vanguard

I do believe it will probably be mostly newbies, and I want this one to appear so badly.

Dr. Demarco and Demetrius Evans. (My character names at least).

I feel like we should be getting more information very soon. January will be here before you know it so details about casting and other things should be released soon. Also, taping would have to begin around October or November in order to make the January debut. So there's that.

Blair Underwood as 'Frederick Gates", the family Patriarch.

Courtney Burrell as "JuLexus Mayfield", a stylishly dressed rising entrepreneur.

12 hours ago, Sapounopera said:

Before we start working on the intro... I want a black Jill Foster type. 

I support this fully. Lol. Jill Foster is a legend soap character. Bring on the black version of her.

5 hours ago, vanguard said:

Demarco/Demetrius. Lol.  Seriously, I'm having so much fun envisioning this show.

I have no idea who this fella is but he would fit for me in a dual role. A loving charismatic young doctor and a wicked club bouncer. Bring it Dr. Demarco and Evil Demetrius. Lol.

Demarco/Demetrius. Lol.  Seriously, I'm having so much fun envisioning this show.

19 hours ago, Khan said:

They're twins.  Demarco is a doctor, and Demetrius is a bouncer.  And Deniece, their kid sister, is following in their dad, Desmond's, footsteps by going to law school.

I like this. Their mom Delilah would make it complete.

On 5/6/2024 at 10:43 PM, detroitpiston said:

I can wait to see the character career set up. Black folks living behind the gates nowadays could get you a doctor, a preacher, musician, a social media influencer, a straight up scammer etc. They definitely should have a family who live right outside of the gates too trying to infiltrate.

 

That secondary middle class black family is what I'm hoping for. The one whom Demarco OR Demetrius is part of. Better yet, let's have them both, as brothers.

13 hours ago, Faulkner said:

I wouldn’t mind seeing a Demarco or a Demetrius or a Teyana. Some recognizably Black names.

I’m ready for some complex, interesting layered Black men. Curtis, T.J., Devon, Nate, Carter, and Zende aren’t cutting it. The soap writers couldn’t be less interested in those characters. 

Demarco or Demetrius I like as names for a character here. But he should be a dynamic heroic average working joe, instead of rich.

11 hours ago, kalbir said:

 

Or named after alcohol or luxury cars.

Chardonnay and Lexus as this show's dynamic young black super couple. Seriously though, I kinda like the name Lexus as a dude. Reminds me of some stylishly dressed and charismatic dude with a touch of class slowly building his fortune as an entrepreneur. I can envision a character such as him.

So are most of us thinking that the title of the show is the family's last name? I hope so, especially if the title remains. Maybe they thought of billionaire Bill Gates in order to name the show. If it ends up referencing something supernatural (like that primetime show from years past) I don't know how I'd feel about it.

On 4/19/2024 at 8:43 PM, ReddFoxx said:

Newcomers will be cast, but the producers will likely look at who can handle the schedule so they don't end up losing cast members quickly. Joan Collins had an issue with the taping schedule of Guiding Light even though she is very experienced in acting.

Actress Joan Van Ark from primetime soap Knots Landing basically said the same thing about daytime soap scheduling being very tough. That's why she didn't last very long playing the role of Gloria on Y&R.

I think The Talk is actually going to end on 01/03/25 even though they said December. Just in time for the hosts to ring in the new year while simultaneously bidding farewell. The Gates makes its debut on 01/06/25.

Bravo to this happening much sooner than I thought. Because of the January start date, I expect a lot more details very soon. Can't wait to see who's cast, the show's setting, what the characters do for a living, all of it.

4 hours ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

Any news about where the show will be produced?  

Hoping for Atlanta, I swear.

23 hours ago, dragonflies said:

Guess this frees up room for THE GATES

 

 

 

Well well well. No specific ending date in December though. Maybe it ends on December 20th while The Gates makes its debut on the 23rd, just in time for Christmas. Perhaps some beginning storyline with the holidays inserted as a backdrop.

Forget about Tyler Perry in any capacity other than lending his impressive ATL studio for The Gates. Still hoping ATL is chosen for the setting, but I am committed to this new soap no matter where they choose.

18 minutes ago, Planet Soap said:

I wonder how they'll fit this into the CBS schedule. Perhaps:

10 Lets Make a Deal

11 Price is Right

12 Local News

12:30 Y&R

1 NEW SOAP: The Gates

1:30 B&B

2 The Talk

This is probably simplest way to accommodate the new soap without massively altering or confusing CBS's daytime lineup. Y&R remains in it's successful 12:30 ET slot, Gates airs at 1 to get the carryover audience, and the fans don't change the channel because they know Bold is coming on right after.

I doubt the The Talk or the game shows will be sliced to 30 minutes. I also don't see the veteran B&B getting canceled for a new soap. As awful as the show has become, it's still number two in soap ratings, and has international appeal. 

I've seen people in other message boards suggesting B&B be expanded to an hour---if they cant fill 18 minutes without repition they definately cant fill a full 38.

Another issue is the paciffic timezone where the cbs schedule is totally different.

I'm leaning towards The Gates being an hour-long project, or at least that's what I'm hoping for.

1 hour ago, Khan said:

Actually, @DramatistDreamer, I think there were at least three: Frank Dandridge, Judi Ann Mason and, of course, Michele Val Jean.

Oh Lord! These three black writers wrote for Generations as terrible as it was? SMH. Please let The Gates have better and more formidable writers. PLEASE!

I still like the idea of this family owning five-star hotels and Caribbean resorts as their sources of wealth. Would tie in great with some juicy storyline as described in the show's article. Unbeknownst to the family, some sleazy business partner/undercover pimp/drug kingpin is using a couple of the hotels to run a prostitution/drug ring for example?

24 minutes ago, te. said:

Either way - the point is, if the specific business plays no part in storylines, then they might as well just have a wide and diffuse business portfolio. Oil played a large part in Dallas's storylines, wine was integral to Falcon Crest, fashion industry used to play a big part on The Bold & The Beautiful (I haven't watched it for years so no idea about current day).

If they're going to pick a business, then it better be something they can work into the storylines. Otherwise it'll just be what DAYS currently does with "DiMera Enterprises" which just seems to exist for the purpose of changing CEOs every three months.

How about these two options: 

Who said this family had to be rich within the first week? Friday's cliffhanger in the first week has the family discovering that they've won the largest Powerball jackpot in U.S. history. Take this suddenly rich family's storytelling ideas from there.

OR

A Bold and the Beautiful copycat idea of a fashion dynasty: African/Nigerian style fashions. The episodes can showcase fashion shows a la B&B with African/Nigerian models sporting the merchandise.

16 hours ago, Vee said:

(I always thought the ice cream business was a fun idea. )

NBC Generations did this, actually. That show's black family, the Marshalls, owned an ice cream business.

7 hours ago, ReddFoxx said:

I have no doubt the writing will be good simply for the fact that Black people have to work three times as hard as others just to get an opportunity and most are aware of that. Michele Val Jean probably didn't write present anything that she didn't recalibrate over and over (meaning synopsis, logline).

 

 

 

 

I think it's going to be sensational with boatloads of realness as it pertains to black culture, and perhaps even shocking in certain areas. Just review the article as it speaks of the show having multidimensional characters and juicy storylines. Might end up blowing the remaining four soaps out of the water. We shall see...........

2 hours ago, SteelCity said:

The soap I've been developing is about a Black family in the haircare/beauty business! That's funny.

There's one other wealth-creating aspect that this show might use to explain this family's fame and fortune, even moreso if it's in ATL. Personally, I don't like this idea because it would seem much too copycatted: EMPIRE!!!! I don't think I need to elaborate.

1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

We’ve bandied about quite a few names for wishful casting. Ultimately it will be the decision for tptb to make but I want to put another name out there, so if anyone who has an “in” with the development of this soap peeps this, in addition to the names I had mentioned like the likes of Tonya Pinkins, Tamara Tunie, Amelia Marshall, Victoria Rowell, Count Stovall and Petronia Paley, I want to suggest that they do not sleep on the talented and beautiful Loren Lott who was criminally underutilized on Y&R. Because of how little storyline she received, she’s still a relatively fresh face but one with valuable soap experience. 
Another name I would suggest is Lamman Rucker whose charisma and magnetism was used an abused during his time on ATWT.

Another thing that I wondered/mused about is what industry/field will the wealthy family(families) make their wealth on. I feel like at least one family should be a haircare magnate, right? There are some opportunities for some gifted hairstylists to really get creative here. Black hair is not just about creative expression, it can also be an art.

Loren Lott? Yes. Much approved. Assuming that the rich family will have a character playing a daughter, she fits. Very pretty and just looks the part.

Lamman Rucker? Yes again. Mr. Rucker is 52-years-old in real life so he definitely carries the feel of being a family Patriarch. Hypothetically, I think he would also work very well playing the lead to some low-income clan as well.