LOS ANGELES — Good news for fans of daytime drama: The first new soap opera in a quarter-century will premiere on CBS next year, the network announced this week.
"The Gates" will follow the lives of a wealthy Black family living in a posh, gated community, according to CBS. Emmy-winning soap writer Michele Val Jean, who is behind more than 2,000 episodes of daytime television dramas like "The Bold & the Beautiful" and "General Hospital," will be writer and showrunner. No casting decisions have been announced yet.
It is the first new daytime soap opera with a predominantly Black cast since "Generations" premiered in 1989. The last time a new soap opera hit the airwaves was NBC's "Passions" in 1999.
Soap operas have seen a big drop in popularity over the last decade, with only four of the daytime dramas still currently airing, and only three on broadcast networks: "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "The Young and the Restless" on CBS and "General Hospital" on ABC. Long-running soap "Days of Our Lives" moved from NBC to Peacock more than a year ago. ABC angered fans in 2011 when it canceled "One Life to Live" and "All My Children," but attempts to reboot both shows on streamers were short-lived.
The news also comes as CBS prepares to end its daytime talk show "The Talk" after 15 seasons. The network did not say if "The Gates" will take over its time slot.
"The Gates" was made as part of a development deal between CBS Studios and the NAACP. It will premiere sometime in January 2025, CBS said, with more details announced at a later date.