CBS has created quite a wave of panic among the fans of its new daytime drama, Beyond the Gate, after making a somewhat puzzling scheduling decision.
After five months of airing original episodes daily during its daytime schedule, CBS unexpectedly decided to pull originals from the lineup. Instead of airing new episodes as fans have grown accustomed to, CBS instead put the show into reruns and began airing repeats. The decision quickly caught the attention of fans who were quick to express their concerns and frustrations in the comments of the show’s social media accounts.
“The way my heart fell out my shoe when I didn't see a new episode,” wrote one confused fan who was sent into a panic when they were met with a rerun over a new episode. Another viewer echoed this sentiment, saying, “I’m frustrated that BYTG is getting the short end of the stick. I look forward to watching new episodes during my lunch break, only to find out there won't be any new episodes this week. Is the network intentionally trying to sabotage the ratings?”
Making matters worse was that CBS failed to make it clear to fans that the show was heading into reruns this week, and the show’s social media accounts have basically ignored the fact that the show is on a break. This is something that has, understandably, frustrated fans.
“Why is the social media team not letting viewers know that this week is a batch of repeats?” questioned one frustrated viewer.
It was a fair frustration, as networks aren’t always forthcoming about their scheduling decisions, and it makes it hard for fans to know when there is a legitimate reason behind a show being preempted. It also puts showrunners, actors and creators in awkward spots when fans question them about the decision, which is what happened to Beyond the Gates creator Michele Van Jean, who took to Twitter to explain that scheduling decisions are above her pay grade.
“To those asking: preemption-rerun decisions are made way above my pay grade, so no insight into that,” Van Jean told fans.
So why did the show go on break this week? Well, CBS hasn’t really made that reason known. While one could speculate that it’s because of the Fourth of July holiday, CBS has still been airing new episodes of its other daytime programs this week, including fellow daytime dramas The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless.
The good news is that Beyond the Gates will finally return with fresh episodes after the Fourth of July holiday, with new episodes airing beginning Monday, July 7. Even better, the show is not going anywhere as CBS has already renewed Beyond the Gates for a second season. So while there could be weeks with reruns, fans can rest assured that CBS remains very much invested in the show and its future on the network!
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