What Happened When Bryton James’s Devon Appeared on Beyond the Gates
The August 11 episode of CBS’s newest soap opera, Beyond the Gates, welcomed a very special guest star — Daytime Emmy winner Bryton James, who crossed his Young and Restless character of Devon Hamilton over to the soap. He was visiting Fairmont Crest to make an offer to Anita Dupree (Tamara Tunie), but things didn’t go quite as he was hoping.
Man With a Plan
After chatting with her daughter, Nicole, about the recent Articulettes reunion concert, Anita headed over to the country club to join her husband, Vernon. He sat down at the table as she poured some coffee, and they both mentioned that it had been years since they’d seen the man who had invited them to meet. And then the man himself strode into the dining room. “Devon,” Anita called out as they both stood to greet him. “Welcome to Fairmont Crest.”
When Devon addressed them as “Miss Anita” and “Senator Dupree,” Vernon insisted that no formalities were necessary and invited him to sit with them. Devon smiled as he joked that he would try to keep his cool this time. “I remember when my dad introduced us at Indigo, I was extremely nervous,” he recalled. Anita declared that club had been “jumping” and Devon remembered that his father had wanted her to take a turn on stage. Anita explained that she remembered the excitement of being backstage and getting ready to go on, only to have a bigger act steal your spotlight from you, and she didn’t want to do that to another artist. “But oh, how we miss Neil,” she said, reaching out to take her husband’s hand. “His smile… his big heart… his love of music.”
“I know,” Devon responded. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him. And you, certainly, were one of his favorites.” Vernon joked that he always knew Neil had good taste. Anita asked after his family, and Devon briefly did the same before finally getting around to his proposal. “Your call was both intriguing and cryptic,” Anita noted. Devon grinned as he responded, “Well, that’s because I wanted to make sure that we were face to face when I presented you with what I think is a mind-blowing proposition.”
Counter Offer
Intrigued, Anita informed Devon that he had her attention. “So, I live-streamed the reunion concert,” the record mogul explained, “and I was just completely blown away. And when you performed ‘Loving You,’ I knew right then and there that I had my next platinum project for my jazz label.” Vernon wondered if he was offering his wife a recording contract, and Devon confirmed, explaining that they would share executive producer credit, but every aspect of the album — from track selection to featured artists — would be hers to decide.
“Well, Devon, I’m flattered,” Anita admitted. “But I don’t have the bandwidth to record, let alone produce, an album at the moment.” Vernon urged his wife to take time to consider the offer, but she reminded him that family had to come first and she was needed here. Devon offered to book a studio in DC, but she pointed out that they both knew there was more to recording an album than standing in front of a microphone. However, she then proposed a counter-offer, wondering if he would be interested in two out of three Articulettes.
Anita declared that Tracy and Sharon sound as good as ever and deserved this opportunity. She also offered to perform as a featured artist on some tracks. Devon noted that it would move them from the jazz label to R&B, but he was intrigued. Vernon interrupted to note that his wife didn’t seem like she was quite through. Anita added that she thought they should release the Let’s Get Closer album, but adding the vocals of Barbara, the Articulette member who had been forced out of the group before they hit the big time, and subsequently passed away.
Devon recalled that Barbara wasn’t on the masters, but Anita revealed that she was on the demos, and the family archivist was digitizing them so they could be layered into the mix. Devon was eager to speak with Tracy and Sharon, and Anita promised to get them all the information he needed. “I wish that I could stick around and catch up more with you guys, but duty calls and I have to take off,” he said, standing up to leave. “But if you find yourselves in Genoa City, please stop by and check out the new Winters Jazz Lounge in the Athletic Club.” Anita promised they’d take him up on that but laughed and demurred when he suggested she could perform a set. Devon shook Vernon’s hand, but when he reached out to Anita, she declared them family and enveloped him in a warm embrace.
As Devon was exiting the club, he ran into Dani Dupree (Karla Mosley) and shared that her mother had just turned down his record deal and wondered if she could put in a good word for him. “Sure,” Dani grinned. “But when my mother says no, it’s set in stone.” Devon sighed that it was his loss, and Dani watched him go with a flirty look in her eye.
Perhaps it’s time for Dani to take a trip to Genoa City? Share your thoughts about this Y&R and BTG crossover in the comments below, and let us know what other CBS characters you’d like to see swapping shows for a visit!
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Soap Opera Digest does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.