Reviewing Premiere Week of "Beyond the Gates"

After many months of hype and promos, we were finally treated to CBS' newest daytime soap opera, Beyond the Gates. Now I've said this before, I'm not exactly the biggest soap fan. However, after learning about this soap and the history behind it, I had to see this. Beyond the Gates is TV's first predominantly Black soap in well over 30 years, since the short-lived soap, Generations, aired on NBC from 1989-1991. The cast of that series included Richard Roundtree, Vivica A. Fox, and the late, great Kristoff St. John (who later played Eric Winters on The Young and the Restless).

Other than the historical factors, one of the main reasons why I was amped for this show is the main cast of characters. The centerpiece of Beyond the Gates is the prominent Dupree family from the D.C. area. The cast includes Tamara Tunie and Clifton Davis as Anita and Vernon Dupree, respectively. Tamara Tunie is best known to SVU fans as Melinda Warner, and it amazes me that Clifton Davis went from doing sitcoms such as That's My Mama and Amen to entering the world of daytime soaps. Daphnee Duplaix, one of Playboy's small number of Black Playmates, plays one of Anita and Vernon's daughters, Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson, and Nicole's sister, Dani Dupree, is played by Karla Mosley, who has done her share of soaps--all from CBS.

While this isn't TV's first predominantly Black soap, it's the first one created by a member of the Black community. This series is the brainchild of Michelle Val Jean, who was part of the writing staff on Generations and has been involved in soaps for over 30 years and has won many awards. The series premiered on February 24, 2025 on CBS, and oh man, do I love this! So much wild stuff on this show already, and it's only the first week!

Speaking of, I had considered a weekly recap for this show once it premiered, and in this recap, I'll go over what I consider the best moments from each of the five episodes. So let's get this party started.

February 24

The premiere episode set the tone for the show, and for me, the top moment was the official introduction of Mosley's Dani Dupree. As the description established, Dani is scorned as hell. She's divorced from Bill Hamilton, and the episode reveals that Bill couldn't keep it in his pants. So many affairs, but the one that broke Dani was Bill's dalliance with Hayley, who was a friend of Bill and Dani's daughters, and that dalliance led to an engagement and an impending wedding. Yikes. It gets crazier; the illicit couple is moving right in to Dupree Country, and we see Dani deck Hayley at episode's end. It's safe to say Dani's going to be quite wicked in this, but she's a wicked woman we can definitely pull for.

February 25

And the second episode gave us another reason to absolutely love Dani, as that episode ended with Dani ransacking Bill's desk with a putter. Absolutely beautiful! I drank in Tuesday's episode so much because I was already in love with this show after just a few minutes into Episode 1. Karla Mosley is absolutely killing it as Dani Dupree, and that is an absolute understatement:

Speaking of killing, or attempting to kill:

February 26

Three episodes in and we already have a new villainess added, my goodness! So Episode 2 introduced us to Leslie Thomas, and in the end of Episode 3, we see a random cyclist run Laura Peterson, Nicole's assistant off the road, and in the final moments, Leslie turned heel and was revealed as the attempted assailant, removing her gloves and helmet, but wearing quite the evil smile on her face. Leslie's played by Trisha Mann-Grant, and this is perhaps her biggest role so far. Leslie's heel turn was quite delicious; it's clear that she is targeting Nicole somehow.

February 27

The Thursday episode was actually the most tame out of all of the opening week's episodes. We see Leslie displaying her heel persona covertly, Dani hooked up, and we see the fallout for Laura's "accident" in the previous episode. However, the highlight for me was Bill's meeting with daughter Naomi, especially because Naomi gives Bill an epic and much deserved "Reason You Suck" speech. I thought right back to the first episode, where Naomi and sister Chelsea voice their feelings about Bill. Chelsea's disappointed in her father, but Naomi's blunt; she despises both Bill and Hayley, the latter being friends with the girls before being set to become their stepmother. Ay caramba!

February 28

When Friday came, I was thinking, "Wow! The first week of this is coming to an end!" I say that because I do know that some sites do weekly recaps of soaps, which makes sense due to the fact that some soaps have been on TV for many decades, so doing it day by day can be a bit on the redundant side. Plus even I, the soap opera semi-novice that I am, know that Friday is usually when shit turns up to 100. For example, we had another heel turn, and it was Leslie's daughter, Eva, who we figured Leslie's villainy was for. Sure enough, Eva's in on it; she gets hired in Laura's place, temporarily, and evil Leslie tells Eva that she's now "in her father's house." Oh boy!

So we see Dani actually pleading with Bill to get back with her (why, I don't know), and that leads to Bill shutting Dani down in very vicious fashion. The entire family attends the wedding, and as the vows are being said, we see Dani unleash a gun, and fire, with that moment ending Week 1! WOW!!!

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So we're left wondering who Dani shot, though I'm wondering if Dani's actions actually happened, or if it was a twisted fantasy in the mind of a scorned woman. Also, Leslie and Eva. Leslie's last line of opening week. Is Ted Richardson (Nicole's husband) the biological father of Eva? That's what Leslie's suggesting with that line. Holy moley. We needed Beyond the Gates so badly. I think this stands out above the other soaps that have aired for so long. The first week was thrilling! Next week should be epic!