“They embrace their messiness” — Beyond the Gates creators tease a whirlwind of family drama ahead on the soap opera

CBS's daily soap Beyond the Gates premiered on February 24, 2025, making history as the first American soap opera to focus exclusively on the lives of a wealthy Black community. The soap offers a dramatized insight into the relationship equation among the close-knit families in a privileged section of society.

The soap's creator, Michele Van Jean, who co-wrote the soap with Robert Guza Jr., called it a "messy family drama" in an interview with Soap Opera Spy published on February 23, 2025. She described the family as:

"This is a tightly-knit, accomplished Black family, and they're wonderfully chaotic - they're not without their flaws; in fact, they embrace their messiness."

Val Jean emphasized her commitment to keeping the storyline close to reality and away from clichés.

"It mirrors the core of most soap operas, filled with drama, but it’s anchored in something deeper - and for us, that anchor is family...I envision my show as being more rooted in reality."

Executive producer for Beyond the Gates, Sheila Ducksworth, expressed similar views:

"I always wanted to see a more accurate reflection of real life - it’s crucial for people worldwide to see another perspective on Black life in America...It’s both aspirational and achievable, and that’s what we aim to showcase."

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Beyond the Gates: What the soap promises to present

As the creators have emphasized, the Dupree family at the center of the soap will represent affluent African-American families. Val Jean believes that, like most Black families, the Dupree family members will be fiercely loyal to one another in times of trouble.

The soap is set in the picturesque, green area of Maryland near DC, within a gated community called Fairmont Crest, an exclusive location. The community houses many other families along with the Duprees, who share a good rapport and support each other.

While the storyline explores the usual relationship complications and emotional issues of the rich and famous, the Dupree family remains at the center of it all. The family consists of the patriarch, Vernon Dupree, the matriarch, Anita Dupree, and their two daughters, Nicole and Dani.

The Dupree family is at the center of the soap (Image via YouTube/@Beyond the Gates)

While Nicole is in a stable marriage with Ted Richardson, Dani's marriage with Bill Hamilton fell through. The soap opens with Bill marrying his latest girlfriend, Hayley, who is his daughter Naomi's friend. As Hayley tries to reach out a friendly hand to the influential Duprees, she receives a punch from the furious ex-wife, Dani.

The soap's cast includes Tamara Tunie, Clifton Davis, Karla Mosley, Daphnee Duplaix, Timon Kyle Durrett, Jon Lindstrom, Mike Manning, and many more.

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More trivia about Beyond the Gates

As Val Jean and Ducksworth have emphasized, in most American soap operas, the colored diversity amounts to about ten percent of the total staff. As such, the soap offers a multi-generational, diverse cast that includes Black, White, Asian, and people of Latinx background, besides various s**ual identities.

To make the show more authentic, the location of suburban DC was chosen, keeping the Black population in mind. Ducksworth gave an example to Soap Opera Spy that the fictional HBCU university in the soap is based on Banneker University, named after the real-life mathematician and astronomer, Benjamin Banneker.

Besides CBS Studios, the show is co-produced by the NAACP and Procter & Gamble Studios. While Michele Val Jean serves as the show's creator, the directors include Anthony Pascarelli, Phideaux Xavier, and Steven Williford.

Beyond the Gates will air every weekday on CBS at 2 pm ET.