Last column, I was only able to talk about the first two episodes of brand new soap Beyond The Gates. Now that over a month of episodes have aired, I can make a fuller assessment of the show. I’m going to go into what I think is great, what is lacking and what tinkering needs to be made.
World Building
It is tough to launch any new TV show. It is even more daunting to create a new daytime soap. A showrunner on a streaming show only has to create story arcs for 8 to 12 episodes. Michele Val Jean has to create arcs for over 200 episodes a year and set the show up so it can generate stories for years to come. That means setting up family dynamics, couples and conflicts from the start.
For the most part, I’d say Michele has been successful. The Duprees feel like a real family. I buy Anita and Vernon as this older power couple that adores each other and are still humping at their advanced ages. Michele has also paid attention to multigenerational aspects. Anita rapping with her granddaughter Naomi was such a cute moment.
I do think eventually they’ll have to add a second family to the show. Right now they have other satellite families like Leslie and her daughter Eva, and Ashley and her mother Jan. That’s cute, but they really need a more prominent family to counter the Duprees. Guiding Light had the Bauers, Lewis’, Spauldings and the Coopers. Once the show is more established, they need to figure out the launch point to establish that next family.
Moral Center
Dani is the flashiest and most dramatic role on the show. I understand why Dapnée Duplaix wanted to play Dani, but I’d argue Nicole is the more important character. Soaps need characters who are fundamentally good people. Not every character should be a lunatic who shoots up weddings or is a huge bitch. Nicole is the heart of Beyond The Gates. She is kind to everyone including her looney sister and her nephew who wants a white woman he doesn’t have chemistry with at all.
People have a tendency to underestimate the importance of this type of character on soaps. Jill Farren Phelps infamously listened to a focus group and killed off Guiding Light’s Maureen Bauer, which was the beginning of the end for that show. They survived Reva driving off a bridge, but Maureen’s death left a hole in that show that was never filled.
Fortunately, I do think they know how valuable Nicole is as a character given her prominence and how they’ve set her up for huge drama. Nicole doesn’t know that her husband Ted cheated over 20 years ago and that affair resulted in a child who is currently working as her assistant. That reveal will give Daphnée meaty material to play with, and it will contrast Nicole’s reaction to her husband’s infidelity with Dani’s meltdown over Bill leaving her. I don’t expect Nicole to get a gun, but I don’t expect her usual kindness and grace for a man who lied to her for decades.
Going In A Different Direction
Fans were shocked when it was announced Maurice Johnson had been let go and the role of Ted would be played by Keith D. Robinson starting in May. Recasts happen on soaps all the time, but he wasn’t on many people’s list of actors that could get replaced this early. The only reasons I could see Maurice getting fired are that he couldn’t deal with the soap schedule or they just really wanted Keith on the show. I just hope it is a smooth transition.
Designed To Flop
During the first episode, I felt in my soul that Derek wouldn’t last a full year on this show. The character is intentionally boring to get fans to want Ashley to cheat with Andre. Ben Gavin’s acting is not up to par, and he doesn’t compensate for it in either looks or chemistry with co-stars. I remember the hunks executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers hired on All My Children. I know she could have a man who looks like Superman on set in Atlanta tomorrow if she wanted. Derek was designed to flop and be discarded eventually.
Contrast Derek with Tomas. Is Alex Alegria a strong actor? Absolutely not. He’s gorgeous and he has chemistry with his co-stars. That is enough to save you for a while on a soap opera. They are also setting Tomas to be in a love triangle with half-sisters Eva and Kat. That signals they have plans for Tomas. Derek is probably either going to go crazy or leave town with his tail between his legs after he gets cucked. There is no long term potential for Derek.
Stakes
I do worry that they’ll have Vernon do a “We’re a respectable family!” press conference everytime a family member gets in trouble. That could get old fast. I don’t want him telling reporters that Dani blew up Bill and Hayley’s house with a bazooka because she had a tummy ache. I don’t expect Dupree family members to do prison stints, but there needs to be stakes. When Martin’s secret comes out, he needs to lose his congressional seat. His hubris needs to have some sort of consequence. If Vernon just gives a speech and it goes away, it will feel like this show wasted my time.
Diversity Hires
Smitty and Vanessa are so far the most popular white characters. They both are not treated well by their spouses. Martin is controlling with Smitty and expects him to be Donna Reed with a bubble butt. Doug neglects Vanessa to gamble when he claims to be working. This leads to her seeking out Latino personal trainers to give her the business while Doug sinks further into debt with Joey. We want Smitty and Vanessa to be happy!
Speaking of Joey, he’s very ’70s and early ’80s soap villain coded: a fairly realistic criminal who has a goal that isn’t freezing the world or locking a woman in a giant birdcage. His mission to drive Doug into debt has to be personal in some way, considering he’s just a random doctor. They have mentioned Vanessa’s family comes from money, so that might be part of it. Jon Lindstrom is clearly having fun with this role.
When it comes to Ashley, I’m ambivalent. I don’t dislike her. Jen Jacob isn’t terrible in the role. She just hasn’t popped yet. Trying to pair her with Andre isn’t doing her any favors. There’s no chemistry and it is rare to have popular Black male and white female pairings on TV. There was Simon and Daphne on Bridgerton and Andre and Rhonda on Empire. The list isn’t big. If they want Andre to be with a white woman, they need a different white woman.
Beautiful Sets
After years of watching poor soaps where characters live in hotel rooms and they all share the same shitty office, it is so amazing to see nice sets. And they aren’t tiny! They also spent their money wisely. The Dupree mansion and the country club look amazing while the police station is very generic. Fans want a mansion set to look nice. A police station set can look basic because we don’t really give a fuck about that set and they knew it. You can cheap out on sets like that as long as you don’t have Tamara Tunie sitting in a set that looks like someone is about to start cutting coupons.
The Pick Me
Bill is obviously going to cheat on Hayley eventually. The thrill of the affair and the “us against the world” vibes will die down soon. He’ll look for an excuse to cheat. Hayley could hog the blankets and he’d decide fornication with Dani or a stripper named Bambi is the only recompense for such a grievous slight. What would Hayley do if he were to cheat? I think she’d revert to type and go after Jacob.
Hayley is the type that wants something someone else has. With Bill, she gets to be with a powerful older man who spoils her. If she were to go after Naomi’s husband, she’d want Jacob because he’s fundamentally kind and not the type to normally cheat. There’s also the factor that he’s Naomi’s man. She must have been jealous of Naomi over the years. She has a rich and loving family. She has a loving husband. I could easily see Hayley deciding Jacob is her next dream as she pins her happiness all on dick and not healing what is broken inside her.
If Jacob were to cheat on Naomi with Hayley, they would need to set it up in a way that it doesn’t totally ruin him as a character, but is still salacious enough. I want Jacob and Naomi to be like Tom and Margo on As The World Turns. They can cheat on each other and even have outside kids, but they stay married. Jibre Hordges and Arielle Prepetit have a nice chemistry and they shouldn’t look to split them up too soon.
She’s A Star
I am so impressed with Ambyr Michelle. They really needed to get the casting of Eva right because she’s supposed to be in the vein of Kendall Hart and Dinah Marler — the long lost child of someone on the canvas who is bitter and ready to raise hell. It would be a disaster if they cast a flop in this role. Ambyr has risen to the occasion. She has chemistry with everyone, and I know when she’s on that she will deliver. Truly one of the MVPs of the show.
Room To Grow
Brandon Claybon’s acting is shaky, but I’m not calling for him to get fired yet. He does fit the role. I do believe him as an uptight top who wants his bottom in the kitchen making him a sandwich. I think with a little time and scenes with veteran actors, he can grow. I’ve decided to be patient with him. However, my patience won’t last forever. If I don’t see growth by May, I’ll start calling for Michele to have Mike Manning audition with every 35-year-old Black man in Atlanta that is gay or willing to play gay.
Dispatches From Soap Land
*I’m glad Ron Carlivati‘s Days tenure is ending with an actual good story. I’m hard on Ron, but a lot of that is because I know he’s capable of good work.
*GH desperately needs to send Kristina away. I can’t take anymore of this woman screeching about a baby that was supposed to be for her sister, and now Ric is seriously hurt because she cut the brake lines on his car.
*B&B had an episode written and directed by Heather Tom to celebrate her anniversary and women in general and it was about a mother choosing dick over her daughter. So heartwarming!
*I’m not excited for Billy Flynn on Y&R because Josh Griffith has this habit of creating characters with great potential and then wasting it. Billy had better hope he lands in a successful pairing quickly if he wants to last at Y&R because it is the most difficult soap for an actor soap-hopping. Though, it was smart to hop on a soap that will probably still be on in 2030.
