BTG: History, Behind the Scenes Articles & Photos

[DemetriKane]

I just watched an interview with Debbi Morgan promoting her Netflix soap, she talks about being approached to join ‘Beyond The Gates’ and she had to pass because she was already filming her Tyler Perry show and they wanted her to move to Atlanta and she had no desire to leave Maryland. She's excited to watch the show, though.

[BetterForgotten]

Ah, maybe she was the first choice for Anita (who a lot of us thought she would be great for initially). Debbi keeps busy anyway and her career isn’t slowing down. 

[Liberty City]

The interview, around 8:12 (timestamped above), she does mention there was a discussion with her manager about the possibility of coming onto Beyond the Gates (which she does refer to as The Gates). And, from the sound of it, sounds like she might not have wanted to do it, due to the continued filming, but she is looking forward to watching it.

[ReddFoxx]

It would have been surprising if Morgan had not been at least asked. I imagine there is a chance she is asked to do a guest stint sometime in the future. Would be interesting to see her play a Helena Cassadine/Vivian Alamain/James Stenbeck type that randomly pops up to stir the pot.

[Faulkner]

Part of me wishes they’d found a splashy star for a short-term guest role to premiere the show, just to garner attention from normies and cut through the noise—perhaps as a villainous character who simply wreaks havoc to launch the series and gets killed off shortly thereafter. (Money is, of course, going to factor in there.) Not that Morgan Fairchild as the original face of The City did much to help that show, but these days, any recognizable face helps.

[All My Shadows]

I really have nothing substantial to support it, but I feel like it's been discussed on SON several times throughout the years. In my neck of the woods, at least, soaps = Y&R, B&B, ATWT, and GL. Pre-2008, younger people would branch out into the likes of DAYS, PSNS, and GH, but there might have been one or two people offline with whom I could discuss AMC or OLTL. There was just no competition between the CBS lineup of the 80s-00s and the other networks, and I imagine it's still the same but with much smaller numbers these days. I can almost guarantee BTG will have no problem up against GH in the south.

[robbwolff]

Excellent find!! And it's not just IMDB that is mentioning Jason Graham's casting. His own agency lists him as being recurring on Beyond the Gates.

https://resumes.breakdownexpress.com/one_page_resume.cfm?custom_link=109233-3953772

[Vee]

It's anecdotal of course, but that would track with my earliest memories of soaps. My babysitter for years was ancient when I was tiny, was from the South and she watched nothing but CBS. This was the mid-late '80s to the very early '90s. Nadia's Theme, the Marland-era ATWT intro from the '80s and B&B's theme are burned into my brain because of this.

[skiman12082004]

I am really looking forward to discovering who each character is. There is so much anticipation for BTG. It's like we've all been in a desert and now we're finally getting water. I can tell this show is going to be a fun ride.

[detroitpiston]

@All My Shadows @Vee Elder black folks loyalty to CBS down south is a real thing, when I first moved here and would stay at my Grandma’s we bonded over enjoying the soaps but she used to force me and my brother to watch the CBS line up even though I always preferred the ABC shows

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I would try to flip from Y&R to AMC and she’d be ready to whoop my ass

I noticed CBS affiliates tend to be the first channel number available in southern markets too and I think that plays a part as well. People turn the tv on and don’t bother channel surfing

Edited November 20, 2024 by detroitpiston

[Alan]

Tunie has been such a hardworking but unsung performer in so many different genres. It's exciting to think that she will be the 21st century Nancy Hughes or Alice Horton. I keep imagining that Anita will have her own jazzy musical cue when she appears on screen, "Anita's Theme."

[BetterForgotten]

I don't know, I see Anita as more of a Stephanie Forrester-type matriarch personally, lol

[Chris B]

I saw an interview where she was promoting her new tv show with Tyler and she said her team told her he was sending her an offer for a movie but he wouldn’t negotiate. When she saw the offer she was stunned because it was a huge amount of money. Then at the premiere he gave her another check because he said she did so well in the movie. 
 

Based on that, I imagine she got paid just as well for this new show and the show is a hit so it’ll likely continue. I’m not surprised this wouldn’t make sense for her now that she’s getting that Tyler Perry money. 

[ReddFoxx]

That is what I thought too. These days the old school matriarch is too stale and antiquated.

[BetterForgotten]

Yeah, my feeling is Anita will have a lot of agency and will be right in the middle of things. She won’t be pouring coffee and be the talk-to for every character, lol