CBS has officially greenlit “The Gates,” a groundbreaking new daytime soap opera developed through the network’s partnership with the NAACP. The series, which will feature a predominantly Black cast, marks the first daytime soap in 35 years to center around a wealthy African American family.
Set in an affluent gated community, “The Gates” will follow the trials and tribulations of a prosperous Black family residing there. While plot details remain under wraps, the soapy drama promises to bring a “new and fresh perspective” to the beloved daytime TV genre.
Michele Val Jean, a Daytime Emmy winner with over 2,000 episodes of experience writing for shows like “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “General Hospital,” has been tapped as writer, showrunner, and executive producer.
Joining Val Jean as executive producers are Sheila Ducksworth, president of the CBS Studios/NAACP venture behind the series, along with Leon Russell, Derrick Johnson, and Kimberly Doebereiner. The show is being produced by the CBS Studios/NAACP partnership in collaboration with P&G Studios.
“‘The Gates’ will be everything we love about daytime drama, from a new and fresh perspective,” Ducksworth told The Hollywood Reporter when the project was first announced earlier this year.
This landmark series, first unveiled in March, is slated to premiere in January 2025, ushering in a new era of representation and diversity for the daytime soap opera landscape.