The City of Augusta welcomed a local star, Friday afternoon at a local screening of the new soap opera “Beyond the Gates.”
A production of CBS Studios, legacy sponsor and producer Procter and Gamble and NAACP Ventures, “Beyond the Gates” chronicles the trials and intrigues of the prestigious Dupree family. Among the cast are Tamara Tunie, of CBS soap “As the World Turns” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” as family matriarch Anita Dupree and Clifton Davis, known for starring in the 80’s church sitcom “Amen,” as her husband Vernon Dupree.
Augusta native and Glenn Hills High School alumnus Maurice Johnson portrays Dr. Ted Richardson, husband of Nicole Dupree Richardson, played by Daphne Duplaix.
The Henry Brigham Community Center hosted a screening of the daytime drama, treating a crowd of local fans of the show to an appearance by Johnson.
“I am so proud of this young man… he loves him where he’s from, and he’s not shy about making sure that folks know where he’s from, where he’s representing,” said District 5 Commissioner Don Clark, who presided over the watch party. “Anytime he does something, he’s trying to come back here to Augusta, Ga.”
The series is the first soap opera with a predominantly Black cast to air on network TV since the series “Generations,” which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1991. “Beyond the Gates” premiered Feb. 24, drawing more than two million viewers, putting it head-to-head with “General Hospital.”
Johnson, who was a corporate recruiter before going into acting, took the role on “Beyond the Gates” after accepting another role on another soap opera, seeing it as chance to be a part of television history, he said.
“I took this opportunity because we are part of, I will basically say, the alpha group,” said Johnson. “We’re the first folks that are attached to this, so I’m part of the original cast. So it made me proud to be a part of something from the beginning.”
“Beyond the Gates” airs weekdays at 2 p.m. on CBS, and is available to stream on Paramount+.
Skyler Andrews is a reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
