Inside Assembly Studios in Doraville, soundstages are bustling with activity at a pace unseen on Atlanta film lots in years. "Beyond the Gates," CBS's daytime drama centered on the wealthy Dupree family, is seven episodes deep into production each week, marking a significant shift in television work happening in metro Atlanta.
"Beyond the Gates" premiered on CBS on Feb. 24, 2025. It's the first new daytime soap opera to debut on a major broadcast network since "Passions" wrapped in 1999—a 26-year gap that reflects the genre's decline. More notably, it's the first hour-long soap opera with a predominantly Black cast in daytime television history and the first soap to center a Black ensemble cast since NBC's "Generations" ended in 1991.
The show represents the first network soap opera ever to be produced in Atlanta, arriving when studio lots had grown quieter than in the previous five to 10 years.
The show emerged from a partnership announced by CBS Studios and the NAACP in 2020, following George Floyd's killing. Executive producer Sheila Ducksworth pitched the concept that summer during the pandemic. The journey from pitch to premiere took roughly four years.
Showrunner Michele Val Jean spent months developing the show's "bible"—the foundational document outlining characters, world-building and story architecture. CBS greenlit the series in spring 2024, and Val Jean assembled a writing team that grew to as many as 16 people to develop storylines for the Duprees and their neighbors in a gated community outside Washington, D.C.
The production has built considerable momentum by the numbers. More than 400 episodes have been produced, with over 300 having aired. CBS renewed the series this year for two additional seasons, extending it through the 2027-2028 broadcast season.
Ducksworth has been clear about her ambitions for longevity. "We will run for 100-plus years," she said during a recent set visit. Only four soap operas remain on broadcast television now, three of them on CBS. CBS remains the only network maintaining a dedicated soap opera block—a relic of a programming strategy that once dominated daytime television.
Ducksworth cited Atlanta as a deliberate choice to support the local industry during a period when studio activity had been lighter than historically. "I am so pleased to provide the Atlanta economic opportunity," she said. The steady work for crews, ongoing studio rental and ancillary services ripple through the local production community.
The show centers on family dynamics. Ducksworth described the Duprees as "the Black Kennedys, so to speak," a multigenerational clan whose wealth and social position anchor the narrative. "It's about family. It's a family that loves each other," she said.
Producers are betting on an existing ecosystem of soap fans migrating to the new entry. "Soap opera fans are like Marvel Comics fans; they are so invested in their stories," Ducksworth observed. That fandom has sustained shows through decades of declining viewership.
This season, "Beyond the Gates" is navigating a crossover event with "The Young and the Restless," bringing approximately six characters from that show's Genoa City into the Duprees' world for a week of episodes. The show's second season continues with new episodes starting July 24.
Ducksworth is credited as the first Black woman to serve as a non-writing executive producer on a daytime drama. She and Val Jean, the show's creator and head writer, have been clear that this milestone carries weight not as symbolic achievement alone but as part of rebuilding a format that had largely moved past Black representation.
For Atlanta, what's happening at Assembly Studios is concrete: jobs, activity and ongoing work in an industry that has learned to count on consistency as much as glamour.
