Soap operas, or melodramas with massive ensemble casts, have been a staple in popular culture for nearly a century. Though long-running soaps like “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “General Hospital” have dominated day-time television for decades,

The first soap opera to premiere in more that 25 years will feature a primarily Black cast, a historic breakthrough for a genre that is a throwback to an earlier time.

The first thing viewers of “Beyond the Gates” see is a black Mercedes gliding past manicured lawns and stately estates.