CBS Developing New Daytime Soap About Wealthy Black Family

Michael Ausiello
·2-min read

If daytime soap operas are a dying art form, no one told CBS.

The network behind The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful announced Wednesday that it is partnering with the NAACP to develop a new daytime drama about a wealthy Black family living in a posh, gated community.

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Titled The Gates, the potential series will be shepherded by veteran soap scribe Michele Val Jean, whose credits include General Hospital, B&B and Santa Barbara. Val Jean also served as a script writer on daytime’s first Black family-focused soap, Generations, which aired on NBC from 1989-1991.

If The Gates comes to fruition, it would mark broadcast television’s first new daytime soap opera since the launch of NBC’s now-defunct Passions 25 years ago.

Sheila Ducksworth
Sheila Ducksworth

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

CBS Studios’ development deal with the NAACP was “established to help elevate a diverse range of voices as well as increase the visibility of Black artists on broadcast and streaming platforms in an ever-evolving media landscape.”

The Gates development news comes one week after CBS handed its long-running, top-rated soap, Y&R, a blockbuster four-year renewal. Meanwhile, the current renewal pact for Y&R‘s sister soap B&B expires in May 2025.

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