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Just ask Angela Bassett and Michael B. Jordan, some of the biggest stars in Hollywood got their start on soaps, Now another group of potential stars is about to get their chance. On April 15, CBS announced the January 2025 debut of The Gates, a daytime drama centered around “a wealthy Black family in a posh, gated community,” per The Hollywood Reporter.

We know what you’re asking yourself. Why would CBS take a risk on a new daytime drama when soaps are becoming a thing of the past? These days, The Young & the Restless, Bold & the Beautiful and General Hospital are the only daytime dramas left on network television. Days of Our Lives moved to Peacock in 2022. And who needs another over-the-top drama about beautiful, rich Black people with fabulous homes when we have shows like The Real Housewives of Potomac, Greenleaf, and All the Queen’s Men? And how will they attract viewers when creators like Kountry Wayne are gathering massive followings on alternate platforms like TikTok?

And to all of that we say, give this one a chance.

The series was developed as part of a multi-year partnership between CBS Television Studios and the NAACP to develop and produce diverse content for their television networks and streaming services.

“The Gates will be everything we love about daytime drama, from a new and fresh perspective,” said Sheila Ducksworth, president of the CBS Studios/ NAACP partnership. “This series will salute an audience that has been traditionally underserved, with the potential to be a groundbreaking moment for broadcast television. With multi-dimensional characters, juicy storylines and Black culture front and center, The Gates will have impactful representation, one of the key touchstones of the venture.”

And they’ve tapped veteran soap writer Michele Val Jean to come on board as writer, showrunner and executive producer. Val Jean has written for General Hospital, Santa Barbara and The Bold and the Beautiful and will become the first Black person to oversee a daytime soap opera.

And if you have fond memories of watching “the stories” with your mother or grandmother or scheduling your college classes around All My Children, you know this one genre we don’t want to die.