writing that really makes the show stand out. “It’s a lot of stuff that really is rooted in reality. And so, as Michele had mentioned, the whole idea of this was really because in the DMV area of Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, there are a plethora of these predominantly Black gated communities that exist in real life. That was something that I was aware of and something that I really felt needed to see the light of day and be exposed in a series.”
Val Jean also has some big news to share that will be of keen interest to all soap lovers. “So really thrilled and excited to announce something a little different that we’re going to be doing,” she says. “We’re going to have a major crossover with The Young and the Restless. We’re going to be welcoming Eric Braeden, Peter Bergman, Michael Mealor, Susan Walters, Bryton James and Melissa Ordway into our world and we’re going to do something exciting.”
This crossover event connecting Beyond the Gates to Y&R will air in June, and Val Jean is excited for fans of both shows to see what they’ve cooked up. “It was fun. You know, it was different,” she reflects. “It was something that none of us had ever done before . . . logistically it was challenging but I think we really came up with an exciting piece of television that everybody’s really going to love.”
Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS