Sheila Ducksworth (president of the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture) and Derrick Johnson (president and CEO of the NAACP) announced a special contest for Beyond The Gates executive producers. Enrolled students at participating historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) in Georgia are invited to enter for a chance to win a non-speaking walk-on role on the show, which films in Atlanta. Beyond The Gates, the debut project from the CBS Studios/NAACP venture, is the first-ever, one-hour Black-centric daytime soap.
Eligible** Georgia HBCU students can enter from Monday, Feb. 24 at 2:00 PM, ET through Friday, March 21 at 11:59 PM, ET via a TBA website, which will be revealed in the coming weeks on the show’s Instagram and TikTok feeds (@BeyondTheGatesCBS). (**A complete list of participating HBCUs and eligibility requirements will be presented on the site timed to the official start of the contest.) Entrants will take a brief quiz about Beyond The Gates and submit a video of themselves talking about what they enjoy about the show and what it would mean to them to win this potential walk-on role. Acting experience and training is not required. The shows’ executive producers will select a winner, who will have the chance to appear in an episode of the show in the 2025 season. In addition to the potential walk-on experience, the winner will also enjoy a full “Day in the Life” behind-the-scenes experience with the cast and crew as well as a one-on-one conversation with one of the show’s executive producers.
Said Ducksworth, “In addition to launching a groundbreaking series, we, and CBS, wanted to offer an aspirational experience for a young adult interested in exploring all things TV. We also wanted to pay homage to HBCU’s — which have been a guiding force for students, families and communities for almost 200 years — and also thank Georgia for availing so many resources to us for the creation of Beyond The Gates. We hope that we may pique interest in young people who may have dreams that lie either in front of or behind the camera, and we’re excited to review all of the submissions from outstanding HBCU students of Georgia, regardless of major, and have our winner spend a day with us on set.”
Premiering Monday, Feb. 24 (2:00-3:00 PM, ET; 1:00 PM-2:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*, Beyond The Gates is set in a leafy Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, D.C., and in one of the most affluent African American counties in the United States. At the center of this community are the Duprees, a powerful and prestigious multi-generational family that is the very definition of Black royalty. But behind these pristine walls and lush, manicured gardens are juicy secrets and scandals waiting to be uncovered. And those who live outside these gates are watching closely. These are the places where our characters live, love, work and play. Those who have “made it” and those who haven’t are all trying to navigate life … and some with more grace than others.