Sheila Ducksworth on Year One of 'Beyond the Gates' Taking Root With Fans in Daytime TV

·21 min·2 clips

Sheila Duxworth reveals how a 20-year dream to create a diverse soap opera finally became reality through a unique CBS-NAACP venture.

The episode begins with host Cynthia Littleton introducing Sheila Duxworth and the significance of Beyond the Gates as the first project from the CBS Studios NAACP partnership launched in 2020. Duxworth reflects on the challenges of producing a five-day-a-week soap opera, noting it's the most different thing she's done in her career. She recounts her childhood as a soap fan, watching General Hospital and Edge of Night, and feeling a lack of diverse representation. This inspired her move to Los Angeles with the goal of making a soap opera. Duxworth worked in development for years, connecting with writer Michelle Valjean, and they made a pact to create a soap. In 2020, a meeting with CBS's George Cheeks about the NAACP venture led to her pitching Beyond the Gates, based on wealthy Black communities in the DMV area. Procter & Gamble became an early partner, drawn by their history in soap operas. Duxworth discusses the show's audience, which accesses it via daytime TV, Paramount+, and the CBS app, and its diverse cast spanning four generations and multiple races. She announces upcoming guest stars, including Gayle King for a breast cancer awareness episode in collaboration with Know Your Lemons. The show features events like a cotillion and a crossover with Young and the Restless in June. Duxworth explains that while the show looks like a traditional daytime soap, it tells stories outside the box. She hints at other projects in development for the CBS-NAACP venture, focusing on fresh voices and specific storytelling. The episode concludes with Duxworth emphasizing the importance of intentional, entertaining content that reflects real-world issues.

As heard by us

A measured, trade-minded look at how Beyond the Gates is finding viewers across broadcast and streaming.

Sheila Duxworth frames Beyond the Gates as both a daytime serial approaching its one-year anniversary and a case study in how a new soap builds an audience.

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Why you'd press play

You want the media-business story behind Beyond the Gates, the CBS daytime soap people can watch live, on Paramount+, or on the CBS app.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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