And just like that, Shonda Rhimes’ 15 year relationship with ABC studios that has helped to spawn the infamous Shondaland Thursday block with mega hits like Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, is coming to an end. Rhimes has just signed a multi-year production deal with none other than, the streaming service giant that is Netflix.
The announcement comes right on the heels of other recent news that ABC's parent company, Disney, will not be renewing their Disney and Pixar movie licenses with Netflix in 2019, as a way to start-up their own streaming services for ESPN and Disney content. So, one can’t help but to think that this may have been one of those “checkmate” kind of moves done on the part of Netflix.
Whether that is the case, both parties, Netflix and Rhimes, are excited for what this new relationship will bring for the future. For Rhimes, it’s all about her “vision for [herself] and the evolution for [her] company.” The move to Netflix, allows for more creative freedom, something that Netflix is currently banking and thriving on, that broadcast television cannot afford her.
As for Netflix, this will up their position in the streaming service wars. Though recent news about Netflix’s current financial standing was made public, it hasn’t seemed like they are going to let that stop them from being the best of the best of the streaming services. With news of many high-profiled actors starring in upcoming original movies, the Coen Brothers new show, and David Letterman returning for a show that sounds eerily familiar to another Netflix original, Chelsea Does, “ which, on a side note, I wish that they would bring back, Netflix shows no signs of backing down any time soon.
So, though, Rhimes has signed with Netflix that doesn’t mean that her relationship with ABC will cease to exist in the near future. Her contract with ABC isn’t up until 2019, and besides the shows that she currently has on the network, two new shows, For the People and a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff are still very much in the works and will be gracing our screens soon enough.
