Shonda Rhimes Signs Multi-Year Deal with Netflix
After a longstanding partnership with ABC, Shonda Rhimes is the latest top showrunner to make the move from network television to Netflix, Deadline reports. While current shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy, “Scandal,” and “How to Get Away with Murder” will continue to air on ABC, Rhimes and her production company, Shondaland, will produce new series and other projects exclusively for Netflix. Her producing partner, Betsy Beers, will also join her in the move.
According to Rhimes, this shift stems from her objectives as a storyteller. She sees the move as an “opportunity to build a vibrant new storytelling home for writers with the unique creative freedom and instantaneous global reach provided by Netflix’s singular sense of innovation.”
Perhaps most importantly, though, is what Rhimes herself will bring to Netflix: her persistent dedication to “normalizing TV” and “making TV look like the world looks.” Through narratives that significantly feature women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community, “the goal is that everyone should get to turn on the TV and see someone who looks like them and loves like them.”
Rhimes’ current series will continue to dominate Thursdays on ABC. Her newest legal drama, “For the People,” is expected to premiere sometime this fall. A “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff starring Jaina Lee Ortiz is also in the works.
