CBS Developing Its First Black Daytime Soap Opera In 35 Years

When you think of soap operas, I bet a few things come to mind. Even though they still run on television in 2024, these classic daytime shows are typically associated with the 1980s through early 2000s. If you’re old enough to remember, they would play right until 4 pm when talk shows like Oprah and Tyra came on. Soap operas have also been popular amongst middle-aged women for many years. Generations of adults can fondly recall their moms, aunts, and grandmas watching series like “Days Of Our Lives” or “All My Children” while they were off from school. Despite these shows transcending race and creed, however, they still all had one thing in common–their casts were majority White. CBS plans to change that stereotype with a brand new Black soap opera.

Titled The Gates, this forthcoming soap opera will be the first new one launching on a major network since the debut of Passions in 1999. It’s also CBS’ first Black daytime soap opera in 35 years, and they’ve teamed up with NAACP to get the job done. 

The Gates would also be the first Black daytime soap opera since Generations in 1989. It will reportedly follow the lives of a wealthy Black family in an upscale community, which is a refreshing change from the typical American soap. At the helm of the series is Emmy-winning daytime veteran Michele Val Jean, who will serve as its writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Val Jean has been a writer on the hit soap The Bold and the Beautiful since 2012 and has additionally written on General Hospital, Santa Barbara, and even Generations in the past.

“The Gates will be everything we love about daytime drama, from a new and fresh perspective,” Sheila Ducksworth, president of the CBS Studios NAACP venture, said in a statement. “This series will salute an audience that has been traditionally underserved, with the potential to be a groundbreaking moment for broadcast television. With multidimensional characters, juicy storylines, and Black culture front and center, The Gates will have impactful representation, one of the key touchstones of the venture.”

Duckworth added, “I’m excited to develop this project with CBS and P&G, two of the longest and most passionate champions of broadcast and daytime television, and the NAACP, whose enduring commitment to Black voices and artists is both powerful and inspiring. I also want to thank CBS’ George Cheeks, NAACP’s Derrick Johnson and P&G’s Marc Pritchard for their personal involvement and support to take our next step forward with The Gates.”

Val Jean will be an executive producer for The Gates alongside Ducksworth, Derrick Johnson, Kimberly Doebereiner, and Leon Russell. The trailblazing series is scheduled to begin airing on January 25, 2025. 

Image Credit: Andres Ayrton/Pexels

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