More than a week since CBS shocked the entertainment industry with news that it is currently developing the first daytime drama series since the launch of “Passions” nearly 25 years ago, and the network’s first new soap opera since the launch of “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 1987, George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer for news and sports at Paramount+, recently revealed how “The Gates” came to be and gave some insight on whether the show will be a 30-minute show or one-hour.
In a far-reaching interview with Vulture, Cheeks revealed that “The Gates” is real and that the show is being developed following conversations with Sheila Ducksworth, president of the CBS/NAACP Production Venture, which was established in 2020 to develop content for the CBS Television Network, as well as the ability to sell programming to third-party platforms across the media landscape with an emphasis on producing premium content that expands the number of diverse voices contributing to an ever-evolving society, by telling inclusive stories that increase the visibility and impact of Black artists in a growing media landscape.
Courtesy/CBS/NAACP
“When we hired Sheila Ducksworth to run the NAACP venture, she and I had multiple meetings talking about what different genres she was going to lean into, and we talked a lot about daytime,” Cheeks noted, recalling his early discussion with Ducksworth on content she thought would work well for the network as part of her role.
“One of the things that the data made very clear to both of us is that daytime soap operas over index with Black women, and yet when you look at soap operas, it’s usually sort of a white-led family with supporting characters that reflect more of our society,” Cheeks continued. “So we just thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to flip that and make the core anchor family a Black family, and then make the other characters reflect more the broader scope of society?”
So, how did the idea behind “The Gates” come to be, and how did CBS manage to scoop up Michele Val Jean, the award-winning writer who had been rumored to be returning to ABC’s “General Hospital” after exiting as a scriptwriter at “The Bold and the Beautiful” in February?
Sean Smith/JPI Studios
“[Sheila] found this great writer, Michele Val Jean, who’s been in the soap opera space for 30 years. She came up with a pitch, and we loved it. We brought Procter & Gamble into it as well, because if there were going to be [product] integrations, we could do it more holistically and organically. All of that is to say, we did a lot of work on the front end to put this together. So while yes, it’s development, it’s accelerated development.”
While Cheeks couldn’t elaborate on when the show might be ready to air, he noted that everyone is behind it and wants to ensure they get things right from the start. “There hasn’t been a new soap opera launch since I can’t even begin to tell you when. But we have great success with ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ and ‘Young and the Restless,’ and so we think we’re the right folks to be launching a new soap. I wish I could tell you more about exact timing, but we’re so focused on getting it right, and that will dictate when we’re ready to launch it.”
Regardless, one detail Cheeks could elaborate on was whether “The Gates” would be a half-hour show or an hour-long series, stating, “It’s been being developed as an hour, but I can’t say for sure. I don’t know yet.”
In March 2020, Cheeks assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS, overseeing CBS-branded assets within Paramount Global, CBS’ parent company, including the CBS Television Network, which encompasses CBS Entertainment, CBS News and CBS Sports, as well as CBS Studios, CBS Stations, CBS Media Ventures, its first-run syndication business, and CBS-branded digital assets. In June 2021, Cheeks added the title of Chief Content Officer, News and Sports, Paramount+, to his portfolio. In this role, he extends the reach of CBS News and CBS Sports content to the streaming service and is responsible for global content strategy for Paramount’s free-to-air networks in the United Kingdom, Australia and Argentina.
As president of CBS/NAACP Venture, Ducksworth supervises the development and production of scripted, unscripted, and documentary content for linear television networks and streaming platforms.
Prior to joining the venture, Ducksworth served as head of scripted television and production for Will Packer Media, where she developed and managed projects produced for broadcast, cable and streaming services. There, Ducksworth oversaw the development and production of “Night School,” a pilot for NBC based on the hit movie, and also served as an executive producer on the Wendy Williams biopic for Lifetime as well as Will Packer Media’s OWN series “Ambitions.”
In addition to writing for “General Hospital,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Santa Barbara,” and “Generations,” Val Jean wrote for “Port Charles,” the short-lived spinoff of “General Hospital.” She also served as a consulting producer on the short-lived OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) primetime soap “Ambitions,” created by Jamey Giddens (writer, “Days of our Lives”).Val Jean has received 17 Daytime Emmy Award nominations since she began her daytime career in 1989 as a writer for “Generations,” the first daytime drama series to feature a predominantly Black cast, and the series many have already compared “The Gates.” She would go on to win seven Emmys overall, including four from her time at “General Hospital” (1995, 1999, 2003 and 2009) and three from her time at “The Bold and the Beautiful” (2015, 2016 and 2020).
