CBS has finally rounded out the cast for its upcoming daytime drama, “Beyond the Gates,” adding veteran actor Clifton Davis to the ensemble. Davis, whose career spans six decades and includes everything from Broadway to Motown, will play Vernon Dupree, the family patriarch and a retired senator with a civil rights past. He joins previously announced Tamara Tunie, who plays his wife, Anita.
The series, set to premiere in early 2025, takes us behind the manicured lawns and opulent mansions of a wealthy, predominantly Black gated community outside Washington D.C. The Dupree family sits at the heart of this world, embodying “Black royalty” while harboring their share of secrets and scandals. Because, as we all know, even in gated communities, drama finds a way to climb the fence.
Joining Davis and Tunie are a mix of familiar and newer faces. Jibre Hordges will play Jacob Hawthorne, a police detective tied to the Dupree family by marriage. Mike Manning steps into the role of Bradley “Smitty” Smith, a stay-at-home dad married to a congressman, contemplating a return to his writing career. Jen Jacob will portray Ashley Morgan, a nurse and friend of Naomi Hawthorne, dealing with the ups and downs of life beyond the gates.
The cast also includes Ben Gavin as Derek Baldwin, a firefighter with a connection to Ashley, Lauren Bugliogli as Vanessa McBride, a real estate agent stuck in a loveless marriage, and Alex Alegria as Tomas Navarro, a young lawyer with his sights set on a member of the Dupree family. The rest of the cast, previously announced, fills out the community with a mix of characters whose interactions will no doubt fuel the drama.
“Beyond the Gates” has some weight on its shoulders. It’s the first one-hour Black daytime soap and the first new daytime drama to launch in quite a while. Whether it can capture an audience remains to be seen, but with a sprawling cast and a setting ripe for intrigue, the potential is certainly there. It’ll be interesting to see if this show can break through the noise or if it gets lost somewhere between the gates.
“Beyond the Gates” is a production of CBS Studios/NAACP Venture in partnership with P&G Studios. Executive Producers include Michele Val Jean, Sheila Ducksworth, Robert Guza Jr., Julie Carruthers, Leon W. Russell, Derrick Johnson, Kimberly Doebereiner, and Anna Saalfeld.
