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Shonda Rhimes is best known as the creator (among other roles) of shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and Scandal. The season finales of Grey’s and Scandal air tonight on ABC and I CANNOT WAIT. As I mentioned here, Scandal is my favorite show right now. If you’re not watching, number one- what’s wrong with you?! and number two- you have all summer to catch up on Netflix. Ready, set, go grab a glass of cabernet, make some popcorn, and settle in for what I like to call “Shonda Night”.
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I distinctly remember the the night Grey’s Anatomy first aired. I was a freshman in college and sitting in my dorm room in Waco, TX with my roommates watching the Baylor Lady Bears play in the regional finals of the NCAA Basketball Tournament (they went on to win the National Championship that year). After the game ended, Grey’s Anatomy came on, and with nothing better to do, we watched. I remember commenting when it was over how great of a show it could be. Little did I know then, I would be sitting in my apartment in New York City eleven years later still watching (RIP McDreamy) and it still manages to be just as interesting and captivating as it was that night in March many years ago.
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ShondaLand is the name of Shonda’s production company and it is also commonly used to refer to Rhimes herself. Shows which are included in ShondaLand are Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder on which she serves as an executive producer.
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It was only recently that I discovered Shonda wrote the highly underrated movie Crossroads, staring the pre-crazy Britney Spears! I knew I always liked that movie for a reason…..
She was also one of the writers for the screenplay of The Princess Diaries 2.
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Last fall, ABC programmed its entire Thursday night lineup with ShondaLand dramas Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, then branded the night as “Thank God It’s Thursday” (or “TGIT”). This echoes ABC’s former TGIF branding of its Friday night family sitcoms and even NBC’s Must See TV promotion of formidable Thursday night television hits in the 1990s.
If you’re a true “ShondaLand” fan you may have noticed that many actors appear on more than one “ShondaLand” show.
| Actor | Grey’s Anatomy | Private Practice | Scandal | How To Get Away With Murder |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darby Stanchfield | Tess Milford | Abby Whelan | ||
| Sarah Drew | April Kepner | Judy | ||
| Katie Lowes | Blood Donor | Kendra | Quinn Perkins | |
| Jeff Perry | Thatcher Grey | Cyrus Beene | ||
| Kate Burton | Ellis Grey | Sally Langston | ||
| Joshua Malina | Seth Hammer | Jason | David Rosen | |
| Bellamy Young | Kathy | Kathy | Melody “Mellie” Grant | |
| Scott Foley | Henry Burton | Jake Ballard | ||
| Liza Weil | Alison Clark | Andi | Amanda Tanner | Bonnie Winterbottom |
| Tom Verica | Michael Norris | Sam Keating | ||
| Kate Walsh | Addison Montgomery | Addison Montgomery | ||
| George Newbern | Stan Mercer | Brian Reynolds | Charlie | |
| Dan Bucatinsky | Jeffrey | James Novak | ||
| Paul Adelstein | Cooper Freedman | Cooper Freedman | Leo Bergen | |
| Kelly McCreary | Maggie Pierce | Clare Tucker | ||
| Nazanin Boniadi | Amrita | Adnan Salif | ||
| Jerrika Hinton | Stephanie Edwards | Hannah |
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Shonda’s latest project, The Catch, just got picked up by ABC and it follows a female forensics accountant (played by Mireille Enos) whose career specialty is exposing fraud for a living. I’m excited to see that Bethany Joy Lenz (from One Tree Hill) is also among the cast. Honestly, I don’t really even care what the show is about. The fact that Shonda Rhimes is involved is all I need to know and I will definitely be watching next fall.
Enjoy TGIT tonight for the last time this TV season. Look for our reactions over on twitter. Don’t forget to tweet us your thoughts!
Ashley xx