Latest news with #Passions
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Breaking Down Justin Hartley's Possible Love Interests on ‘Tracker': From Fiona Rene to Sofia Pernas
Justin Hartley's Tracker character, Colter, might not be looking for romance — but it always seems to find him. When Tracker premiered in February 2024, viewers quickly found themselves introduced to Colter. A survivalist who identifies as a lone-wolf but travels the country helping find missing people, dogs and more? Consider Us sold. It definitely helped to have a familiar face play Colter with Hartley previously gaining recognition for his roles in soap operas such as Passions and The Young and the Restless and TV shows including Smallville and This Is Us. But just because Hartley was used to playing characters that were the object of someone's affection didn't mean he was in a rush to introduce a romance on Tracker. Hartley warned viewers at the start that they shouldn't expect for his character to have a consistent romantic interest. Is Justin Hartley's Wife Sofia Pernas Returning to 'Tracker'? What They've Said 'The fact that Colter doesn't have a girlfriend, I think that's one of the things I wanted to sort of keep,' Hartley, who is also an executive producer on the show, told People in February 2024. 'I feel like if he has a wife and a girlfriend and a family, and he continues to do all these dangerous things, that's kind of selfish.' Despite not aiming to find Colter a partner, the first two seasons offered several possible love interests. From Fiona Rene's Reenie to Sofia Pernas' Billie, keep scrolling for a guide to all of Colter's possible romantic options: When season 1 premiered, Reenie wasn't just introduced as Colter's lawyer. She hinted at a complicated past that included at least one-night stand — but their ongoing chemistry was undeniable. There was also the fact that Reenie caught the eye of Colter's brother, Russell (Jensen Ackles), too. "I think deep down Colter loves Reenie. I really would like to think that he has unconditional love for her," Rene exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2024. "He really wants what's best for Reenie and he wants to see her happy. I think Elliott [Michael Rady] at that moment is really making her happy. So I think it's undeniable for Colter to feel that too. But does that mean that he is over it?" Rene didn't rule out Reenie rekindling her romance with Colter — or Russell. "Reenie loves some of that attention. Who doesn't love a little bit of validation here and there? We're all human," she quipped to Us. "But I think Reenie is looking for the caliber of man who can be emotionally, physically and mentally available. [Someone] in the same state who she doesn't have to track down every single time she wants to talk to him. I think that that's pretty pertinent." She continued: "[She wants] to have someone who is willing to put her as a priority — and that's hard. For Russell and Colter, I don't know if Reenie trusts that either of them are capable of doing all of those things. [They should] prove me wrong." Most Iconic Guest Stars From Justin Hartley's 'Tracker' Series: Sofia Pernas, Jensen Ackles and More Colter's chemistry with Pernas' Billie has heated up our screens since they reconnected in season 1. It probably helps that Pernas is Hartley's real-life wife, which has allowed Billie to return again and again as her connection with Colter gets more serious. 'She's wonderful. I mean, if I had my choice, I'd spend every minute with her," Hartley gushed to Us in July 2024. "What's really cool is when you meet someone that means so much to you, that you're so proud to be with and so proud of, and just such a fan of, and to get to see her work, because she's such a talented actor. She elevates scenes, and so it makes my job easier, actually. But yeah, it's just wonderful to work with her.' During the season 2 premiere, which aired in October 2024, Colter reconnected with Camille (Floriana Lima), who was involved in an open case he wasn't able to solve. Colter continued to look for Camille's missing sister, which led to an on and off relationship. "I think the relationship has changed based on the trauma bond. That's exactly what it is — a trauma bond," Hartley told TVLine at the time. "It's very, very sad, but it's like these married couples that lose their child, and they can't be together anymore because they see their child in the other person." Colter ultimately solved the case when he confirmed that Camille's sister was murdered. This brought closure to Camille — and ended her romantic bond with Colter for now. 'Tracker' Cast's Dating History: Justin Hartley, Sofia Pernas, Jensen Ackles and More Stars' Love Lives Tracker showed Colter hooking up with a detective during the series premiere and didn't stop there. During various cases throughout the seasons, Colter has flirted with or appeared to appeal to women he crossed paths with. Does that mean Colter could end up with someone random? Probably not.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hallmark's May Movie Slate Features Stars From Bridgerton, The Bold Type and More — See Full Schedule
Hallmark Channel is springing into love with its May for Moms event, featuring the cable premieres of five new movies loaded with familiar faces. Some of those faces belong to Kathryn Drysdale (Bridgerton), Paul Greene (When Calls the Heart), McKenzie Westmore (Passions), Dan Jeannotte (The Bold Type), Sarah Power (Good Witch) and Hallmark vet Holly Robinson Peete. More from TVLine ABC Sets Summer Premiere Dates for Martin Short-Led Match Game Revival, Bachelor in Paradise and More - But Where's Claim to Fame? What to Watch in May: Your Guide to 130+ Premieres Across Broadcast, Cable and Streaming Matthew Gray Gubler's Einstein Delayed at CBS Until 2026-27 Season - Find Out Why As for the movies, we have Hats Off to Love, set in the high-stakes world of horse racing; Love in the Clouds, the story of a hot air balloon pilot whose career brings him up into the clouds while his love life remains stuck in the mud; Love on the Danube: Love Song, which sees a pair of cruise passengers setting up their widowed parents; Love on the Danube: Royal Getaway, a story about a woman scorned; and Love on the Danube: Kissing Stars, which follows a publicist working with a difficult celebrity client. Check out Hallmark's full May movie lineup below, then drop a comment and tell us what you'll be watching! Premiere Date: Saturday, May 3 at 8/7c Starring: Ginna Claire Mason (A Holiday Spectacular), John Clarence Stewart (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist) and Holly Robinson Peete (21 Jump Street) Synopsis: 'Stella (Mason) designs hats and fascinators for socialite Rosalind (Robinson Peete) and meets her son Christian (Stewart) who's training a horse to compete in the Louisville Derby.' Premiere Date: Saturday, May 10 at 8/7c Starring: Paul Greene (When Calls the Heart), McKenzie Westmore (Passions), Gail O'Grady (Revenge) and Lorenzo Lamas (Falcon Crest) Synopsis: 'Reporter Brooklyn (Westmore) travels to the Balloon Fiesta to meet hot air balloon pilot Jared (Greene), who offers romantic balloon rides but is closed off to love himself.' Premiere Date: Saturday, May 17 at 8/7c Starring: Nazneen Contractor (Ransom) and Wes Brown (Deck the Halls) Synopsis: 'Fellow cruise passengers Sarah (Contractor) and Jack (Brown) play matchmaker with their music-loving widowed parents as they cruise down the Danube visiting European cities.' Premiere Date: Saturday, May 24 at 8/7c Starring: Starring Jessica Sipos (Chesapeake Shores) and Dan Jeannotte (The Bold Type) Synopsis: 'A jilted art gallery manager (Sipos) takes her honeymoon cruise solo and meets a charming prince (Jeannotte) posing as a European gentleman, who shares her passion for art.' Premiere Date: Saturday, May 31 at 8/7c Starring: Sarah Power (Good Witch), Brendan Penny (Chesapeake Shores), Kathryn Drysdale (Bridgerton) and Catherine Disher (Good Witch) Synopsis: 'Savannah (Power), a publicist, reluctantly works with Tripp (Penny), a celebrity who is having trouble connecting with his fans, aboard a cruise promoting his latest film.' Best of TVLine Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?) The Emmys' Most Memorable Moments: Laughter, Tears, Historical Wins, 'The Big One' and More 'Missing' Shows, Found! The Latest on Severance, Holey Moley, Poker Face, YOU, Primo, Transplant and 25+ Others
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Beyond the Gates' is the 1st Black soap in over 30 years. How the show makes sure ‘everybody's represented'
There are certain times in life when you pause, take in your surroundings and realize that you're witnessing the start of something wonderful. Tamara Tunie had one of those special moments when she sat down for the first table read of the new CBS daytime drama, 'Beyond the Gates.' 'The energy and the excitement were just so palpable, and there was just a knowingness that this was different,' the actor tells Having spent 15 years on 'As The World Turns' earlier in her career, Tunie is no stranger to soap operas. But once 'Beyond the Gates' began filming, Tunie instantly knew the experience would be unique, especially since she'd grown accustomed to often being the only Black person in a cast. 'It's very difficult being the only one, no matter how well you navigate it. So, to walk into a space where there are multitudes is a relief because when you're only one, you feel like you have the responsibility. But when there are multitudes, it's shared and it's a lighter weight,' she explains. 'Beyond the Gates' is making history as the first-ever one-hour Black daytime soap opera and the first daytime drama since 'Passions,' which premiered in 1999. But Tunie and her co-stars make one thing abundantly clear while chatting with ahead of the series premiere: This show is for everyone. 'You have not just the Black family, but you have white people, you have Asian people, you have Hispanic people. You have a gay couple. Everybody's represented in this show,' Tunie says. Daphnée Duplaix, who plays Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson on the drama, echoes her co-star's sentiments while explaining why the show's timing is just right. 'The reality is, there is no race. We are the human race. Our stories are the same. Our struggles might have been different, but our stories are the same. It's a universal show,' she says. Like other soap operas, the daytime series is chock-full of juicy intrigue, romance and complicated family relationships. Set in Fairmont Crest, 'Beyond the Gates' is an exclusive gated community in Maryland where multiple generations of the wealthy Dupree family reside. Vernon and Anita Dupree (Clifton Davis and Tamara Tunie) are the patriarch and matriarch of the successful family, which includes their two daughters Dani (Karla Mosley) and Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) and four grandchildren. The Duprees are basically Black royalty and their reputation precedes them around town. There's plenty of drama at the center of the series premiere, which introduces viewers to the Duprees as they navigate a rather delicate situation: the wedding of Dani's ex-husband Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett). In true soap opera fashion, the story behind Bill's upcoming nuptials is quite scandalous. As it turns out, Bill cheated on Dani with their daughter Naomi's (Arielle Prepetit) best friend, Hayley (Marquita Goings). The pair hit it off, leading to the dissolution of Bill and Dani's marriage. Like any tight-knit crew, the Duprees stick together and support each other through ups and downs, so the family unites to face this latest challenge together. Before 'Beyond the Gates,' a half-hour NBC series called 'Generations' made history as the first soap opera to feature a Black family at the forefront of the show alongside a white family. The show premiered in 1989 and ended in 1991. Clifton Davis, who plays the Dupree family's patriarch, Vernon, on 'Beyond the Gates,' recalls watching a few episodes of 'Generations' to witness his Broadway co-star Jonelle Allen in action on the small screen. 'That was a half-hour show. This is an hour-long show with the primary family being African American. That's a long way to come from 'Generations,'' he says. In the years since 'Generations' ended its two-season run on NBC, African American actors have played critical roles in a plethora of daytime soap operas. Kristoff St. John, who starred in 'Generations,' went on to build a wildly successful career on 'The Young and the Restless' as the head of the Winters family. He joined a host of Black stars who left their mark on the soap industry, including Debbi Morgan, Shemar Moore, Victoria Rowell, and countless others. Karla Mosley hadn't watched 'Generations' until she landed the role of Dani Dupree on 'Beyond the Gates.' But when she did, she saw a few familiar faces, including St. John, who she worked with before his death in 2019. Watching "Generations" while preparing for her role in 'Beyond the Gates' was inspiring for Mosley, who has appeared in several soap operas throughout her career, including 'The Young and the Restless,' 'The Bold and the Beautiful' and 'Guiding Light.' 'It emboldens and empowers me in my performance today. I feel like I'm standing on their shoulders,' she says. Davis, 79, honed his acting career during a period where roles for Black performers were few and far between. 'When I got in television in the early '70s, Melvin Moore and I were the first African American couple to host a variety show on network television, so that was historic. Trust me, there were no Black faces behind the scenes. It was just us. And if there were Black faces, it was because we invited them to be a part of the show,' he recalls. Looking back on this experience and comparing it to his time filming 'Beyond the Gates' thus far, Davis can't help but marvel at how the industry has shifted toward a more inclusive one. 'There weren't Black producers. There weren't Black writers. There weren't Black cameramen. There weren't Black lighting people. But here we are in another dimension in 2025, where 'Beyond the Gates' has all of the above ... I think we've come a mighty, mighty, mighty long way, and in my 50 some years of television, this is darn amazing," he says. When Duplaix auditioned for 'Beyond the Gates,' she was excited for the project. But it wasn't until she landed the role of Nicole that she started to realize what the show would mean to her and its future audience. 'I'm laying in bed and I woke up. I'm staring at the ceiling and it just hit me. I was like, 'Whoa, this is huge. This is groundbreaking,'' she recalls. '(I suddenly understood) the weight that we're going to be carrying for everyone. And that's when I got a little nervous.' Luckily, Duplaix wouldn't have to go it alone. She soon witnessed the extensive support system she'd have on set from her castmates, show creator Michele Val Jean, and executive producers Julie Carruthers and Sheila Ducksworth. Val Jean previously worked as a writer for 'Generations' and has had a successful career with multiple soap opera writing credits, including 'The Bold and the Beautiful' and 'General Hospital.' In an 'Entertainment Tonight' special titled 'Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood,' Ducksworth spoke to the significance of her and Val Jean's partnership on the show. 'We're the two first Black female executive producers in daytime television for a soap opera,' she said. The powerhouse producers, who have known each other over 20 years, also gave some insight into how the show came to be. Ducksworth, a longtime soap opera fan, said she's always wanted to make a soap opera that was 'reflective of people that I knew.' "Sheila said she wanted to make the soap about a family that lived in a gated community, so I just started thinking about characters and how to populate it and who they were and how they connected," Val Jean said. 'Beyond the Gates' prioritizes representation in front of the camera, but the series has also made diversity a priority behind the scenes with its crew. 'It's comforting when you walk into a building and you know people understand you and they understand how to light you and they understand how to do your hair and you don't have to explain anything,' Duplaix says. The diversity on set also helps fuel the actors' performances. 'I'm realizing that part of the reason I'm able to play Dani with such freedom and bravery is because I feel so safe in this environment,' Mosley explains. From writers and wardrobe stylists to makeup artists and hairstylists, each member of the crew is focused on making the show as authentic as possible and making the cast feel comfortable. '(It's nice) coming in not having to worry about my hair and if someone's gonna be able to know how to do it or not, not having to worry about my makeup, not having to worry about my clothes ... All of those things are elements that I didn't realize I'd been concerned about in the past that I don't have to think about now and that just makes the job so much easier,' Mosley says. While 'Beyond the Gates' is making history as the first series of its kind, Duplaix hopes the show's premiere is also significant for the soap opera industry in general. 'I keep saying, 'We're the first, but I surely hope we're not the last.' We're not reinventing the soap wheel; we're just making it better. Hopefully, next year there's another new show and the year after that so we can rebuild daytime television,' she says. Several of the stars of 'Beyond the Gates' have extensive experience in the soap opera realm, but joining a show at its inception is a pretty rare feat. 'The other soaps have been on for decades, so you're jumping on a moving train. We're at the beginning before the train leaves the station and the kind of impact that you can have in establishing the world is really special, and I'm loving being a part of that,' Tunie says. When Mosley first heard about 'Beyond the Gates,' she thought the series was a no brainer. 'At a time where there's a lot of division in our country and in our world, this can be a place where there's both entertainment and joy,' she says. While discussing the significance of the show, Tunie reflects on the importance of representation. 'We're not going away and we're not hiding our light. We're shining our light brightly, and this show does that,' she says. 'It shines the light very brightly.' Twenty regular characters will appear on the show, along with additional recurring characters. The four main members of the Dupree family are front and center, with members of their extended family also playing a vital role in the series. Below, get to know the key players. Who is Vernon Dupree? He's a former senator and the patriarch of the wealthy and accomplished Dupree family. Vernon's father founded Fairmont Crest, the exclusive gated community in Maryland where his family resides. Davis on his character: 'He's humble, even though he's reached many heights in politics and in society. He's a strong man. He doesn't have to push. He doesn't have to scream and yell,' Davis says. 'He's a loving, tender father and husband. He's mad about his wife and he's mad about his children and his grandchildren and he'll do anything to protect them.' Where you've seen Davis before: 'Blue Bloods,' 'Billions,' 'Madam Secretary,' 'Cover,' 'Halloweentown High,' 'Amen,' 'That's My Mama' and more. What has Vernon taught you about yourself? "It has taught me that I can still deliver. ... That's all I ever wanted was the work. The other stuff is nice. It's extra, though, because the real joy is doing it," he says. Who is Anita Dupree? The matriarch of the Dupree family was once a famous singer and is married to Vernon. She has two daughters, Nicole and Dani, and four grandchildren: Naomi, Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla), Martin (Brandon Claybon) and Kat (Colby Muhammad). Tunie on her character: 'She was a singer and an actor. She's won some awards. She fell in love with the rising politician and set her career aside in order to support his career and yet that performer is still in there,' Tunie says. "I saw her as a woman in her sixties who was glamorous, who was sexy, who was vibrant, who was vital, who loved unconditionally, who was all about family. She reminded me of my own mother.' Where you've seen Davis before: 'Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody,' 'A Journal for Jordan,' 'Cowboy Bebop,' 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,' 'As the World Turns' and more. Why 'Beyond the Gates' is for everybody: 'It's multi-generational. It's multicultural. The stories are human stories that are gonna be entertaining and juicy,' Tunie says. Who is Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson? She's the daughter of Vernon and Anita Dupree. She is a successful psychiatrist and is married to Dr. Ted Richardson (Maurice Johnson). Together, the couple has two adult children: Martin and Kat. Duplaix on her character: 'I actually wanted to be Dani Dupree because I knew she was feisty, fiery and she wore her feelings on the outside. Nicole is the complete opposite: she's sweet and soft. And I was like, 'Oh, she's boring.' But when we got into those first couple of scripts, our writers are so amazing. I was like, 'Oh, I'm gonna have some fun with her.'' she says. Where you've seen Duplaix before: 'One Life to Live,' 'Passions,' 'Lost & Found,' 'Pitcher and the Pin-Up,' 'RSVP,' 'Unreported' and more. On her lifelong love of soap operas: 'I started watching soaps when I was 4 years old and I was hooked just like everybody else.' Who is Dani Dupree? She's Vernon and Anita Dupree's other daughter and the sister of Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson. Dani, a former model, was previously married to Bill Hamilton and they share two adult children: Naomi and Chelsea. Mosley on her character: 'I can't wait to see what Dani's gonna do and that's how I felt when I read the script. It's how I still feel when I read the scripts,' Mosley says. Where you've seen Mosley: 'The Bold and the Beautiful,' 'Burn After Reading,' 'The Young and the Restless,' 'Hart of Dixie,' 'Guiding Light' and more. What Dani has taught Mosley about herself: 'She's helped me to share more about what's going on the inside ... it's made it easier for me to stand up for myself, to say what I feel is right, to ask for what I want. And that feels good,' she says. To further emphasize the value of representation on set, CBS Studios and P&G Studios partnered with NAACP Venture to develop the series. 'Historically, the NAACP has been talking to Hollywood about the issue of inclusion for decades. And so finally somebody actually said, 'Ok, yes, let's not just talk about it. Let's do something,'' Tunie says. The NAACP has lent its voice to enhance the production of the series, but Davis is quick to emphasize that the soap opera isn't 'a social studies show' or 'a documentary.' 'We do touch on the fact that we did marches. We touch on the fact that Anita and Vernon met on a march fighting for civil rights and people mention our activism and we speak to that and they talk a little bit about the history of certain protests. We don't land on it, but we brush by a little bit of that history and so it's not left out,' he says. This article was originally published on
USA Today
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
CBS' 'Beyond the Gates' is juicy soap-opera gold: Review
CBS' 'Beyond the Gates' is juicy soap-opera gold: Review Show Caption Hide Caption 'Beyond the Gates' makes history as first soap with mostly Black cast "Beyond the Gates" is taking a bet on reviving the soap opera genre with a mostly Black cast. Sometimes something old can feel refreshingly new. The soap opera is a genre older than the invention of the television, dating all the way back to radio serials of the early 20th century. It's also, in the eyes of many, a dying genre, with several longtime series sunsetting over the past decade and a half as viewership of traditional broadcast TV has declined. But never count out a classic, because a new soap is on the air this winter, and it's chock full of rich people problems, face slaps, secret love children, steamy sex scenes and big cliffhangers. And that's just in the first week. CBS' "Beyond the Gates" (Weekdays, 2 EST/1 PST, ★★★ out of four) is both the first new soap since NBC's "Passions" premiered in 1999 and the first ever with a predominantly Black cast. Produced in part by Procter & Gamble (the company that helped invent and name the first soap operas), "Gates" replaces panel/talk show "The Talk" and jumps into the daytime TV fray feet-first. It feels both old-fashioned and newfangled, with all the trappings of your favorite soaps in slightly different packaging. In the hands of soap veteran Michele Val Jean and producer Sheila Ducksworth, "Gates" may have enough melodrama in its fictional community of Fairmont Crest to go the distance. More: How 'Beyond the Gates,' network TV's first largely Black soap, is 'rooted in reality' The show follows the multigenerational members of the wealthy Dupree family, the first family of an affluent Maryland enclave headed by matriarch Anita (Tamara Tunie), a former singer, and her husband Vernon (Clifton Davis), a former politician and civil rights leader. The Duprees are all over the gated community: Their grandson Martin (Brandon Claybon) is the local congressman, their daughter Nicole (Daphnee Duplaix) is an award-winning doctor and another daughter, Dani (Karla Mosley), is a beloved socialite and former model. It's Dani who's at the center of the drama at the series' start, after her husband Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett) unceremoniously left her for much younger Hayley (Marquita Goings), a friend of Bill and Dani's daughters Naomi (Arielle Prepetit) and Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla). Bill and Hayley's forthcoming nuptials at Farimont's storied country club are torturing Dani, who vows to torture her ex and his new bride-to-be. Yes, "Gates" starts soapy and gets soapier with each episode, at least after a bit of a breaking-in period. Coming into the premiere of "Gates" will feel weird for quite a few soap fans, for the simple reason that not many were around for the first episodes of the likes of NBC's "Days of Our Lives" and ABC's "General Hospital" in the mid-20th century. The first few "Gates" episodes have to introduce a huge cast of characters, and to facilitate this citizens of Fairmont Crest call each other by full name and title frequently to ease the audience into the complicated web of relationships ("Hello, nephew!" "Andre Richardson, how are you?"). It can be a little stilted. But the necessities of introductions and exposition are dealt with quickly, and by this week's fourth and fifth episodes, "Gates" is chugging along like we've known the Duprees for decades. The short, 37-minute episodes (leaving lots of time for commercials) pack in the drama and plot twists, and most of the actors settle into their roles quickly. Tunie is a seasoned soap veteran and a magnetic presence, clearly the matriarch both the Dupree family needs and the steady leader "Gates" requires. If some elements of the show are shaky or confusing (many of the characters look too close together in age to play parents and their children, for instance), it's easy to forgive "Gates" the same way viewers have forgiven the whole canon of soaps for decades. This is not a class of TV known for its devotion to realism or logic. Despite all the history it's making, "Gates" isn't setting out to be revolutionary. If you don't like soaps in general, this is not the show that will change your mind. What it does offer that's new is a cast that reflects more of the genre's viewership and a unique perspective, plus some really great fashion moments, including Tunie rocking a curly silver wig in every scene like she's on a Paris runway. It's just the kind of comforting, heightened, sometimes-silly drama that can get you through a long day. And maybe restore your faith in the style of TV people have been watching for nearly a century.
NBC News
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
'Beyond the Gates' makes and reflects Black history at a critical time on screen and off
Black firsts in the 21st century are often surprising. 'Beyond the Gates' is no exception. The first daytime soap solely focused on a Black family premieres this week on CBS and comes as the daytime genre is disappearing. 'Passions,' which debuted in 1999 and ended in 2008, was the last new soap opera. But it was nothing like this. Even behind the scenes, it is not lost on executive producer Sheila Ducksworth and creator Michele Val Jean that they are television pioneers. 'It is 2025 and it's very true that Michele and I, from all accounts, appear to be the first two Black female executive producers doing a daytime drama,' she said during a virtual news conference in January. Tamara Tunie, who plays matriarch Anita in 'Beyond the Gates,' also remarked about the historic nature of this soap. 'The stark difference for me is the leadership of this show and the executive producer — being Sheila Ducksworth, an African American woman — and the showrunner, executive producer, head writer, being Michele Val Jean, is the first time in history as well,' Tunie said. The soap is the first fruit of CBS' partnership with the NAACP that was announced in July 2020, about two months after George Floyd was killed, to develop and produce scripted, unscripted and documentary content for both linear television and streaming. Previously, Ducksworth, who is also the president of the CBS Studios/NAACP venture, served as co-producer of the Showtime series 'Soul Food.' Val Jean spent her career writing for the soaps 'Santa Barbara,' 'General Hospital' and 'The Bold and the Beautiful.' 'She and I have known each other for over 25 years, and we always said that we were going to do a soap together, and this was just an idea that I thought was right, and there was a time for it,' Ducksworth told NBC News during her appearance at this year's SCAD TVfest with 'Beyond the Gates' cast members Clifton Davis, Karla Mosley and Daphnée Duplaix. 'And fortunately, not only did CBS feel the same, but Michele felt the same, and now 200 other people that are working on it feel the same.' While some may consider 'Generations' — which ran from 1989 to 1991 and featured Vivica A. Fox and Debbi Morgan — television's first Black soap opera, Val Jean, whose first foray into writing for the genre was on that soap, offers more clarity. ''Generations' had a Black family, and all due credit for that for sure, but there was still your white family,' Val Jean explained. The NBC series, set in Chicago, revolved around a Black family and a white family. 'Our show is based around a centralized Black family. Everything comes from the Duprees.' The Duprees are essentially royalty of the Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., area, who rule their gated community, Fairmont Crest. Tunie, beloved as attorney Jessica Griffin from 'As the World Turns,' plays a performer who met her husband during the Civil Rights Movement. Clifton Davis — perhaps best known for his leading roles in the classic comedies 'Amen,' opposite Sherman Hemsley, and 'That's My Mama' — is her husband, Vernon, a civil rights activist and respected political leader. Their daughters, the spitfire Dani Dupree and dutiful Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson, are played by 'The Bold and the Beautiful' and 'The Young and the Restless' alum Karla Mosley and Daphnée Duplaix from 'One Life to Live' and 'Passions.' On TV, 'you have not seen this many Black people in the middle of the day,' Val Jean promised. Davis said he modeled his character, Vernon, partly off congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, who died in 2020 at age 80. 'Beyond the Gates,' he said, is a result of the civil rights struggle. 'I think we find out in our show that much of the promise has been delivered. Certainly, you can see it behind the scenes,' he told NBC News at SCAD TVfest. From executives at the network, to the heads of hair and makeup, Wankaya Hinkson and Stevie Martin; to the head of production design, Bruton Jones; and, of course, Ducksworth and Val Jean, Black people are involved in all levels of decision-making for the show, he said. 'I think this is particularly the right time with a battle going on that's trying to remove Black history from the books and the pages of America. We're making Black history again, brand-new,' he said. 'We are living in the future with our new show.'
