Last week, CBS properly hyped up its brand-new daytime drama with a five-part Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood extravaganza. Each episode took viewers behind the scenes of Beyond the Gates, providing tons of information and fun looks. It also spread the good word about the show, which is making its big debut on Monday, February 24.
A Fun and Informative Introduction
Female Forces of Nature
It took four years to make this soap dream a reality. Some of the show’s biggest pluses involve who helped bring this baby to fruition. Head writer and Showrunner Michele Val Jean and NAACP’s Sheila Ducksworth are the two women responsible for leading the Gates to air. In fact, they are the first two black female executive producers of a daytime soap opera ever.
Julie Carruthers, who previously worked on daytime soaps General Hospital, Port Charles, Santa Barbara, and All My Children, is the third woman to help lead the charge along with Val Jean and Ducksworth.
Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree) was the very first person cast on BTG. The veteran actress got a little emotional when she talked about this feat. “I was really honored to get the first phone call as far as casting was concerned, and to say to me that they could not imagine anyone else as Anita Dupree. It meant a lot to me. And it came at a really difficult time in my career. I had had a great disappointment previous to this.”
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Production Know-How
BTG’s 27 sets, which are located on 35,000 square feet of space, took over 3 1/2 months to build. More than 100 people built those sets from scratch. Meanwhile, a crew of over 200 people works around the clock to keep this production moving on a daily basis.
The cast says they shoot about 80 to 100 pages a day, often shooting an episode or an episode and a half in one day. “We have 20 Contract players, and we have another 20 additional players that are pretty constant and recurring on the show,” Carruthers revealed.
READ THIS: BTG gets epic Times Square Ad.
Easter Eggs
The backstory of Fairmont Crest is the name of the gated community viewers are about to discover. It was founded in 1951 by Vernon Dupree’s father, Paul Cheeks Dupree. There’s a painting of him hanging at the country club above the fireplace. In real life, the man in the painting is a pioneering architect from Ohio and Georgia named Paul Cheeks. He happens to be the father of Paramount Global CEO George Cheeks. BTG, of course, is airing on Paramount Plus.
There’s an actual visual representation of Fairmount Crest. On this crest, there’s an F and C, which equals Fairmont and Crest. The other two symbols are a lantern and what’s called a donos. According to the Welcome to Neighborhood special, the lantern represents abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman, who hailed from Baltimore, Maryland. Fairmont Crest is located in the DMV area, which stands for Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Meanwhile, the donus is a West African drum that stands for rhythm and life.
The diner, which is located outside the Fairmont Crest gated community, is called Orphey Gene’s. While D.C.’s real-life Florida Avenue Grill inspired the show’s diner, it’s named after Michele Val Jean’s mom. “She was a big soap fan, and she died in 1983. She did not live to see this, obviously; she didn’t live to see me become a soap writer. But she lives on here. So, mom, this one’s for you,” Val Jean revealed.
READ THIS: Soap Hub hits the red carpet of BTG’s big Paley Event.
In the country club are photos of Black Excellence, including Tennis Champions Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe and Track and Field superstar Jesse Owens. One of the paintings even gives a nod to Florida and James Evans of the late great TV hit-com Good Times.
There are two BTG sets, in particular, that are the heart and soul of the series: 1) Vernon and Anita Dupree’s home. The Duprees are, after all, the show’s core family. 2) The country club restaurant where the Duprees have their very own table. It’s reserved at all times for them. “They get the special place because they are the founding family of this entire development,” Ducksworth explained.
What to Expect
According to the cast, viewers getting in on the ground floor of this brand-new soap will get a soap that’s spicy and has plenty of secrets, eye candy, and grandma-approved sex scenes. It’s beautiful, dramatic, loving, and while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it’s hoping to make it better.
READ THIS: BTG’s Tamara Tunie visits The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Since this is a larger-than-life existence that these characters are playing, they should look for larger-than-life guest stars and cameos to populate this new universe when possible. In fact, right away, look for OG Potomac Real Housewive Karen Huger to make her presence known, as well as ET co-host Nischelle Turner.
Who knows what else may await BTG? Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree) has a big TV wish list for her show. She would love a crossover with fellow CBS daytime dramas The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless. Make it happen, CBS!
Beyond the Gates finally makes its big debut on Monday, February 24, at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT and PT on CBS. BTG will also stream on Paramount Plus. Let’s go!!!
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