Sheila Ducksworth, president of the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture, can’t stop talking about Beyond the Gates — and for good reason.
The CBS series, which premiered February 24, 2025, is the first daytime soap to feature a predominately Black cast, on top of being the first Venture project to air. Gates is also the first soap opera to debut on broadcast television in over a quarter century.
Ducksworth, who also serves as executive producer of the popular show, says the series exemplifies what the Venture aims to do while noting that more projects are in the pipeline.
The Venture was announced July 15, 2020 by George Cheeks, President and CEO of the CBS Entertainment Group (now Chair of TV Media at Paramount) and Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. The partnership is a multi-year agreement to develop and produce scripted, unscripted and documentary content for television networks and streaming platforms. A key goal of this partnership is to help increase both storytelling opportunities for diverse voices and the visibility of Black artists.
Ducksworth — who supervises the Venture’s development and production of content — has worked in various aspects of the industry, with considerable experience at the studio and network level. Prior to joining the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture, she served as Head of Scripted Television and Production for Will Packer Media, where she executive produced the series Ambitions and Wendy Williams: The Movie.
She also served as CEO and Executive Producer of Ducksworth Productions, and Head of Television for Susanne Daniels and Tracey Edmonds, where she oversaw development and production for their respective companies. Producing credits include It’s Kymplicated, With This Ring and Why We Laugh.
In honor of Black History Month and Beyond the Gates' upcoming first anniversary, the Television Academy spoke with Ducksworth about how instrumental she was in bringing Beyond the Gates to life, what types of shows the Venture looks for and how she helps increase representation on television.
The cast of Beyond the Gates
Television Academy: How did Beyond the Gates become the first Venture project to air?
Sheila Ducksworth: Soap operas are something that I've been watching since I was 10 years old. It was very apparent, even at age 10, that there wasn't a lot of representation on soaps back then. The majority of soap opera viewers have been watching their favorite soaps for years. For an hour every day, you get accustomed to these people in your life, and you come to root for them — or root against them. So I was motivated for the longest time to actually get a soap on that reflected all people and humanity. To have the opportunity to do this now is literally a dream come true.
Can you walk us through the development and pitching process for this show? Did you pitch it to George Cheeks?
Yes. I pitched a sprawling family in the DMV (Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia) area, that lives in a gated community with a country club on a golf course. [The show] would be a view from inside the gates, as well as a view from outside the gates. George said to explore it, and we did with the support of Amy Reisenbach (President of CBS Entertainment), David Stapf (President of CBS Studios) and Bryon Rubin (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of TV Media at Paramount).
I hired Michele Val Jean (creator, showrunner and executive producer of Beyond the Gates), identified Atlanta as our city for filming and I knew who to call for production design and casting. I moved [to Atlanta] at the top of pre-production, and was there from September 2024 through just this past March.
What kinds of projects are you currently looking to develop?
We do a little bit of everything. I'm looking for projects that I think will resonate with audiences all over the world. Something that speaks to humanity, that everybody can dig into.
I'm really genre agnostic in what I look for; it could be a thriller, a comedy, a family show, animation, science fiction — you name it. I'm looking for great stories, and a lot of what I look for are stories that are rooted in reality. Wherever CBS Studios goes, that's where I go. So, projects can be on any platform — streaming or broadcast. In addition to [the material] being rooted in reality, of course, it has to be entertaining.
"I'm looking for great stories," Ducksworth says.
How many projects would you say have been developed and sold?
We’ve developed quite a handful. In our first year, we sold eight projects. Right now, we have projects in the double digits — and they’re all in various stages. We have some comedies, a lot of dramas and some fantasy. Two-thirds of the projects are based on IP. Mostly everything on my slate has a diverse cast.
Are there specific criteria for your department that pitches must meet?
For this venture, it's important for me to tell stories that I feel culturally connected to. Stories that also feature people of different ethnicities or different races that we have never really seen represented this way before. A show may not have a Black lead, but it might have a Black co-lead. A show may not have a Black writer, but it may have a writer that is supervising or being supervised by someone where we can make a cultural connection. I want to tell a universal story with a specific point of view.
You have said that a personal mission of yours is to get more representation on television. What does it take to achieve that goal?
Almost 30 years of developing television shows has brought me immense joy, and it has been an endeavor that's fueled by passion and purpose. We're living in an age where there's so much genius that exists in this industry — so many incredible artisans who tell incredible stories. For me, it’s important that we tell stories that stoke curiosity, that open the door for conversation. It is important to me that we tell stories about life in a way that may have never been told before.
Every project I move forward is built on showing real representation. It's gotta be terrific to thrive as a series on whatever platform it’s on. It's very important to me that we deliver the best — that we deliver stories that make a difference. Stories that will affect and impact lives. That's what this is all about.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
