Beyond the Gates (TV series)

Beyond the Gates is an American television soap opera created by Michele Val Jean, which has been broadcast on CBS since February 24, 2025, as part of their daytime programming block. Set in the Washington metropolitan area, the serial centers around the Dupree family, a multi-generational affluent African-American family that lives in a gated community. The serial is the first daytime television soap opera to feature a predominately African-American cast since Generations (1989–1991) and the first new daytime soap to debut on a major American broadcast network since Passions in 1999. Production commenced in November 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Set within a fictional gated community located in the affluent Maryland and Washington, D.C. area, Beyond the Gates tells "the story of a wealthy Black family in a posh, gated community." At the center of the story is the Dupree family — Vernon, Anita, Nicole and Dani — described as a "powerful and prestigious multi-generational family" and defined as "Black royalty".
The central family of Beyond the Gates is the Dupree family, consisting of matriarch Anita Dupree (Tamara Tunie), her husband Vernon Dupree (Clifton Davis), and their children Nicole Dupree Richardson (Daphnée Duplaix) and Danielle "Dani" Dupree (Karla Mosley). Nicole's family is the Richardsons, consisting of husband Ted Richardson (Maurice Johnson/Keith D. Robinson) and children Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) and Katherine "Kat" Richardson (Colby Muhammad), and Ted's nephew Andre Richardson (Sean Freeman). Martin's husband is Bradley "Smitty" Smith (Mike Manning), and they share two children: Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) and Samantha (Najah Jackson). Dani's family includes children Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne (Arielle Prepetit) and Chelsea Hamilton (RhonniRose Mantilla), shared with ex-husband Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Naomi's husband is Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges), and Bill is currently married to Naomi's friend Hayley Lawson (Marquita Goings).
Secondary families include the McBrides: Vanessa (Lauren Buglioli) and Doug (Jason Graham), and their twin children; and the Thomases, Dana "Leslie" (Trisha Mann-Grant) and her daughter Eva (Ambyr Michelle). Other characters include Ashley Morgan (Jen Jacob), Caroline (Ellie Wang), Derek Baldwin (Ben Gavin), Joey Armstrong (Jon Lindstrom), Laura Peterson (Destiny Love), Pamela Curtis (Cady McClain), Randy Parker (Maurice P. Kerry), and Tomas "Tom" Navarro (Alex Alegria).
On February 23, 2024, it was reported Michele Val Jean was departing The Bold and the Beautiful after having written for the CBS soap opera for 12 years. The following month, it announced she was developing a new daytime soap opera that would follow the lives of a wealthy Black family. It will be produced by a joint venture of CBS Studios and the NAACP, along with Procter & Gamble Studios. Val Jean will serve as head writer and showrunner, and will also executive produce alongside Sheila Ducksworth, Leon Russell, Derrick Johnson and Kimberly Doebereiner. On March 15, 2024, it was reported that the series was under "accelerated development". On April 15 of the same year, it was reported CBS ordered the serial, originally titled The Gates, to series for debut in January 2025. It was later announced the serial would launch "in place" of The Talk.
Beyond the Gates is the first American daytime soap opera to feature a primarily African-American cast since the 1989–1991 NBC soap Generations, which—aside from being Val Jean's first scriptwriting job—was the first serial to feature a Black family from its inception, and to focus primarily on a family of ethnic minorities. It is also the first new daytime soap opera on an American broadcast television network since Passions on NBC in 1999, the first daytime soap opera from Procter & Gamble to debut since Texas in 1980, the first daytime soap opera to premiere on CBS since The Bold and the Beautiful in 1987, and the first daytime soap opera owned by CBS.
In July 2024, it was reported soap opera writing and production veterans Robert Guza Jr. and Julie Hanan Carruthers had joined the serial as executive producers, alongside Val Jean. Skyy Sandifer, credited for her work as a script coordinator on Ambitions was announced as a writer's assistant for the serial the following month, along with reports the writers' room had been "set" and would include "some familiar names to the genre."
On November 15, 2024, the writing team was announced. Guza Jr. was named co-head writer, alongside Val Jean. Susan Dansby and Michael Montgomery were named as script editor and continuity producer, respectively. Jazmen Darnell Brown, Cheryl L. Davis, Danielle Paige and Judy Tate were named scriptwriters, while Sara A. Bibel, Ron Carlivati, Christopher Dunn, Gregori J. Martin and Teresa Zimmerman were named breakdown writers.
In January 2025, Ducksworth revealed to Entertainment Weekly she spearheaded the serial's creation, as part of a four-year "four-year effort to break new ground in the genre." "We wanted to have a show on the air that spoke to a different side of the Black experience. Not the downtrodden, not the ghettoized. We wanted to show rich, Black people doing messy things," Val Jean told the publication, via Zoom with Ducksworth, the latter of whom called the green-lighting of the serial "revolutionary". In a February 2025 feature in The New York Times, Ducksworth remarked it had been a "30-year passion, the point of getting this made." CBS chief executive and president George Cheeks believed there was "still an audience" for soap operas, which led to the decision to move forward with the serial.
The names and descriptions of nine series regular roles to-be cast were revealed by TV Insider on August 15, 2024, with note all actors "must" reside in Atlanta. The following month, the website reported the names and descriptions of six additional characters.
On September 19, 2024, the first three castings were announced. Tunie was cast as Anita Dupree, a "once famous singer who worked hard to succeed and raised two daughters with her now-retired senator husband." Duplaix and Mosley were cast as Anita's daughters, Nicole Dupree Richardson and Dani Dupree, respectively. Nicole is described as a "high-achieving and competitive philanthropist and psychiatrist, and exudes warmth, empathy and compassion", while Dani is described as a "former model turned momager who gave up her career for love." On October 4, 2024, three additional character breakdowns were revealed: one series regular and two recurring.
Ten additional castings were announced on October 25, 2024, with familiar connections to the formerly-mentioned castings: the Richardsons, the Hamiltons and the Thomases. Johnson was as cast as Ted Richardson, Nicole's husband and a "brilliant plastic surgeon with an ultra-exclusive private practice". Claybon and Muhammad were cast as Nicole and Ted's children, Martin Richardson and Katherine "Kat" Richardson, respectively. Martin is gay and a congressman, who lives outside of the gated community with his husband and their two adopted children. He is noted for his "ambition to be the first openly gay Black President". Kat is described as "indulged," "spoiled," "entitled" and "dismissive". Rounding out the Richardson family is Freeman as Andre Richardson, described as the "sophisticated nephew of Ted Richardson," who "tragically lost his parents in a plane crash and inherited a double fortune," allowing him to pursue his career at a photographer.
Durrett was cast as Dani's ex-husband, Bill Hamilton. Described as a "charismatic and calculated criminal defense attorney," Bill and Dani share two children: Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne and Chelsea Hamilton. Prepetit and Mantilla were cast as Naomi and Chelsea, respectively. Goings was cast as Bill's "intelligent" fiancée Hayley Lawson, who works as a paralegal at Bill's law firm. Mann-Grant and Michelle were cast as mother-daughter duo Dana "Leslie" Thomas and Eva Thomas, respectively. Additional castings, rounding out the main cast were announced four days later. Broadway stage legend Davis was cast as Dupree family patriarch, Vernon. A retired Senator, Vernon is described as "gentle, humble and generous". Hordges was cast in the role of Naomi's husband, Jacob Hawthorne. Manning was cast as Martin's husband, Bradley "Smitty" Smith; the names of their teenage children—not cast at the time of the announcement—were revealed as Tyrell and Samantha. Jacob was cast in the role of Naomi's best friend Ashley Morgan, a nurse at Washington, D.C.'s Garland Memorial Hospital. Gavin was cast as Derek Baldwin, a "devoted" firefighter, in a relationship with Ashley. Buglioli was cast as Nicole's best friend and Dani's neighbor, Vanessa McBride, a "high-end real estate agency owner". Alegria was cast as Tomas "Tom" Navarro, a "handsome and confident young attorney" who works at Bill's lawfirm, and has his eyes on Kat Richardson. The Real Housewives of Potomac star Karen Huger and Entertainment Tonight host Nischelle Turner made cameo appearances on the serial.
On October 30, 2024, an open casting notice was put out for bartending and wait staff roles. Other roles and breakdowns were revealed, via TV Insider. In February 2025, a competition was announced; production was inviting eligible students from HBCUs in Georgia to participate in a competition to win a chance for a walk-on role. That same month, it was announced Lindstrom and McClain had joined the cast as Joey Armstrong and Pamela Curtis, respectively. In March 2025, it was announced Robinson would replace Johnson as Ted Richardson, as the serial's first recast.
In August 2024, it was revealed Beyond the Gates would film at Assembly Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. The following month, it was reported production would begin November 4 of the same year.
On October 30, 2024, cast and crew gathered on set for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and table read-through of the first episode. Cast also contributed signed scripts and letters to their future selves, which were placed in a time capsule and encased on set, to be opened in the future. Production on Beyond the Gates began on November 1.
On January 19, 2025, production was featured on CBS News Sunday Morning. During the seven-minute segment, it was revealed production features a crew of over 200 individuals, including production designer Bruton Jones, who oversaw the creation of 27 sets and Wankaya Hinkson, who oversees the hair department. Both Jones and Hinkson, respectively, shared their thoughts on "bringing the authentic experience and aesthetic of prominent African Americans living in PG County to life."
Beyond the Gates premiered on February 24, 2025, at 2 p.m. ET (UTC−05:00) on CBS, with live-streaming and on demand access via Paramount+. On December 16, 2024, a first-look teaser was released by CBS. On January 25 of the following year, Essence published the full-length trailer for the serial. Six days later, another trailer was published by TVLine, introducing several characters from the serial. On February 11, 2025, CBS announced a week-long Entertainment Tonight special, Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood, hosted by Kevin Frazier and Sheryl Underwood. The five half-hour specials, which aired the week of February 17, featured "extended footage" from the cast's first read-through, as well as other behind-the-scenes content leading up to the serial's premiere. BET aired primetime and weekend afternoon encores of the series, consisting of the first ten episodes, for a limited run from March 10 to 23, 2025.
Beyond the Gates is simulcast on CHCH-DT, an independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, at 2 p.m. ET.