Cady McClain and Jon Lindstrom are the latest to have joined the cast of Beyond the Gates; read on to find out more!
Groundbreaking, long overdue, transformative, and imminent… the American soap opera Beyond the Gates, “BTG,” will commence its trailblazing on Monday, February 24, 2025, at 2pm ET on CBS and will stream live and on demand via Paramount+! Soap Opera News, soap opera fans, television fans and the entertainment industry alike are all on the tip of its tippy toes in anticipation for this historic event and experience!
Beyond the Gates is the first one-hour daytime drama with a predominately Black American cast. The show is the brainchild of the creator, executive producer, and showrunner, Michele Val Jean, and is developed and produced by the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture, led by Sheila Ducksworth, in partnership with P&G Studios. The drama is set in an affluent Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, DC and centers around the Black, beautiful and highly successful Dupree family.
Val Jean, Ducksworth, and members of the incredible who’s who cast joined members of the press to chat all things Beyond the Gates. Energy, pride, and joy permeated the atmosphere and increased the already high levels of enthusiasm and excitement. Another theme piercing the atmosphere is that Beyond the Gates is intentionally, unapologetically, and boldly Black.
The Gates
Val Jean and Ducksworth talked about their multi-decade (and counting) friendship and their mutual desire and vision to write a Black American soap opera. The venture originated twenty years ago as a nighttime pilot about a rich Black American family penned by Val Jean. Although that project didn’t come to fruition, it sealed the duo’s commitment to work together one day. One day came four years ago when Ducksworth became the President of the CBS/NAACP Venture and called Val Jean to let her know the time was now to fulfill their vision.
Soap operas have been a dying genre, and the surviving soaps over the years have dwindled down to four. Given this, Val Jean shared she wasn’t sure anything would come from the phone call with Ducksworth, but she began and kept working on the show’s Bible anyway. And here they are. Perseverance, perseveres.
Ducksworth praised Val Jean for taking a kernel and making something “incredible happen just from an idea.” Ducksworth also spoke about her desire to showcase a real and authentic premise. The fictional setting of the show mirrors an actual area in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia “DMV” landscape, a big, sprawling, opulent, gated area populated by Black Americans. She wanted to show audiences a reel place where they could check out the demographics and say this place exists for real. Reel showcases real.
Cady McClain & Jon Lindstrom Join Beyond the Gates
Some members of the show’s cast, including Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree, family matriarch), Clifton Davis (Vernon Dupree, family patriarch), Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree, daughter, former model-turned-momager), and Daphnee Duplaix (Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson, daughter, philanthropist and psychiatrist), were present and shared how they became involved in the show, talked about their characters, and what they are most excited for fans to see.
Also, during the press junket, Val Jean announced two new members of the cast who joined the discussion: soap opera icons Cady McClain and Jon Lindstrom!
McClain portrays Pamela Curtis. McClain teased Dani and Pamela are old friends who get into a bit of trouble. Meanwhile, Lindstrom portrays Joey Armstrong, who is from the wrong side of the tracks but who, as Lindstrom describes, has fought his way up.
If you haven’t set your calendars and/or DVR’s, please do so! Beyond the Gates premieres February 24, 2025, at 2pm ET on CBS and will stream live and on demand via Paramount+!
It is almost that time! We can’t wait to enter the Gates of Fairmont Crest!
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