For many older Black generations, summer afternoons were filled with watching soap operas – like All My Children and The Young and Restless – with family. Just when we thought one of our most cherished traditions would soon become obsolete, then came Beyond the Gates – the first American daytime soap opera to feature a predominantly black cast since 1989.
Cast members Tamara Tunie and Karla Mosley join the show’s executive producer, Sheila Ducksworth, on the ESSENCE Stage to give powerful insight into how and why they believe the series gained critical acclaim in just a few short months since premiering on our television screens.
“I think it’s all what we dreamed would happen,” Ducksworth shares. “Obviously it’s been a long time in the making…and [the fans] greeted us with open arms. The whole goal of what we’re doing with this soap opera is to portray a wide representation on a daily drama that has never been done before.”
Another dream Ducksworth had was that it would impact the younger generations the same way it impacted hers. “So many of us grew up, especially in the black community, watching soaps lying on a pallet on the floor, looking up at the TV. I think the idea is to bring that back. You know, something that you can watch with your family, but there is some content that hopefully will go over the little kids’ heads,” she shares as the crowd laughs.
It is no secret that in Hollywood, diversity is not always a main topic. However, when it comes to Beyond the Gates, it is the diverse cast, as well as the crew behind the scenes, that contribute greatly to the overall storytelling, captivating audiences worldwide.
“The beauty of our show is yes, the central family is African American, which is a first in the history of daytime television,” Tunie says, who portrays the show’s matriarch, Anita Dupree. “But what you may not be aware of is that behind the scenes, our hair department is completely African American. Our makeup department is completely African American. Our wardrobe department is completely African American. I would say about 75 percent of our crew and our people in the production offices are African American. So this is the first time in the history of television that an hour-long daytime drama has that kind of representation overall in all of the departments, and that’s what makes it unique and special, and a disruptor, if you will. We have disrupted daytime television, y’all!”
Adding to that, Ducksworth shares, “Even above all of them, we have the first black woman to ever create a daytime soap opera, Michele Val Jean. And her writer’s room is predominantly African American.”
“But the beauty of our show, and what we’re really finding out, is that what you see on camera is a diverse community,” Tunie says. “The Black family is the center of the community, but we also have an Asian actor, and we have a Latino actor, and we have Caucasian actors, so it’s really showing what we know the planet Earth looks like.”
Not only is the hit series pushing boundaries in terms of the complexions we normally see on TV, the hour-long drama also brings a diversity of stories as well.
“Because they are stories, and because they reflect our people, we can’t help but push boundaries because this is something that has never been seen before,” Mosley shares, who plays Tunie’s daughter, Dani Dupree. “And because it’s in our homes every single day, it’s allowing the world to see the beauty and richness of what we already know to be true. But also the messiness…we’re allowed to be messy but still come back to a core family and be supported, because that’s what we know to be true in our communities.”
Ducksworth shares that this wide range of storytelling was also by design. “We wanted to show a little bit of everything. You’ve seen the affluence, you see the successfulness, but you also see the scandal and the sexiness,” she shares. “This is a brand new day and a brand new era. And I have to say, it’s incredible how people have really come for it and love it, and we are just excited that you guys are excited.”
CBS’ Beyond the Gates, set in a lavish gated community where the Duprees are in power, is not only making history while telling stories never seen on daytime television before, but they are doing it authentically.
“What we wanted to do was just kind of pluck something that was out of reality. In suburban Maryland, there are several predominantly black gating communities that just imbue excellence,” Ducksworth explains. “That was really the genesis of it. We wanted to put in the culture and the things that we all know but that maybe the world doesn’t know. There’s no greater thing we feel that we can do than represent cultures as it truly exists. And we go to great lengths to make sure we have that represented fairly, honestly, and accurately.”
Tunie is no stranger to daytime television. She starred in As the World Turns, a soap opera that debuted in 1956 and remained on air for over 50 years. However, as one of the only Black stars on set at the time, she never thought, or even desired to return to daytime drama until Beyond the Gates came about.
“When you’re the only black voice in the space, it can be intimidating,” Tunie says. “But I’m my mother’s daughter, and she taught me how to speak up for what’s right. So now, fortunately on our show, because there is a community of African American players, we can tell many stories…because we’ve got different levels of honesty and truth and justice, so it’s not just one thing. When you’re the only black character on the show and there’s a story, then that’s the one story. As opposed to now, where we tell multiple stories on Beyond the Gates.”
She also shares why it has been such a joy to play the role of the show’s matriarch, Anita Dupree.
“What attracted me to Anita Dupree was that she’s a complicated person. You know, she’s not just one thing,” Tunie says. “I identified with her, and I identified with her love for her family because I come from a very large, loving family, and my mother is Anita Dupree in real life. She is talented, and she is smart. She has always been my role model, and she has always had that fire that Anita Dupree has. And so I truly, truly am inspired by my mom.”
From Guiding Light to The Bold and the Beautiful, Mosley is also no stranger to the daytime television scene. For her, she finds that it is important, through her character, to portray the shared reality of Black, successful hard working women.
“Dani is someone who was born into a legacy, which I think is so important that we see in the black community, because it absolutely exists,” Mosley says. “Also, as black women, we wear so many different hats,” she continues. “We are mothers. We are raising money in our communities. We are business leaders. And because of that, we have moments where we feel like we’re rising, and we have moments where we feel like we’re at the bottom of the heat. And I think Dani really represents that. It’s why I resonate with her, and I think so many other women do as well.”
Fans are so excited about the show to the point where they publicly expressed their frustration when they learned Beyond the Gates wasn’t airing new episodes this week. One of those fans includes Mosley’s mom.
“My mom texted me, ‘Call me back right now,’” Mosley shares. “I said, ‘Mom, what’s going on?’ She says, ‘Well, why aren’t there new episodes of Beyond the Gates?!’”
Tunie adds, “Yeah, I got former [Pittsburgh] Steelers football players’ mothers DMing me, going, ‘Where’s the show this week?’ ‘What’s happening?’ ‘What’s going on?’”
Explaining the reason behind the show’s lack of new drama this past week, Ducksworth says, “We really wanted for folks to catch up. Millions of you have tuned in, which is incredible. But we wanted to take a pause during this big holiday week and have people who have never seen the show get to experience it. And if you have seen it before, we hope you rewatch because with soaps, there are always hidden gems. There’s a lot of subtexts that you may have missed. And we’re hoping that you guys can go back to see it again for the first time all the way through – to either relive the magic or experience the magic for the first time.”
New episodes of Beyond the Gates return Monday, July 7 on CBS.