CBS, NAACP to Develop New Daytime Soap Opera ‘The Gates’ With ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ Writer Michele Val Jean
The joint venture between CBS Studios and the NAACP is developing a new daytime drama for the CBS Television Network.
The series, titled THE GATES, follows the lives of a wealthy Black family in a posh, gated community. Michele Val Jean, who has written more than 2,000 episodes of daytime dramas and won multiple Daytime Emmy and WGA Awards for her work on THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL and “General Hospital,” will serve as writer and showrunner. Val Jean will also be an executive producer alongside Sheila Ducksworth, Leon Russell, Derrick Johnson and Kimberly Doebereiner. THE GATES will be produced by the CBS Studios/NAACP production venture in partnership with P&G Studios, a division of Procter & Gamble.
“THE GATES will be everything we love about daytime drama, from a new and fresh perspective,” said Sheila Ducksworth, president of the CBS Studios NAACP venture. “This series will salute an audience that has been traditionally underserved, with the potential to be a groundbreaking moment for broadcast television. With multi-dimensional characters, juicy storylines and Black culture front and center, THE GATES will have impactful representation, one of the key touchstones of the venture.”
Continued Ducksworth, “I’m excited to develop this project with CBS and P&G, two of the longest and most passionate champions of broadcast and daytime television, and the NAACP, whose enduring commitment to Black voices and artists is both powerful and inspiring. I also want to thank CBS’ George Cheeks, NAACP’s Derrick Johnson and P&G’s Marc Pritchard for their personal involvement and support to take our next step forward with THE GATES.”
The CBS Studios’ production venture and development deal with the NAACP was established to help elevate a diverse range of voices as well as increase the visibility of Black artists on broadcast and streaming platforms in an ever-evolving media landscape.