Karla Mosley Says ‘Beyond the Gates’ Is ‘Best of What Soaps Have to Offer’

Beyond the Gates, the first new soap opera to be greenlit in over 25 years, will premiere on CBS on February 24. Set in an affluent Maryland suburb, the show, which features a predominately Black cast, focuses on the trials and tribulations of the Dupree family and everyone in their orbit.

Daytime alum Karla Mosley, who played Guiding Light‘s Christina Moore Boudreau and The Bold and the Beautiful‘s Maya Avant, is proud to be a part of the production as feisty Dani Dupree.

“We had Generations [the NBC soap that ran from 1990-91], but this is a very different thing because it centers around a Black family, and it’s an hour long, and it’s been 25 years,” Mosley points out. “We really are making something that’s never been done before, and it’s the best of what soaps have to offer — it is dramatic, but it’s also funny. It touches your heart. You want to be with these people, you care about them, you hate them. We’ve never been able to sit with the various types of Black folks for this long the way that you get to in a soap opera, and that’s special. It feels like a privilege to be a part of telling those stories.”

But Mosley admits she wasn’t initially on board to move to Atlanta to film the series even though the pitch from creator Michele Val Jean thoroughly dazzled her. After talking to Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter Walton, B&B), her former costar on both B&B and GL, and pal Tina Huang (Melinda Trask, Days of our Lives), Mosley reconsidered. “I sent Michele a message, and I said, ‘What you’re doing is incredible. I would love to work with you, and for you, I’m open.’ And then she sent the script, and I texted her, and I said, ‘Damn it, Michele, I’m in.’ And so that’s how that ball started rolling and here I am on set in Atlanta and loving it.”

Quantrell Colbert / CBS

Her partner, John Rogers, and daughters, Aurora, 6, and Willa, 3, are still in Los Angeles, but she hopes that will change in the coming months. “It’s long distance for now, which is very challenging, but we’re thinking at the end of the school year, they’ll all be coming this way,” she says. “Both [girls have] been in my belly on soap sets. That’s the most special thing. I thought Willa was going to miss it, and then they called me to do Y&R [filling in for Mishael Morgan as Hilary Curtis in 2021] for that six week-stint.”

Mosley says her past soap experience proved invaluable in the months leading up to the launch. “It’s been pretty vital. I don’t think any of us realize quite how much,” she notes. “But when you have not only most of the actors who are new to the soap world, but most of the crew, it really has been a learning curve. We’ve been in it together. There have been some days that have felt like 20 days in one, but we all love it. We are taking the best of what this genre has already built and now building on it with fresh eyes.”

Being a part of BTG marks Mosley’s fifth role in CBS daytime. “Before I was cast on Guiding Light, my manager had me do background on As the World Turns,” she reveals. “Tip for anyone who’s interested — get on a soap set and observe how it works because it’s different from other sets. So, I’ve technically been on five, which is unbelievable. Little Karla never could have imagined this. And it’s so cool. I feel like each one of the shows I’ve been on are so historic in their own specific way. Each role that I’ve played has been important in its own specific way, and I’m just really excited to continue that journey.”

She is already a fan of her new alter ego, former fashion model Dani, whose husband left her for their daughter’s best friend. “I love playing this character,” Mosley declares. “She’s a truth teller. She doesn’t care about pressing people’s buttons; in fact, she kind of likes it and gets off on it. That is such a fun person to play. Sometimes when I read the scripts, it gives me anxiety, how kind of mean and judgy she can be, but then also it gives me joy when I get to see her be so free. She’s that person who, yes, you can’t stand her, but she’s the first person you invite to your party.”

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Mosley reports that she and her on-screen family clicked right away. “We were bonded pretty much from the beginning,” she shares. “We have this WhatsApp group and are just constantly lifting each other up, excited. Daphnée [Duplaix, Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson] and I play sisters, and we all keep remarking about how these roles feel real when we’re on set. When I’m on set with my daughters, it feels alive. When I’m on set with my mom and dad, it feels real. It feels like these connections are very deep and we are so enjoying the experience.”

As the show is set to debut on Monday, Mosley enthuses, “We’re all so excited. There is this little sweet spot that we’re in right now where we’re just creating, and no one has anything to say about it, and it’s like our little baby. But part of being an artist is that we have to share it, and we have to put it out into the world. So there’s always a nervous excitement that comes with that. It’s daunting, but I think what we’ve created is something that people are going to love in a way that we might not even fully comprehend. I hope that people who already love soaps feel excited about having new stories and new people to get involved with and dig into.”

Beyond the Gates, Series Premiere, Monday, February 24, CBS

From TV Guide Magazine

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