CBS orders new time drama under NAACP partnership
LOS ANGELES — CBS Tele- vision Studios has ordered a new daytime drama devel- oped under its partnership with the NAACP, the net- work announced this week.
“The Gates,” scheduled to premiere in January 2025, is the first greenlighted project to come out of the pact, which was formed in response to the national out- cry following the 2020 mur- der of George Floyd. The specific time period, launch date and other details wi l be announced at a later date.
The show will revolve around a wealthy Black fam- ily living in a posh, gated community. Michele Val Jean, a veteran of daytime dramas who has won multi- ple Daytime Emmy and Wr t- ers Guild of America awards for her work on “The Bold & the Beautiful,” will be the showrunner, an executive producer and writer.
If “The Gates” comes to fruition, it would mark broadcast television’s first new daytime soap opera in 25 years.
“The Gates will be every- thing we love about daytime drama, from a new and fresh perspective,” said Gates EP Sheila Ducksworth.
“This series will salute an audience that has been traditionally underserved, with the potential to be a groundbreaking moment for broadcast television. With multidimensional characters, juicy storylines and Black culture front and center, ‘The Gates’ will have impactful representation, one of the key touchstones of the venture.”
At the time CBS Television Studios and the NAACP announced their alliance to develop scripted, unscripted and documentary programs for TV networks and streaming platforms, the five-year deal was the most prominent agreement ever initiated between a major television studio and an organization outside Hollywood to create entertainment content.
Despite announcing a number of projects in development under the agreement, however, none has yet managed to complete the move from boardroom to living room.
“Neither (NAACP President) Derrick ( Johnson) or I realized when we made this deal how challenging the environment would become,” CBS Entertainment Group President George Cheeks told The Times last year.
“Streamers are now reconfiguring and redirecting their programming filters on the amount of shows they want to buy. Cable is slowly moving away from scripted.”