CBS’ New Daytime Soap ‘Beyond the Gates’ Was Launched From the Question, ‘What If the Matriarch of Its Family Had Been Diana Ross?’

variety.com:

Rosemary Rossi CBS has taken a leap of faith, greenlighting the first daytime drama on any network in 25 years, at a time when the genre’s future seems to be hanging by a thread.

But “Beyond the Gates” — which had its premiere on Feb. 24 — is not your grandmother’s soap opera. It’s a show centered around a smart, affluent, powerful Black family, one with stature and a rich history — you could say they’re the very definition of Black royalty.

For Black audiences, with the current political climate such that many minority groups are feeling marginalized and targeted, the timing for “Beyond the Gates” could not be better.

And the NAACP has joined in on the creative process, working in partnership with CBS Studios and Procter & Gamble. “I didn’t think it would happen — I’m still a little stunned,” says Michele Val Jean, the seven-time Daytime Emmy winner who’s the creator of “Beyond the Gates.” She was first approached four years ago by executive producer Sheila Ducksworth about writing a bible for a Black soap.