First new daytime soap in 25 years draws encouraging audience

Beyond The Gates premiered last Monday.

By Emma Keates  |  March 6, 2025 | 4:32pm
Photo: Quantrell Colbert/CBS
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First new daytime soap in 25 years draws encouraging audience
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Network TV has had a rough go of it recently, but this week provided a small glimmer of hope for one of its longest-enduring genres: daytime soaps. Last Monday, Beyond The Gates—the first new soap opera to premiere since Passions in 1999—aired its first episode on CBS. Now the ratings are in, and they’re actually pretty decent. On CBS alone, the show averaged a little over 2 million viewers over three days, per The Hollywood Reporter. That’s about the same as General Hospital, though Beyond The Gates had more female viewers ages 25-54 than the long-running ABC soap.

Streaming also gave the show a boost. The series can now boast 5.2 unique viewers in its first week, which means all those people watched at least six minutes of the show. That’s significantly more than watched The Talk—the daytime show Beyond The Gates replaced in CBS’ lineup—this same week last year. 

Created by Michele Val Jean, Beyond The Gates isn’t just breaking boundaries as a brand new soap opera. Per THR, it’s also the first to focus primarily on Black characters in at least 35 years. That shift translated to its audience as well. The outlet reports that 55% of the show’s premiere week audience was made up of Black viewers, significantly higher than its fellow soaps. 30% of The Bold And The Beautiful‘s viewers were Black, with The Young And The Restless landing at 29% and General Hospital at 22%.

“I didn’t think it would happen—I’m still a little stunned,” Val Jean told Variety of the show’s journey from page to screen. She explained that she was first approached four years ago by executive producer Sheila Ducksworth about writing a story bible for a Black soap. She submitted it, but didn’t think it would go anywhere at the time. “Then, all of a sudden, literally, [Sheila] called one day and said Procter & Gamble had closed [the deal], and we were a go,” she recalled. “I give CBS a lot of credit for this. They’re taking a chance.” 

Beyond The Gates airs every weekday on CBS. It also streams on Paramount+.

 
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