‘Beyond the Gates’ Stars React to New Soap’s Success, 5 Months After Its Debut (VIDEO)

Stephanie Sloane July 17, 2025, 3:24 pm

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Beyond the Gates, the first new soap opera in over 25 years, made its highly anticipated debut on CBS on February 24. Created by Daytime Emmy-winning writer Michele Val Jean, this bold new drama unfolds in an affluent Maryland suburb and follows the lives of the powerful, multi-generational Dupree family as they navigate relationships, ambition, and long-buried secrets.

Five months in, the show has built a passionate following, and series stars Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree) and Daphnee Duplaix (Nicole Dupree Richardson) sat down with TV Insider to talk about bringing the groundbreaking new show to life.

Tunie, best known to viewers as legal eagle Jessica Griffin on As the World Turns and Melinda Warner on Law & Order: SVU, admits she had no plans to do another soap. “I never really considered going back to daytime television,” she says. “But they sent me the first two scripts, and also a lovely note from Michele Val Jean, expressing her dream of me playing this role, which was extremely sweet.”

After a call with Val Jean and executive producer Sheila Ducksworth, Tunie was all in. “I just couldn’t walk away,” she says. “I wanted to be a part of this because of its historical nature. I spent 15 years on As the World Turns and oftentimes, the only Black actor, so having this Black family be the central family for the show, having a multitude of Black talent, not just on camera, but behind the scenes as well — heads of departments, designers, etc. — I was like, ‘This is a part of history, and I need to be a part of it.’”

Daphnee Duplaix as Nicole Dupree Richardson and Tamara Tunie as Anita Dupree — 'Beyond the Gates'

Quantrell Colbert/CBS

Duplaix, who had previously appeared as Rachel Gannon on One Life to Live and Valerie Davis on Passions, was equally thrilled to join the cast, but didn’t fully grasp the magnitude of the production at first. “It was probably three days in that I realized how big this was going to be and what it was going to do for the African American community, for television history,” she recalls. “And I was like, ‘Whoa, this is so much bigger than I had planned, and my life is probably going to change after this.’ But I was so excited.”

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Tunie, Duplaix, along with co-star Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree), who played Christina Moore on Guiding Light and Maya Avant on The Bold and the Beautiful, bring a wealth of soap opera experience to BTG, which helped in the early days of shooting.

“Those of us in daytime know this is a different animal than anything else,” points out Tunie. “And so not only have we been kind of able to step in and lead, but we’ve also been able to teach as well. And I think that’s really important because we were in a company where no one had done daytime before, so it’s not just the actors learning how to do it and the pace in which it has to happen, but also production, crew, cameraman, boom operators, lighting designers, everybody’s learning and so we were definitely able to help with our input.”

“I always tell people that soaps are a well-oiled machine; it’s a different beast,” adds Duplaix. “You’re doing 70-100 pages a day versus traditional television, which is 70 pages for the week… This is on a different level.”

The results speak for themselves — BTG has already made its mark, engaging viewers with its storytelling and dynamic cast. “There’s so many of those moments where the audience is going to feel so much,” says Duplaix. “You’re not just watching a show and being entertained. I really think you’re going to cry with us, you’re going to laugh with us, you’re going to love with us, you’re going to hate with us.”

In this exclusive video, the actors open up about their instant chemistry, the process of building characters from the ground up, why a purse stand became an essential prop, and so much more.

Beyond the Gates, Weekdays, CBS. Check Local Listings