"Beyond the Gates" Turns One!

It seems like yesterday. It really, truly does.

As those who read my stories know, I have had a love-hate relationship with soaps for nearly my entire life; I hate soaps but love their villainesses. I guess I was basically waiting for that perfect soap to finally hit the small screen. One with good angles, one that isn't so over the top, and one with good representation.

And on February 24, 2025, we got it!

The press for Beyond the Gates pretty much started during the late fall of 2024, so I spent months waiting on the fact that, for the first time in my life, I'd actually be watching a soap regularly, not peep in on certain parts for about three minutes. Beyond the Gates' run began on that aforementioned date in 2025, serving as TV's first-ever hour-long Black soap opera. It's also the first predominantly Black soap since Generations, which aired on NBC from 1989-1991, and featured a cast that included (but wasn't limited to) Jonelle Allen, Debbi Morgan, and late, great legends Richard Roundtree and Kristoff St. John.

Like all soaps, Beyond the Gates has a stacked cast, but the main central cast consists of Clifton Davis as Vernon Dupree, a former US Senator and the respected patriarch of the hallowed Dupree family. Tamara Tunie (aka Melinda Warner from several episodes of SVU) plays Anita Dupree, the wife of Vernon Dupree and an iconic songstress who serves as the immensely loved family matriarch. Daphnee Duplaix plays Nicole Dupree Richardson, the elder daughter of Vernon and Anita, and a respected therapist. Finally, there's Karla Mosley as Dani Dupree Hamilton, Nicole's younger wild child sister known for her modeling career, among other things.

A year can make a hell of a lot of difference in everything, and that includes BTG. So many characters went through a lot in the 365 days that passed, but especially the main four. The overall series pretty much began with Dani venting over her split from Bill Hamilton, and in that year span, she went from firing a gun during Bill and Hayley's wedding, to enjoying her own marriage to Andre--a marriage of benefits originally, though they are both in it for the long haul.

And then there's Nicole, portrayed as the calm antithesis to Dani's manic energy. We saw it in the first months of the show: Nicole and Ted Richardson; portrayed as everyone's couples goals. That is until Leslie, or Dana, or whatever the hell she wants to call herself depending on the day, popped up and blew up their anniversary celebration by revealing her past affair with Ted, which resulted in the conception and birth of their daughter, Eva. The split was lengthy, but it's done, and we've seen Nicole really show a different side of herself. Recently, Dani informed Nicole that they had switched personalities, and it definitely looks like that's the case. Dani is centered as of late, while Nicole has become quite wild, and I love that side of her.

Things became serious when it came to Anita and Vernon. We've seen them deal with so much in the past year, but the hardest hit came as 2025 was close to ending. Anita Dupree was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. We've seen Anita fight bravely and take on her illness one day at a time, with Vernon always at her side, all while still dealing with Leslie's tackiness and lately, Anastasia wanting to be the Black Helen Lovejoy so badly.

A few months ago, we were hit with the news that a huge crossover will hit BTG, as they will crossover with The Young and the Restless. It's not the first time this will happen, but this will be bigger than Bryton James' appearance in an episode of BTG. It's going to be a big event that will hit this summer, and it will include, among other names, Doug Davidson and--yes!--Eric Braeden. We have seen a bit of a crossover with The Bold and the Beautiful as well, and I still say that at some point, we'll see Sheila Carter appear on BTG. If that happens, oh man!

I knew I would love Beyond the Gates, but I never thought I would really just worship this show. It's an amazing soap and a terrific edition to the long standing genre. It's already been on for one year, here's to many, many more!