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When she was on “As the World Turns,� Tunie also starred on Broadway in “Julius Caesar.�

“I did three different jobs in 24 hours, and one of them three times,� she says. “I use that example to inspire young actors to be professional, to stay on their game and to live up to their word.�

Now, she’s starring in “Beyond the Gates,� a soap opera that extends her reach and puts that “do as I say� philosophy to the test.

In the CBS venture – the first since “Generations� to feature a predominantly African-American cast -- she plays the matriarch of a family living in a gated community just outside Washington, D.C. Naturally, her family members, the Duprees, are heavily involved in politics and community affairs.

What really sets “Gates� apart from other soap operas (it’s the first new one since 1999) is its leadership. The show’s executive producers, Sheila Ducksworth and Michele Val Jean, are African-American women with extensive experience in the field.

Both wanted Tunie because she had been in the arena and could deliver on multiple levels.

“She let us know about all the different projects she was doing,� Ducksworth says. “She followed it up and said, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ And that was my mantra� until she said yes. “That’s what we look to do within the show – allow people to do the things that make them even bigger and better talents.�

Shot in Atlanta, “Beyond the Gates� required a soap opera bootcamp to get everyone up to speed.

“When I was doing ‘Law & Order,’ I would have at least a week to learn some multisyllabic scientific word that needed to come out of my mouth naturally,� Tunie says. “Whereas with daytime, it’s fast and furious. When I was doing ‘As the World Turns,’ there were many actors in different genres who came to do daytime and they couldn’t do it because it was too fast.�

In “Gates,� Tunie’s character, Anita Dupree, is a famous singer married to a former senator.

She has her roots in actress Lena Horne.

“I had the privilege of working with Lena Horne when I first came to New York (to be in) her Broadway show,� Tunie says. “Lena remained a force in my life. I also had the privilege of knowing Miss Diahann Carroll� and she, too, was a touchstone.

Clifton Davis, whoÌýplays Dupree’s husband, looked to John Lewis as a role model. “He emerged from the Civil Rights Movement. He took the beating on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. He walked those steps,â€� Davis says.

Like Tunie, Davis also lookedÌýinward for inspiration.

“When I read this,� he says of the script, “I thought, ‘Here I’ll get a chance to be the me I wasn’t.’ My kids love me and everything is fine, but this character really, really loves these two girls and that incredible wife of his. He would do anything to protect them and defend them and support them.�

Val Jean knows “Beyond the Gates� faces an uphill battle for viewers.

“When I first started writing, there were 13 (soap operas) on the air. Now, there are four. So, when Sheila came to me with this project, I said, ‘Sure, I’ll write that. This will be a nice COVID project because I never expected it to go anywhere. Networks are not green-lighting soaps, they’ve been canceling them.�

When Ducksworth told her the project was a go, Val Jean was thrilled. “It’s good for the genre. It’s about time something came along that was good for the genre.�

Adds Tunie: “I have always been from the school of, ‘We can work it out.’ And that has proven to be the M.O. for the trajectory of my entire journey in this business.�

“Beyond the Gates� premieres Feb. 24 on CBS.