Yahoo Lifestyle Beyond the Gates Video: Tamara Tunie Confirms She Will Sing on CBS’ New Daytime Drama, Plus More Scoop
If you primarily know Tamara Tunie from her longstanding role as medical examiner Dr. Melinda Warner on Law & Order: SVU, prepare to see (and hear) her in a whole new light.
As fabulous family matriarch Anita Dupree on CBS’ new daytime drama Beyond the Gates, Tunie’s latest role involves handling less body bags and more Birkin bags. A glamorous philanthropist who made a name for herself in the music industry, Anita is a diva in every sense of the word. And because every diva needs her stage…
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“I’ll just say it. I’ll put it out there. You’re the first to know. Yes, there will be singing on the show,” Tunie revealed to me during a recent visit to the TVLine studios, where she was joined by co-star Daphnee Duplaix.
Tunie knew that she’d be playing a professional singer, but she didn’t know that she’d actually have to perform until she signed on. “I was like, ‘Wait, I haven’t sung in four years since Covid,'” Tunie recalled, adding that she has since “dusted off the chops” and has been “working on some great stuff” that she thinks the audience will love.
“I might be the only person on the show who doesn’t sing professionally. Everybody is amazing,” Duplaix added, though Tunie was quick to cut her off: “Not everybody.”
The first new daytime soap opera in 25 years, and the first to be led by a Black cast in 35 years, Beyond the Gates represents a potentially historic turning point for the genre. And as I already noted in my review, it’s the kind of show that gives longtime soap lovers exactly what they want.
New episodes of Beyond the Gates air weekdays at 2/1c on CBS. Hit PLAY on the video above to watch our interview with Tunie and Duplaix, then grade the show in our poll below and drop a comment with your review.
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