Why ‘Beyond the Gates’ Is a Win for Black Soap Fans
- Natasha Parker
- Feb 23
- 4 min read
Midsummer. The front door is open, with the screen door letting a semi-cool breeze flow through the house. All the windows are cracked just enough to fit a small fan. Plastic covers on floral couches holding your legs hostage each time you try to get up. A large floor-model television with a wide back loudly playing as if the whole household is slightly hard of hearing. My Nana sits in her favorite chair, aside, her TV tray and snacks ready for the afternoon lineup. The 6ABC "12 o’clock news" is on... as it's the prelude to her daily lineup, which starts exactly at 1 PM. Her soaps begin. Or as she would say, “My stories are about to start—don’t bother me.”
Now, if you read this and immediately thought, "Hey, that sounds like my household!"—please don’t be alarmed. We’re Black, of course, we all grew up the same way. LOL!
If "the stories" were a big deal in your family, then you know everyone had their favorite soap. You were either an ABC Granny or an NBC Granny, and from the news station my Nana was dedicated to, it was only right that she stuck to the soaps on ABC. My Nana had been watching All My Children and One Life to Live since the '70s, and yes, that means she had been there for the love story of Angie and Jesse and also witnessed how the Lord/Manning/Buchanan women’s split personality disorder wreaked havoc through their family and town.
As I got into my junior and senior years of high school, the extreme storylines and absurd drama started to pull me in each weekday. And if I missed a day, I would call my Nana to get the play-by-play tea—and chile, she made sure to break it down scene by scene! This goes to show you the generational impact of long streaming television drama can have on their fans. Sadly a about 13 years ago my nana and mine favorite stories went off air leaving a void in our daily ritual of being pissed by a story line or yelling at the TV saying finally! to character get their lick back!
Here’s the tea! We are finally getting back that nostalgic, theatrical acting with the premiere of Beyond the Gates! Beyond the Gates is the new groundbreaking daytime soap coming to CBS in collaboration with the NAACP, featuring a predominantly Black cast, Black women executive producers, and making history as the first soap created by a Black female writer, Michele Val Jean.
The soap will be centered around the wealthy Dupree family in an upscale town in Maryland, and drama aint nothing but a word because the Duprees are ready to bring all the theatrics!
The first soap to be in production in 25 years by a major network, Beyond the Gates stars some of the industry’s most seasoned actors and actresses. Such as soap veteran Tamara Tunie, sitcom TV star Clifton Davis, singer and actress Karla Cheatham Mosley, and actress and model Daphnée Duplaix. The cast is giving luxury and bougie vibes and in the words of Karen Huger, who will also make a guest appearance, “It’s not about who you know, it’s who you are. And I’m everything.”
Although it has taken over 50 years for us to get a Black-led soap opera, where we will finally see "us" in a soap as the rich Black family that owns the hotels, holds influence, and isn’t just the Black girl who gets involved with the rich white guy, I want to recognize the Black women in soap history whose characters were significant enough that they always stuck with me. Tika Sumpter has gone on to play in some major roles, but she will always be Evangeline’s sister—IYKYK! So... shout out to Renee Elise Goldsberry, Debbie Morgan, and Tika Sumpter—your impact will always be cemented in soap history!
Arielle Prepetit who plays Naomi Hamilton gave us an exclusive on what it means to be part of a monumental show and why out of all roles she chose Naomi:
"It feels incredible to be a part of something so historic like this show. I’m so grateful and humbled to be in this cast of amazing actors and I’m excited for the world to see what we’ve been working on! I wanted to join the show because It’s everything I wanted in a job as an actor. I get to be a part of a large ensemble cast, I’m being challenged everyday with this genre and this amount of work, and I’m getting to play a character I’ve always wanted to play. Someone who is passionate, strong-willed, and fights for justice.
Prepetit also gave us a sneak peek into what we can expect from the drama and lets us know if her training as a dancer will come in handy during the season, saying:
What you can expect from Beyond the Gates, is DRAMA, definitely drama, but more than that juicy story lines that are extremely layered. Thank you for saying that!! I did grow up dancer and while my character isn’t exactly a dancer, she did inherit her Grandmothers, love and gift for singing so, maybe you’ll get to see a musical number at some point!
Let us know—are you excited to meet the Dupree family?! Drop some of your nostalgic soap memories in the comments!
I’ll go first—I was so hooked on One Life to Live and All My Children that when I was in labor with my son 15 years ago, I refused to go to the hospital until I finished watching "the stories" with my Nana. [LOL] We listen, and we don’t judge!
Courtesy of Paramount & CBS Studios
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