‘Beyond the Gates’ EP on Year One, ‘Y&R’ Crossover and Gayle King
As the CBS series “Beyond the Gates” approaches its one-year anniversary on Tuesday, executive producer Sheila Ducksworth says the milestone is the culmination of a dream decades in the making — a dream that started when she was glued to “General Hospital” as a 10-year-old.
“Launching a soap opera is the most different thing I’ve ever done in all my years as a producer,” Ducksworth said. Variety Podcast ‘Strictly Business’. “This is something I knew had to be built to last.”
Ducksworth, who is also president of the CBS Studios/NAACP content partnership, traced the show’s origins to her childhood, when watching “General Hospital” left her wanting more on-screen representation. That desire eventually drew her from New York to Los Angeles with a special mission: making a soap opera. The show, which centers on the wealthy Black Dupree family living in a gated DMV area community, officially launched in February 2024 and has aired more than 230 episodes over two seasons.
A major highlight in June will be a crossover event with CBS’s long-running “The Young and the Restless,” bringing six cast members from that series into the “Beyond the Gates” universe. “Bringing together the Newmans and the Abbotts with our patriarch and matriarch – it’s going to be a great week,” Ducksworth said.
CBS Mornings host Gayle King will soon guest star alongside actress Tamara Tunie in a breast cancer awareness episode produced in partnership with nonprofit Know Your Lemons. “I truly believe this episode will change lives,” Ducksworth said. “It will save lives.”
The show also has a cotillion episode planned for May and an unannounced Tony and Grammy Award-winning guest star for an Easter episode.
Ducksworth developed the show through the CBS Studios-NAACP content venture, along with head writer Michelle Val Jean and production partner Procter & Gamble, who have been involved since early 2021. She said reaching this anniversary reflects years of quiet perseverance toward a vision she never gave up on.
“It’s beyond my wildest dreams,” she said.
‘Strictly business’, yes Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about media and entertainment. (Click here to subscribe to our free newsletter.) New episodes drop every Wednesday and can be downloaded from Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play, SoundCloud and more.
