Soap fans eagerly await the debut of the new CBS daytime soap opera Beyond The Gates, set to premiere in January 2025. Created and executive produced by veteran and multi-award-winning scribe Michele Val Jean, Beyond The Gates is the first new soap opera daytime has seen in over 25 years!
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Opening The Gates
Multiple sources have shared with Soap Hub news about not only who will be joining Val Jean as part of the show’s creative team but also a breakdown of characters they’re currently searching to cast. Actors in the Atlanta area, where the show will be taped, may have an edge in getting roles.
The Gates will tell the stories of the Jacksons, an affluent Black family that resides in a gated community (hence the show’s title) known as Fairmont Estates. While the show will shoot in Atlanta, it is set in the Maryland/Washington D.C. area. The Jacksons are considered “Black Royalty” within their community. The family will navigate trials and tribulations.
Soap Hub has learned of four characters the show is looking to cast. There’s Jessica, a Black female in her early 50s. She is high-achieving and competitive. Happy to reach the standards set by her parents, Jessica gives back with warmth, empathy, and compassion as a psychiatrist at Garland Memorial Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She is also described as being at “the top of society’s food chain.” What is the one thing that could ruin her seemingly perfect life?
Another character the show is looking for someone to play is Betty, a Black female in her late 60s to 70s. She is a family matriarch. (Betty surely will be joining the ranks of other soap opera beloved moms. Read about other matriarchs here.) A famous singer, Betty did not find success easily. She is proud to have raised two daughters with her iconic retired Senator husband. While she’s a doting mother, Betty is not someone who should be crossed.
Beyond The Gates also looks to cast Joseph, a Black male in his 50s. He is Sara’s ex-husband and a great criminal defense attorney. He is described as charismatic but also calculated. And those are the nice things that can be said about him! According to Sara, he is indeed “not nice,” a cheater, an opportunist, a publicity hound, and a narcissist.
However, make no mistake — Joseph is well-connected, well-received, and gets what he wants by any means necessary. Would The Bold and the Beautiful Daytime Emmy-winner Obba Babatundé (ex-Julius) be right for this part? Hmm….
Speaking of Sara, the show is also looking to cast that character. She is a Black female (mid-late 40s). Sara is described as the “Jackson family wild child. Free-spirited, beautiful, headstrong, and uninhibited.” Sara dropped out of high school to pursue a modeling career. However, Joseph persuaded her to give it up to be a full-time mother and housewife. As often is the case, old habits die hard, and as infidelity rears its ugly head, so does revenge….
In Soap Hub‘s opinion, these dynamic, exciting, and well-fleshed-out characters sound like a fantastic start as The Gates goes about finding actors to populate the show. All four roles are set to be contract players.
Joining Val Jean as executive producers will include some familiar names to soap opera fans — Bob Guza, formerly head writer of General Hospital, and Julie Carruthers, a veteran of many soap operas including Santa Barbara, Port Charles, All My Children, and General Hospital.
There’s no word on additional writers for the show. However, Soap Hub has learned that a multiple Daytime Emmy-winning scribe will be part of Val Jean’s team, but we’re keeping that name under wraps for now!
Sheila Duckworth, Kimberly Doebereiner, Leon T. Russell, and Derrick Johnson will executive produce the show. The Gates will shoot in Atlanta from November 4, 2024, to August 29, 2025.
What are your impressions of the characters that The Gates is creating? Which actors do you think would do a great job of filling these roles? Sound off in the comments below.
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