One of the main panels at Essence Festival of Culture was CBS’s Beyond the Gates. It was here that the series matriarch Tamara Tunie, who plays the fan favorite Anita Dupree, discussed what it was like to break new ground in terms of representation, and creating a new legacy for the next generation.

Panel host, Crystal Renee Hayslett, reflected on the fact that Beyond the Gates was the first soap opera with a predominately black cast since the 1989 serial Generations. She then asked Tunie what it was like to be on a show with such a powerful legacy and breaking new ground in terms of representation and partnership. Tunie responded simply, “It feels amazing.” She continued on, “I’ve been doing this showbusiness thing for a long time now, and when I started my career, usually, regularly, almost all the time the only black person in the room.”

Tunie went on to explain how Beyond the Gates brought her back to daytime television, a genre she had not regularly been a part of since she left As The World Turns in 2007. “To come full circle and back to daytime drama, this show was the only show that would’ve brought me back to daytime drama. Because of the leadership of the show. Because the executive producer is an African American woman, because the head writer is an African American woman, because the show focus is on a black family.

She explained how the soap was telling stories she was proud to be a part of. Sharing, “ It is putting out into the world this particular part of our culture, which we don’t see very often.”

Tunie added how she’s been able to be a true resource for a next generation of daytime stars bringing her unique skillset to help elevate those around her. The actress said, “It’s been my joy to be the matriarch. Not just of this family, but of this show in itself. To bring my years of experience, in all of the genres, in everything that I have put in my tool bag over the past forty something years.” She paused as the audience clapped in celebration. “Yeah forty something years y’all, proud of it.” She excitedly added, before continuing. “To be able to bring it to this project and share, and to teach, and to guide and to be a resource for our show. It’s a wonderful position to be in. It inspires me. Every morning I wake up. I’m filled with joy, and filled with passion and filled with love. That’s what is emanating throughout the show, and that’s what I think you all feel when you are watching this show, because we are putting together and collaborating on something that’s from a source of love and that’s what makes it tangible.”

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CBS officially describes Beyond the Gates as a soap opera that is “set in a leafy Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, D.C., in one the most affluent African American counties in the United States; a posh gated community with winding tree-lined streets and luxurious mansions to call home. At the center of this community are the Duprees, a powerful and prestigious multi-generational family that is the very definition of Black royalty. But behind these pristine walls and lush, manicured gardens are juicy secrets and scandals waiting to be uncovered. And those who live outside these gates are watching closely. These are the places where our characters live, love, work and play. Those who have “made it” and those who haven’t are all trying to navigate life … and some with more grace than others. “

Beyond The Gates is developed and produced by CBS Studios and the NAACP in partnership with P&G Studios a division of Procter and Gamble. The series is the groundbreaking first hour-long black soap opera to premiere in daytime. The creation is the brainchild of award-winning showrunner Michele Val Jean, in association with executive producer Sheila Ducksworth, and is the first new soap opera to premiere since NBC debuted Passions back in 1999.

Beyond The Gates airs weekdays at 2 p.m. EST on CBS and streamed daily on Paramount Plus.

Beyond the Gates can be streamed from the beginning on Paramount Plus.

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