This weekend, Beyond the Gates participated in the Essence Festival of Culture, connecting with fans and explaining the creation and importance of the project.
Given the various power struggles that often happen with black created properties, Panel host, Crystal Renee Hayslett, asked executive producer Sheila Ducksworth how she was maintaining the authenticity of the project. The showrunner explained, “The thing about Beyond the Gates is it is rooted in authenticity.” The executive continued, “especially being in the metropolitan area, the DMV, there’s such success, there’s such affluence in those neighborhoods. What we wanted to do, what I really strove to do, is pluck something that is out of reality in the suburban Maryland.”
Ducksworth explained how they tried to mirror the real world with their show. “There are several predominantly black gated communities that just imbue excellence. People that have gone to Howard, that are legacy schools for their families. They go to professional schools, they get a dental degree, a medical degree, a law degree and want to set up home in areas that reflect themselves and our culture and no greater place than the suburban Maryland area.”
Why did they choose the Maryland area as a location for the show? Ducksworth continued, “If you went and looked up the top 10 affluent suburbs for black Americans, over half of them would be in Maryland. So that was the genesis of it. Really putting that foot first, and actually then adding layers to it. Things that we know to be true.”
The executive teased the creation of a new fictional college. “Our school is Banneker University, which you will be seeing a lot more as we go along. That is our HBCU for the show, but we wanted to put in the culture and the things that we all know, that the world doesn’t know and bring that to folk who are experiencing it for the first time.”
Ducksworth continued to explain that authenticity is the key to everything that they do. The executive explained, “There is no greater thing that we feel like we could do than represent culture as it truly exist. So we go to great lengths to make sure that we have that represented fairly honestly and accurately with a lot of sauce, a lot of fun, and all of that. Definitely we strive for all of those things, so that we have authenticity at the base of everything that we do.
Karla Mosely, who plays Dani Dupree on the show explained how the structure of the series writing lends itself to that authenticity with checks and balances. The actress shared, “I will also add that I think the way that soap opera writers rooms work is really interesting.”
Mosley then went on to explain the process from story inception to it hitting the screen. Sharing, “So there’s Michele Val Jean, and she has an assistant, and they come up with all the story. Then they send that on to five outline writers, and then those outline writers write all the outlines. Then, those outliners send it to five writers who write all the words. Then, Shelia and her team read all of it and make sure that it all makes sense. Then it comes to us, and we might say, “wait, I said this in a script yesterday, but then I’m contradicting myself today.” So, there’s all of these levels of collaboration that help us to keep that authenticity and make sure that the story makes sense and feels real.”
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CBS officially describes Beyond the Gates as a soap opera that is “set in a leafy Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, D.C., in one the most affluent African American counties in the United States; a posh gated community with winding tree-lined streets and luxurious mansions to call home. At the center of this community are the Duprees, a powerful and prestigious multi-generational family that is the very definition of Black royalty. But behind these pristine walls and lush, manicured gardens are juicy secrets and scandals waiting to be uncovered. And those who live outside these gates are watching closely. These are the places where our characters live, love, work and play. Those who have “made it” and those who haven’t are all trying to navigate life … and some with more grace than others. “
Beyond The Gates is developed and produced by CBS Studios and the NAACP in partnership with P&G Studios a division of Procter and Gamble. The series is the groundbreaking first hour-long black soap opera to premiere in daytime. The creation is the brainchild of award-winning showrunner Michele Val Jean, in association with executive producer Sheila Ducksworth, and is the first new soap opera to premiere since NBC debuted Passions back in 1999.
Beyond The Gates airs weekdays at 2 p.m. EST on CBS and streamed daily on Paramount Plus.
Beyond the Gates can be streamed from the beginning on Paramount Plus.
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