CBS has picked up new daytime soap opera The Gates to series, with a premiere date of next January, the network confirmed Monday. CBS isn’t yet announcing a specific date or time slot for the new show, which will be the first new daytime drama in 25 years.
The pickup comes on the heels of the end of CBS’s daytime panel talker The Talk, which will wrap up in December after a shortened 15th season. The timing of the two announcements seems to indicate that The Gates will take over The Talk’s time slot, especially considering there are no other slots opening up in the network's daytime lineup. That said, the network could decide to move things around prior to The Gates’ premiere.
The Gates will follow the lives of a wealthy Black family living in a gated community. The show will be written and executive-produced by Michele Val Jean. Val Jean previously has written and produced such shows as CBS’ The Bold & The Beautiful, ABC’s General Hospital and NBC’s Generations, which aired for a short run in 1989 and was the last time a network tried to launch a soap opera featuring a predominantly Black cast. Val Jean also will serve as showrunner, with Sheila Ducksworth, Leon Russell, Derrick Johnson and Kimberly Doebereiner executive producing.
Soap operas have generally fallen out of favor in recent years, with only three remaining on broadcast TV: CBS’ The Young & The Restless and The Bold & The Beautiful and General Hospital. NBC’s Days of Our Lives continues but streams exclusively on NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock. The last time a broadcast network tried to launch any new soap opera was NBC's Passions in 1999.
The Gates was developed as part of a joint venture between CBS Studios and the NAACP, which was established to elevate diverse voices and increase the visibility of Black artists. The show will be produced by that joint venture in partnership with P&G Studios, a division of Procter & Gamble.
