Beyond the Gates Review: CBS’ Historic New Soap Is a Thrilling Throwback With Deep Daytime Roots – TVLine
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We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Could we be on the cusp of a soap opera renaissance?It’s been more than 25 years since a new daytime drama has entered the chat, plus an additional decade since one has been led by a predominantly Black cast, so it’s fair to say that Monday’s premiere of Beyond the Gates (CBS, 2/1c) marks a historic turn for the genre. Having screened the series’ first five episodes, I can assure you that things are looking up. Beyond the Gates centers around the mighty Dupree family, the beloved founders and social leaders of Fairmont Crest, an affluent gated community in a Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, D.C. Trading her lab coat for an endless array of fabulous couture, former Law & Order: SVU favorite Tamara Tunie commands every room as family matriarch Anita Dupree, who made a name for herself as a recording artist before settling down. This queen finds her king in Vernon Dupree (Madam Secretary‘s Clifton Davis), a retired senator and respected civil rights leader who would do anything to protect his family.
Related Stories NCIS Offers a Blink-and-You Missed It Update on the Hawai’i, Los Angeles and New Orleans Teams Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans Will Let Viewers Vote on Twists That Could Change Returnees’ Fates Anita and Vernon wield great power in their community, where one phone call can turn the tide of public opinion, and within their family, all of whom can be summoned to Dupree Manor with a single text message. Stern but fair, they serve as a guiding force in Fairmont Crest. And when you have veteran powerhouses like Tunie and Davis giving their words life, everyone listens.Filling out the Dupree family tree is an eclectic group of gorgeous overachievers. Anita and Vernon’s daughter Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) is an award-winning psychiatrist married to a handsome plastic surgeon (Maurice Johnson) with whom she has two children, including an out gay congressman (Brandon Clayborn). Other successful family members include an ace attorney, a newly promoted homicide detective and a social media influencer with something to prove.Now for the real fun: Beyond the Gates has a secret weapon in Karla Mosley as Dani Dupree, whose trainwreck of a divorce from duplicitous lawyer Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett) serves as the catalyst for much of the show’s drama. Not only is Bill newly engaged to their daughter’s former best friend (Marquita Goings), but he and his “child bride” are putting down roots in Fairmont Crest, flaunting their happiness in Dani’s face.
Every moment Mosley appears on screen is electric. Dani is a wild card, a loose cannon, an unpredictable force of nature whose actions are driven entirely by her fluctuating impulses. She can go from zero to 100 with a single piercing glance, and it’s thrilling to experience every time. Mosley is equally captivating in Dani’s more vulnerable moments, when she drops her defenses and acknowledges the deep level of pain that causes her to lash out.Seasoned soap consumers will find plenty to appreciate about Beyond the Gates. The show knows exactly what its viewers want — big swings, juicy twists, enticing cliffhangers — and it gift-wraps it for them in a comforting package. In an era when daytime dramas are on the decline, this feels like a lovingly crafted throwback, the type of multi-generational series you fondly remember watching with a relative.And there’s good reason for that. Beyond the Gates has assembled the Avengers of daytime storytellers, led by creator and showrunner Michele Val Jean, whose work on soaps like General Hospital (1993–2007) and The Bold and the Beautiful (2012–2024) earned her seven Daytime Emmy Awards. Val Jean also got her start working on Generations, daytime TV’s first Black-led soap opera, making this a truly full-circle experience. Additional heavy hitters include Julie Carruthers, whose daytime career includes an eight-year stint executive-producing All My Children, and Robert Guza Jr., who served as the head writer of General Hospital at various points between 1996 and 2011.
Make no mistake, Beyond the Gates is a soap with a capital “s.” Even daytime diehards might be surprised by the amount of twists and turns the show manages to take in its first week, which I’ve seen in its entirety. By the time Friday’s episode wraps, you’ll feel like you’ve known the Duprees for years, and (spoiler alert!) you’ll be dying to know what’s going to happen on Monday.THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: With its engaging cast and steady stream of titillating twists, CBS’ Beyond the Gates is more than just a historic moment in daytime. It’s also a drink-tossing, face-slapping, golf club-swinging good time.Hit PLAY on the video above to watch TVLine’s in-studio interview with Beyond the Gates stars Tunie and Duplaix, then drop a comment with your thoughts below. Do you see a visit to Fairmont Crest in your future? Comments are monitored, so don‚Äôt forkin’ curse and don‚Äôt bore us with how much your coworker‚Äôs sister-in-law makes per hour. Talk smart about TV! Comment * Name * Email * Your email address will not be published. We will notify you when someone replies.
ΔI’m so excited!!!!I am so excited – can‚Äôt wait to watch!!I’ve stopped watching soap operas so I won’t start watching a new one.Yet you felt the need to comment on this one and attempt to bring the rest of us down…you’re not gonna kill my joy!WhY mAkE a CoMmEnT ?Why write anything? Let people who still watch soaps and are excited about this have this space to enjoy our love of the genre. Let people enjoy things.Seriously? What is your problem? To comment is really to show an interest in the showI’ve been waiting on this since it was announced in 2024. I’m hoping for great things from this soap, I want sex, drama, fights, love triangles, murder (none of the main cast though), back stabbing and etc. BTW, I was a fan of the 1st black soap opera (Generations (that’s when I fell in love with Vivica Fox)), so I’m hoping this one is given a chance to grow and blossom and not end abruptly like they did Generations.I wish it success. I remember when Tamara Tunie played attorney Jessica Griffin on “As the World Turns”.I grew up with One Life To Live and General Hospital on in the background. I’ll definitely be giving this new soap my support/viewership.I’m really looking forward to this. The actors and behind-the-scenes people are fantastic. And with all the hype and promos CBS has put in, it sounds like this new soap is bursting with momentum right out the gate (pun intended). I just hope it continues past the honeymoon phase, and the writers take cues from the other soaps currently on air to avoid their pitfalls.Why didn’t CBS prrmiere it last Monday when it was a national holiday and thus exposing it to a potentially larger audience? Wasted opportunity!I am so excited for this. I loved ATWT when Tamara was Jessica Griffin, that era — the Doug Marland years — was Top Tier! I really hope (crosses fingers hard) that this harkens back to that time/feeling. It feels like it could.I hope this is a hit for CBS!I haven’t watched a soap since AMC, OLTL and GH… My mom would come home at lunch during the summer when I was out of school and watch AMC and then I’d watch the other 2. I blame her for my addiction that I finally gave up. However, this may reel me back into shows with secret twins, people coming back from the dead and someone sleeping with someone only to find out they are related lolWatched the first episode. It was okay. Good acting, great sets and fashions, decent breakdown writing but I don’t see much of an interesting plot so far. Way too much time on the scorned woman and you could see the predictable ending of the first episode a mile away. I loved Tamara Tunie on ATWT and will stick with it through the week to see if they can hold my interest. I want this to work as we need more daytime dramas. It would help if CBS put any effort at all in social media. That’s where people really go to discuss.I loved the first episode, posted to friends and family to watch and share on my Facebook and Instagram page ‚ÄúOne Crafty Sista‚Äù Looking forward to a great season Black ExcellenceüëèüèæüéâI just feel this soap is a Dallas, dynasty soap I think it would be amazing nighttime soap, I‚Äôm disappointed that they started the storyline with women being cheated on, and angry black woman , it could have built up to that why know show that we do have successful families and women and men that do get along that do have wonderful marriages and why is it always have to be negative especially Nice to when it‚Äôs starting with the storyline being that way, so you lost my attention when that happened? You know that‚Äôs basically what you‚Äôve been showing your trailer doing those Scenes , but I had no idea that it would start off that way so , it would be nice to see on a night time CBS , please believe me theirs excellent actors on the show. It‚Äôs just disappointing that you started out that way because we do have wealthy and very stable and happy families . I mean, I know this is soap, but It‚Äôs just I‚Äôm just disappointed. I‚Äôll leave it just like that. Why did we not show that happy happy family‚Äôs with Wealth.Nighttime soaps like the soap CD Dynasty, Dallas, Falcon Crest , Green leaf, and the Overal office, BYTG should be apart of nighttime soap, so to put this soap on daytime TV and then not show the positive side of black families was very negative to me, It is very disappointing. I‚Äôm doneShould have increased Bold&Beautiful to a full hour and started this show for 30 minutes.NO.I hope it starts strong out of the gate and holds the audiences interest. I got hooked on soaps being at home during the summer and school breaks. I hope that they find a younger audience and find a way to grab us the way the classics soaps did. I’m sure people are tired of judge shows and the news filling up the time in the afternoons and will look for something new.I watched and I really enjoyed this first episode. Brush of fresh air.I grew up watching Days of our Lives in the 90s at my babysitter’s house. Whenever it rained or it was too hot, we’d be inside watching what she wanted to watch after the morning cartoons ended. This new show reminded me of those days when soap operas had budgets for music and exterior shots. Some of the dialogue seemed basic, but I don’t now if it was the words or how they were performed for the audience. To be fair, they’re just getting started and that kind of thing usually evens out with more time as each character develops their own voice. I enjoy most of the characters so far. I hope to see Mike Manning’s character soon since I watched him on The Real World and on Days. All in all, I think it has promise and I hope soap fans will support it.The Bold and the Beautiful
is a badly written, mess!
There’s a perverted storyline
on B and B about a nephew Finn
who got his Aunt Poppy
pregnant and they
have a daughter together!
Sickening!!!
It’s astonishing how
it hasn’t been cancelled! Beyond the Gates
debut was not
good but I will watch
a few more episodes.Today was just amazing. Exceeded expectations by miles.Just finished watching the first episode and can‚Äôt wait until tomorrow! What a fun show to watch. It‚Äôs the soapiest soap on TV and that is a welcome thing. It‚Äôs like watching Black Dynasty! I especially love Tamara Tunie and Clifton Davis. Each Embodies so much class and charisma. I love everything about it, the actors and their characters, the Wardrobes, The sets, The whole vibe. I think it‚Äôs high time we had a new soap and the fact that it is predominantly a black soap makes it even more appealing. After one episode, you can count me as a regular viewer.Don‚Äôt ever plan on watching it everThat‚Äôs fine. Soaps aren‚Äôt for everyone. Just don‚Äôt ever show up in another comment thread for another BTG article ever again. Please and thank youI miss soap operas but at the same time, I can’t keep up with the TV shows I watch now. My soaps were Days of Our Lives back in the late 80s. Later I watched One Life to Live, General Hospital (and its spin-off, Port Charles) and even watched All My Children for a while. Best of luck to Beyond the Gates!By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
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Source: https://tvline.com/reviews/beyond-the-gates-review-cbs-soap-opera-black-cast-1235412598/
