Opinion: A list of dos and don'ts for Beyond the Gates

In just two-and-a-half weeks, the new CBS soap Beyond the Gates will charge out of the gate as not only the first sudser led by Black characters since Generations (1989-1991) but the first new daytime drama since Passions debuted in 1999. That said, there's a lot riding on this particular horse – and while executive producers and head writers often think they know what's best for a show, it's we, the viewers, that determine how successful the race is.

What I'd like to see on Beyond the Gates

Now, I am what you might call a veteran soap viewer. Not simply because I've been writing for Soap Central since 2009 (how long would that be in SORAS?), but because my soap-watching journey began in 1986 when the 16-year-old me got hooked on Dynasty. (The original, thank you very much.) There's also the fact that I appeared as an extra on The Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital, and Days of Our Lives several times in the '90s. But that's another article in itself.

I would even go so far as to say that I learned a lot about what I know about writing from soaps. Sure, the romances, the backstabbing, and the psychos are fun, but I've also had a lot of time to observe how stories flow and how details tie together (or don't), to cheer when a show mines its history, and balk when a storyline suddenly takes a nonsensical turn.

Since Beyond the Gates is starting completely from scratch, with the blankest of slates to start from – again, not something that's happened so far this century – I thought it might be fun to offer up some unsolicited advice as to how our about-to-be-revealed Dupree, Hamilton, and Richardson clans can put their best feet forward (not that creator/head writer Michele Val Jean doesn't have 35 years experience writing for soaps!). See if you agree...or disagree!

After commercials, a daytime soap on network television has approximately 45 minutes to tell its story (not counting the half-hour B&B, whose running time totals about 19 minutes). That sounds like a lot of time to dazzle viewers who are taking a chance on a new drama, but it really isn't. So my first pointer is to use every minute wisely. Casual audiences usually joke that they can skip a soap for a couple of weeks and come back to find out they haven't missed anything. That's not the way to go. Beyond the Gates has the chance to make it so those who watch have to come back every day.

Strong story will do that, yes. So will clearly drawn characters. But sometimes soaps get lazy and rely on repeated dialogue, particularly within the same chunk of episodes, presenting to us as if we somehow are unable to retain what we just saw. Don't do that. It's this repetition that often lets viewers know there's no need to tune in daily. Demonstrate from the beginning that if we miss even a single episode, we're going to miss something amazing. Sure, every show needs a little recap here and there. But sparingly. Use that tool sparingly.

That goes for flashbacks, too. Those become annoying quickly – only insert them when they're absolutely needed to illustrate current story. Overdoing this gimmick both sucks up precious airtime and makes us feel as if our intelligence has been insulted. We know what happened yesterday. But seeing a clip from several months or years ago that casts a new story in an interesting light? Golden. On the opposite extreme, foreshadowing is a device to be employed carefully as well. Of course dropping a clue too far in advance will mean we've forgotten about it by the time it resurfaces to enhance a story point, but we'd rather not have something given away an episode before it happens. Or worse, within the same episode. It goes along with that whole intelligence-insulting bit.

So far, Beyond the Gates has introduced us to no less than 20 characters, which is quite the canvas. Now, granted, some characters will rise to the top, and others will either be more peripheral because they were designed that way or because once they hit the airwaves, viewers won't find them as interesting. That being the case, it would be easy to focus on only a handful of characters and let the others fall by the wayside. It will serve the show much better as a whole to keep a good mix of their tales going every day. Let us see more than one story an episode involving more than one group of fictional folks.

Sure, there will be times when certain stories come to a head and require the bulk of the air time, but don't let it be a habit. Give everyone their oxygen. Yes, characters are going to end up on the backburner through cycles – it's a natural part of soap life – but don't let them languish there. And the way to be sure to the non-core personas don't fall through the cracks for us is to put more work into developing them and making them extra interesting. That way, we'll be clamoring to see them, not barely phased when they finally make an appearance.

Because we'll be just meeting the denizens of Fairmont Crest — and those living “beyond” those gates — it's going to take us a little while to get to know their personalities, relationships, quirks, M.O.s, and the like. There's not yet an established wellspring from which the behavior of these people ushers forth. Perhaps that's all the more reason that character-driven stories be written for them. It'll let us know who they are, but also make things right in the soap universe by having them conduct themselves in consistent ways – or, if we see them start acting out of character, we'll know something is up we should be paying attention to.

The less preferred method of soap writing is defined as plot-based, and you've seen that – a character is made to serve the story and not the other way around. We sit there scratching our heads because their actions aren't true to themselves, and they seem to have been shoehorned into a situation just to make an arc work. There's little that's more annoying to a soap viewer. However, if it's decided to have a character and/or a story turn on a dime (the angelic ingenue whose portrayer's contract is up suddenly turning evil to facilitate her exit, for example), make it reasonable. We soapies love the unexpected, but it has to make some sort of in-world sense. Even a simple line of dialogue to explain how we got from Point A to Point B will reassure us.

Don't be afraid to dig, either. Naturally, it wouldn't be a soap without some semblance of superficiality (and scantily clad bodies), but the stories we remember are substantial and touch us because they reach us on a deep level where we feel right along with the characters. If somebody is hospitalized, let it be from a real disease and not some mystery soap ailment – not unless the mystery is solved eventually. If someone has become a villain, let us know how they got there. In soaps' heyday of the '70s and '80s, they gave us social issues that didn't just entertain us; they made us aware and changed minds. This is what can give a soap weight.

As alluded to earlier, Beyond the Gates won't have a proper history to mine from for quite a while yet. But continuity is so important. It's mind-numbingly frustrating when a character suddenly remembers a past event incorrectly (unless they're doing so on purpose or because the lack of memory is part of the story). As it is, when a soap does revisionist rewriting, it is as if a storyline never happened. To further reiterate, if there's going to be a major change, a twist, or even a soft reboot, make an effort to connect the dots. Part of why we watch soaps is for the steadiness of a fictional world that somehow makes our reality a little more steady in the watching.

Another related aspect would be giving us the gift of follow-through. All daytime dramas experiment, see how a story and/or character lands, and alter things mid-run if it becomes clear things just aren't working. As dedicated soap viewers, we can accept that. But if you're going to go with an arc, be sure to craft a compelling beginning, middle, and end. Have at least the framework of it sorted before its first scene even goes into a script. Too often, a soap story will have a fantastic launch but leave us wanting with its denouement; some storylines even crap out midway, and by the time they reach their climax, we don't care anymore. No soap fan will love absolutely everything, but we will notice the confidence of having a clear vision all the way through a tale.

Finally, what everyone wants to know about – romances! Obviously, some elements, like the chemistry between actors, are out of anyone's control. That's either there or it isn't. But even a soap couple with the hottest chemistry in soapdom is going to crash if the lovebirds are rushed together. I come from the MTV generation, where frenetic video editing led to plots in TV and movies being sped up, and there's no mistaking how social media and our devices have made our desire for instant gratification even more profound. But that doesn't work with daytime duos.

The reason old-school supercouples like GH's Luke and Laura, Y&R's Victor and Nikki, GL's Josh and Reva, and even ATWT's Carly and Jack clicked is because they didn't supercouple overnight. They were given time to build and develop in a slow burn with flirtations and denials, false starts and misunderstandings, forward movement, and backward. It wasn't just one kiss and boom! – they're together! We want to feel the growing passion along with them; watching one meeting of potential partners and then simply being told they're crazy about each other dilutes any rooting value and makes their professions of love feel phony. It's like the '70s song says...baby, we can do it, take your time, do it right! Actually, this applies to the overall story, too. Don't rush their pace. Give them time to breathe! Relax...don't do it! (OK, now we're in the '80s.)

So...do you see eye-to-eye with this longtime soap viewer's take on how our new soap should proceed, or are you rolling your eyes thinking I'm full of it? If you're here, you're soap savvy – what do you think will make Beyond the Gates the best show it can be? We wanna know – make sure to enlighten us in the comments!

We'll see you when Beyond the Gates premieres on Monday, February 24. It'll both air on CBS and stream on Paramount Plus.