‘Beyond the Gates’ – new soap opera breaks ground with daytime TV’s first biracial gay couple

Since its inception in February 2025 the new daytime drama “Beyond the Gates” has been breaking ground. The first soap opera to premiere in 25 years, “Beyond the Gates” follows the somewhat messy adventures of the Duprees, a wealthy Black family who live in a posh gated community just outside of Washington DC. Not since NBC’s “Generations,” which had a short run 36 years ago, has a soap opera made a Black family its main focus.
The show is breaking ground in other ways. One of the lead characters is a young woman named Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla), a former fashion model and online influencer with millions of followers. Chelsea is a curious young woman, and is unafraid to experiment sexually with a heterosexual couple. In one memorable episode, Chelsea confides in her cousin Martin (Brandon Claybon), telling him how exciting her experimentation was, and how attracted to the woman she was. Martin encourages her to follow her heart.

Martin is a congressman and a gay Black man married to Smitty (Mike Manning), a white political journalist. Together they are raising two adopted teenagers who accept their parents’ sexualities with a refreshing casualness. In fact, Martin’s entire family, who just happen to be the Duprees, fully respect his orientation and his marriage to Smitty. Martin has aspirations to be the first openly gay Black president in United States history.

Bring on the drama
Their love story is not without drama. Smitty had given up work to be a stay-at-home dad so that Martin can present a stable home and family life to his constituents. When the kids become teens, Smitty decides he wants to go back to work, but Martin was against the idea, going so far as to turn down a job on Smitty’s behalf without telling his husband.

“Beyond the Gates” is not Manning’s first time appearing as gay on television, though the first time he did so it was as himself. In 2009, at the age of 22, Manning was cast in MTV’s reality series “The Real World: DC.” In his most memorable episode, Manning came out to his housemates as bisexual. He has since become quite involved in LGBT activism.

In a telephone interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Manning spoke of how the “Beyond the Gates” audience has reacted to the sight of a biracial gay couple raising two children.

“The audience has been reacting very positively to our characters,” he said. “Some of them are calling us their favorite couple. And I think that is truly groundbreaking. Daytime television has been in the zeitgeist for fifty to sixty years. It’s been welcomed into American living rooms for decades. For a long time, the daytime landscape has reflected this sort of ideal apple pie way of living. For CBS to be so supportive in having this show reflect more of the world that we live in today in 2025, I think it’s incredible and I’m really grateful to be a part of it.”

One thing that is noticeable and likable about Smitty and Martin is that they actually come across as a couple, unlike a gay male couple that was seen on the soap “All My Children” during the 1990s. Those two guys never kissed; they didn’t even touch each other. They seemed more like buddies, unlike Smitty and Martin, who hold hands, kiss, and verbally express love for each other.

“That’s what we wanted,” Manning said. “We definitely talked about that. It’s because we have the chance to represent a lot of people that have felt underrepresented for years and years on television. I saw someone being interviewed by Ellen DeGeneres, they said, ‘Look, I think that the day the LGBTQ community will receive full equal rights in America is the day that America realizes that we’re just as normal and as boring as everyone else.”

‘Real’ vs soap
Manning recalled his time on “The Real World: DC,” a show he had never seen before.

“I didn’t really know what I was getting into,” he said. “I ended up coming out on the show, and learning about politics in the same season and that experience truly changed my life. It made me more comfortable with myself, it made me more aware of the world around me, and it also gave me a voice to start having an impact on causes that I care about.”

Some of those causes include LGBTQ equality and the homeless population, in particular the plight of homeless children. He even produced “Lost in America,” a documentary about homeless youth which had a huge impact.

“I never would have felt that I was worthy of being a part of something like that had it not been for ‘The Real World’ and that giving me an amplified voice,” he said. “I think right now people that have a platform have a responsibility to talk about injustices that they see in the world.”

Anti-bullying is another cause that means a lot to Manning, and in fact, bullying has worked its way into the storyline of his onscreen family.

“And that’s one of the reasons I love playing Smitty on the show,” he said. “Because the relationship between Smitty and Martin is realistic, and also the relationship between them and their children is realistic. The kids are facing issues about self-esteem and bullying, and trying to have their own identity in this family, and I think that’s something real that American audiences can relate to.”

Broadcast history
The B.A.R. also spoke with Claybon, who felt that he had to be on this show as soon as he heard about it.

“I called my manager right away and said, ‘This sounds historical. This sounds likes it’s going to be a groundbreaking show, and I need to be a part of it,’” Claybon said. “For this to come around during this time is unheard of. Because for so many years people were saying that soap operas were dying, so for this to pop up; wow, someone must really believe in this.”

Claybon added that there has been some friendly flak from fans who want to see more kissing between Martin and Smitty.

“I had to tell them to just be patient, there’s going to be more kissing going on, you will be fulfilled,” he said.

He acknowledged how groundbreaking his character is, given that there’s been so little representation of Black LGBT people on network television.

“I just found out that with Martin and Smitty, this is the first interracial gay couple on daytime television,” he said. “I didn’t know that. Especially with us having adopted kids and everything that this was groundbreaking. But I didn’t know that we were in the history books as well. I was able to visit a friend in the DC area a few weeks back. It was during DC Pride, and I had so many members of the LGBTQIA+ community come up to me and talk, and wanted to hug, and wanted pictures. Some said, ‘I see myself on screen, this is remarkable.’ So I was truly touched.”

The actor refers to himself as “fluid as they come.”

“I love my private life, but at the same time I believe that love is love,” Claybon said. “And I think that we should love who we want, and who we’re attracted to. That could be physically, that could be spiritually, and I feel that people shouldn’t have any qualms with that.”

During the COVID years, Claybon produced a documentary called “Free to Be,” which was about four LGBTQIA+ individuals who were fighting for social justice and equal rights. During that time, he and his colleagues found out that Black and Brown transwomen were being killed at a higher rate than any other minority group.

“I was so shocked, I couldn’t believe this,” he said. “Because I wasn’t hearing about this on mainstream media. I think no matter what is happening around us we have to stand up for people in general. Trans rights are human rights. Gay rights are human rights. I don’t care who’s in the White House, if their policies are affecting us in a negative way, we as the people have to stand up and fight back.”

“Beyond the Gates,” which shoots in Atlanta, has just been renewed for a second season, and Claybon is elated.

“We are so blessed, and so fortunate,” he said. “Especially during this time, coming from Los Angeles, where work is scarce, and for all of my artists out there in the acting community, we’re right there with you. We are rooting you on to keep doing what you love. Hopefully things will change soon for the industry.”

‘Beyond the Gates’ airs weekdays in the Bay Area at 1pm on KPIX TV.
It also streams on Paramount+.
https://www.cbs.com/
https://www.paramountplus.com/