Beyond the Gates renewed for a second season

Long live the Duprees (and all of their family drama)! Just eleven weeks after its premiere, CBS has announced that it has renewed Beyond the Gates for a second season.

The first new soap opera to launch in more than a quarter of a century and the first-ever hourlong daytime drama led by a Black family, Beyond the Gates has been a success out of the gate. How much so? Beyond the Gates has improved broadcast viewership in its timeslot by 48% over last year (when the spot was held by The Talk.) If you factor in streaming, the soap’s ratings are up 67%.

In another metric, while Beyond the Gates‘ ratings have been slightly lower than ABC’s General Hospital, BTG ‘s broadcast is watched by 7% more women in the crucial 25-54 demographic than GH.

And judging by the response to my weekly commentary called My View From Beyond the Gates, a lot of these viewers are viewers that are not traditional soap viewers. Please check out my latest column, DEFCON Dana. See, Febreze and Tide don’t have a stranglehold on shameless promotion!

If it’s a hit, then why has it only been renewed for one additional season?

Earlier in the year, CBS announced multi-year pickups for both The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. Some fans, while celebrating the renewal, have questioned why Beyond the Gates was only reupped for one additional season.

I reached out for comment, but did not immediately receive an official response. However, an insider tells me that there are several factors in play. First, unlike Y&R and B&B, BTG is still a new show. It might be best to tread lightly into renewal by offering a conservative one-year deal rather than having to backtrack later if things went awry after a multi-year renewal was announced.

Secondly, Beyond the Gates is a new partnership between CBS, P&G Studios, and the NAACP. There are undoubtedly intricate metrics and legal agreements in place between the three entities. It might be more expeditious to agree to things one year at a time.

Third, the show could still get a multi-year renewal in the near future. Right now, so many people have been asking, “When will we find out if Beyond the Gates will get renewed?” In fact, two of the show’s stars were talking about it in an Instagram live last week. Announcing the renewal sooner rather than later lets viewers and potential viewers know that there is a reason to get hooked.

Let’s face it, soap fans are a little gun shy after years and years of cancellations. Some folks might not want to bother adding a new soap to their routine out of fear that they could get hooked and have the show disappear a short time later. This puts an end to that and could, theoretically, get even more viewers on board.

Background on Beyond the Gates

Beyond the Gates is set in a Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, D.C., in one the most affluent African American counties in the United States. According to the show’s official synopsis, “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.”

Beyond the Gates airs on CBS weekdays at 2 pm ET/1 pm PT, while streaming of the series is available on Paramount+ and CBS TVE (CBS.com/CBS app).