Beyond the Gates stars Tamara Tunie and Daphnée Duplaix didn’t know much about Karen Huger before she popped up on the soap opera — but they’re big fans of her performance.
“I’ll be transparent, I didn’t know who she was when she came on the set,” Tunie, 65, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting Beyond the Gates, which premiered on CBS on Monday, February 24. “So I asked, and they’re like, ‘Oh, she’s from The [Real] Housewives of Potomac.”
Tunie, who plays Anita Dupree on the new soap, revealed that Huger’s Housewife connection made total sense for their show.
‘I was like, ‘OK, perfect.’ Because that’s where our fictional community is,” Tunie said. “It’s in the [DNA]. So it’s great to have that little cameo of her.”
Tamara Tunie and Daphnee Duplaix. US Weekly
Duplaix, who portrays one of Anita’s daughters Nicole, noted that while she “used to be” a Real Housewives fan she “fell off” and therefore wasn’t caught up on the current casts.
Huger, 61, has been part of RHOP since the series premiere in 2016. Her cameo was teased in the Beyond the Gates trailer, which dropped in December 2024. “Welcome to Fairmont Crest,” Huger said in the video before snapping her fingers.
The Real Housewives of Potomac’s resident Grand Dame, Karen Huger, has mastered the art of turning drama into dollars. “I’m like Teflon. It just bounces off,” Karen, 60, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting season 8 of RHOP. “Shade doesn’t really work on me because I pivot and embrace it and make lemonade out of […]
“She was hysterical,” Duplaix, 48, told Us of Huger’s role. “Every time I watched that scene, it’s like she stole a scene.”
Tunie couldn’t agree more, teasing that the reality star pulled focus. “I’m like, ‘I’m so glad that wasn’t me, because she’s up staging those children,’” Tunie teased. “And I’d be like, ‘Wait a minute. Stop. Just stop it right now.’”
The actress promised that fans will see Huger do a major “side eye” and steals the scene when “snapping fingers” to the camera. “It’s good. I love it,” Tunie gushed.
Details about Huger’s soap opera debut have been kept under wraps. When she’ll pop up on the show and whether or not she’ll return for future episodes is unknown. However, Us can confirm that Huger will make a splash while at the country club amid Dupree family drama.
Beyond the Gates is almost here and the highly anticipated CBS soap is bringing the drama, the mess and the twists. The network released a trailer on Monday, December 16, that introduced Us to the Dupree family. “Your family rules this community,” a character said in the sneak peek, while another character teased, “This is […]
Huger, however, won’t be the only celebrity guest star appearing on season 1.
“There are other cameos. Yeah. So lots of surprises,” Tunie teased. Duplaix told Us that one of the bigger stars is soap queen Cady McClain. (McClain has starred on As the World Turns, All My Children, The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives.)
She noted that General Hospital legend Jon Lindstrom, who was on the soap opera from 1983 to 2024, will also make an appearance.
“They’re phenomenal,” Duplaix said, adding, “I grew up a soap fan. I started watching when I was four years old with my auntie. So to be able to work with them now, I’m a fan. [I] fan girl all time.”
Even without A-list guest stars, fans will have a lot of drama to sink their teeth into with Beyond the Gates after its premiere. The show, which is the first new soap opera in more than 25 years — and the first Black-centered soap in 35 years — revolves around the Dupree family.
Anita Dupree (Tunie) is the matriarch of the family, who is married to retired senator Vernon Dupree (Clifton Davis). Anita’s two daughters, Dani (Karla Mosely) and Nicole (Duplaix), and grandchildren are also central figures as fans got behind the gated community that the wealthy family call home.
“She’s a grandmother, but she’s a very fly grandmother. She’s hip, she’s fly, she’s elegant,” Tunie told Us of Anita. “She’s very, very relevant and that was important to me to play that kind of character, a silver fox, if you will. A woman of a certain age who has her hair color and is rocking her world. You know what I mean? Because it’s not over until it’s over.”
She added that Anita was a singer before she met Vernon, which according to Tunie will “come back to haunt her.”
Nicole, meanwhile, is a psychiatrist and the eldest of the two Dupree daughters. “We like to say both of our characters are, like, the calm — the storm happens around us until it all unfolds. Because every character will have their roller coaster ride,” Duplaix shared.
The actress called her character “grounded” and someone who “wears her heart on her sleeve.” Duplaix continued, “She’s a caretaker. But like we said, the onion will peel, and you will discover more. You will go deep.”
Beyond the Gates airs on CBS weekdays at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. The soap opera will also stream on Paramount+.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
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