‘Beyond the Gates’ (BTG) spoilers share that the soap’s creator, Michele Val Jean, was interviewed by TV Insider and admitted that she’s been working on BTG for decades now and commends Shelia Ducksworth, her executive producer and president of CBS Studios/NAACP venture for helping her bring her unique vision to life.
‘Beyond The Gates’ Spoilers: Fate Intervened When Val Jean And Ducksworth Met Each Other
Val Jean explains that the project originated twenty years ago when fate intervened, and she met Ducksworth through actress Vivica A. Fox.
In Val Jean’s imagination, her creation would be a nighttime soap about a wealthy Black family. She envisioned it to be like Dynasty meets Generations. Ducksworth was impressed by her ideas.
For those who don’t know, Generations was the first and only daytime drama with a predominantly African American cast until BTG. Generations was on the air from March 1989 to January 1991. Val Jean started her career as one of the soap writers.
In fact, Generations was Ducksworth’s favorite soap when she was in college. She could see herself in the characters and felt she was represented.
Val Jean recalls working on Generations, “Sally Sussman created not only a wonderful show but a wonderful atmosphere. We were the little soap that couldn’t really because we were opposite the last half hour of The Young and the Restless,” she stated.
“Generations felt much ahead of its time,” adds Val Jean. “When it got canceled, to me personally, it felt like a death because I was so happy there.”
Fortunately, Val Jean is now in a much better position to succeed. BTG will air from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on CBS. It’s after Y&R and B&B in the plum spot that once belonged to As The World Turns.
‘Beyond The Gates’ Spoilers: Vivica A. Fox Played Maya Reubens On Generations
Getting back to Vivica A. Fox and how Val Jean and Ducksworth met, Fox played the character Maya Reubens on Generations, and Ducksworth shared with Vivica that she wanted to make a soap. She responded,
“Well, if you want to make a soap, you need to talk to Michele.”
Fast forward years later, Ducksworth became president of the CBS/NAACP Venture when she contacted Val Jean, who prompted her to move forward with her plans for this sudser.
It was around the pandemic, and soaps were ceasing production due to lockdowns. Val Jean reasoned that it would be a fun “COVID project.”
It’s interesting because no one was green-lighting soaps. Instead, soaps were getting canceled left and right.
The world of daytime drama isn’t the same as in the 1980s, as numerous popular soaps have been unceremoniously canceled in recent years.
This is part of what makes BTG so unique. There hasn’t been an African American-based daytime drama since Generations, and there hasn’t been a new soap since Passions in 1999.
Ducksworth has been excited about BTG since Val Jean presented it to her twenty years ago. She wanted to feature an affluent community and a prominent black family.
BTG is a groundbreaking new show with characters like no soap has ever had. It premieres February 24th. Get ready!
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