https://www.instagram.com/p/DLnr1RkJmR0/

July 2, 2025

beyondthegatescbs
We've become very aware of the perils ❤️
.
.
.
#BeyondtheGates #drama #soapopera #meme

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Beyond the Gates (@beyondthegatescbs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 hours ago, Errol said:

Whelp, the repeat/encore decision was DEFINITELY last minute...

Through conversations, it was a combination of things I've already cited and likely reactionary to the series low ratings the show had during the week of June 16-20, 2025.

Thankfully, the show recovered, but the decision to pull originals had already been made and they wouldn't have known that just yet since overnight ratings for daytime always appear lower until finals are released - the ratings Toups and I report each week.

Thank you for telling us this! I'm really surprised they would experiment like this... with a new soap. A week off, repeating the 5 episodes from the beginning does not sound like a good strategy to recover interest (if they thought it was diminishing). I would have upped the promos for the new episodes instead. Maybe even done a promo featuring more and more stuff from the future. As much as possible.

But hey, maybe they will prove me wrong and the experiment will work. I won't bet on it though. The other issue is the lack of promo for the repeats. A big percentage of people does not browse forums and has no way of knowing what is happening. And the truth is - confusing people is one of the surest ways to lose their participation in anything. That's a basic life-truth. People won't suddenly start watching more when they repeat old episodes. They will just lose trust in that their soap will be regular as usual. We soap fans love the regularity and the schedule of having a new episode every day. That's how we are. Not everyone, but a lot of us are. 

I'm not saying we'll see a dip in ratings, but if WE do see one... it will be ALL CBS's fault. Not MVJ or the people in the show. I won't blame them one bit. 

 

At the Essence Fest, Sheila Ducksworth was doing damage control by saying they wanted people to be able to "catch up" and "relive the magic". That's obviously not true since it was CBS' decision, but sometimes you have to give the viewers excuses. I saw this on the show's IG story and was not at the Festival for full disclosure.

7 minutes ago, ReddFoxx said:

At the Essence Fest, Sheila Ducksworth was doing damage control by saying they wanted people to be able to "catch up" and "relive the magic". That's obviously not true since it was CBS' decision, but sometimes you have to give the viewers excuses. I saw this on the show's IG story and was not at the Festival for full disclosure.

I really wish the network had communicated with Sheila Ducksworth and company, especially in going into Essence Fest. And perhaps Ducksworth should have reached out and said, "Why? What should be explicitly stated?" etc. But she covered it well.

10 minutes ago, ReddFoxx said:

At the Essence Fest, Sheila Ducksworth was doing damage control by saying they wanted people to be able to "catch up" and "relive the magic". That's obviously not true since it was CBS' decision, but sometimes you have to give the viewers excuses. I saw this on the show's IG story and was not at the Festival for full disclosure.

Then you have at the end Sheila, Tamara and Karla telling fans to tell their friends to watch the show. It sounded desperate.

1 hour ago, Soapsuds said:

Then you have at the end Sheila, Tamara and Karla telling fans to tell their friends to watch the show. It sounded desperate.

I didn't see Essence so I can't really comment but I will say this whole thing has been so disappointing on CBS part. Doing it is one thing but leaving the show in the dark as well as the viewers is insane. I'm sure it made them all worry.

The ratings are not as high as the Bell soaps of course but for a new soap it is doing well. Last week it was within 300,000 of GH, it continuously beats GH in the demos and it's doing much better than The Talk. Soaps are a marathon not a sprint. The fact that it's come out of the gate this stable is a good thing. They should be looking at ways to enhance viewer engagement and building the audience.

Of course the biggest irony is that this break came on the heels of a 12-week ratings high, during a storyline viewers are heavily invested in. If it comes back lower than it left us, that is 100% on CBS. They finally had a chance to build from the 1.5 range and CBS killed the momentum.

1 hour ago, Soapsuds said:

Then you have at the end Sheila, Tamara and Karla telling fans to tell their friends to watch the show. It sounded desperate.

It makes you wonder if they have been told something bad backstage. I feel sorry for them being in this position when they should be celebrating their new show.

2 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

It makes you wonder if they have been told something bad backstage. I feel sorry for them being in this position when they should be celebrating their new show.

If CBS was worried enough to pull it then this is likely when the meddling comes in. The good thing is they have so much in the can that if the ratings pick up CBS might back off but I wouldn't be surprised if we see changes in the new year. I can see the LGBT stories going first and I wouldn't be surprised if we see a name (white) soap actor in a big role.

 

I can't imagine what CBS would want from a new soap. Did it believe BTG would be closer to BB and YR's numbers out the gate? I highly doubt they were that delusional.

BTG has remained pretty stable since week 3. It would be silly to assume that numbers wouldn't drop off a bit from a big premiere, but it has been hovering at that 1.5 mil range. Obviously, the scary thing with soaps is when they begin to seep....drop and drop steadily over time. I just want BTG to show some growth. I also wish we knew what CBS was thinking. 

I'm not gonna go apeshit over this or and make a bunch of wild assumptions about network changes til I see how the situation evolves. (Though I do think the show does need creative changes.) It is a bizarre move on the network's part, if that's what happened. But the show isn't exactly bombing out in the ratings.

By the same token I also think it's an weird and inappropriate double standard to apply the same ruthless lens people only seem to selectively apply to B&B, DAYS or Y&R with much more vigor to a show that's been on less than six months.

Edited July 5Jul 5 by Vee

It's not out of the realm of possibility that there is political reasoning at hand here. Maybe CBS got calls from Karens complaining that a White racist was being shown on screen and panicked about it. 

 

1 hour ago, ReddFoxx said:

It's not out of the realm of possibility that there is political reasoning at hand here. Maybe CBS got calls from Karens complaining that a White racist was being shown on screen and panicked about it. 

I just hope it is not tied to any of the same garbage they are doing to 60 Minutes due to the merger Shari Redstone is involved in.

On 7/3/2025 at 11:38 PM, GLATWT88 said:

So how would a week of repeats remedy this situation?

I think in general, this week is just likely lower in the ratings. I noticed that with DAYS it's gone from being consistently in the top 5 for the past few weeks to being in the lower top ten on Peacock. I assume lower viewings levels worried them, but it's likely unnecessary. Daytime is a marathon, not a sprint. 

I agree with pretty much all of you guys' takes. We'll see if CBS's gamble was worth it. I hope they learn from it... if it backfires and never do this again. The perceived "drop" in ratings was not substantial to warrant any need for experiments. 5 episodes off... kills momentum, which this show was beginning to have. 

I just hope it didn't backfire and made people tune OUT.