Shonda Rhimes has claimed that there are genuine jitters in the U.S. that network storytelling is being self-censored during Donald Trump‘s second term in office.
The creative powerhouse behind Bridgerton and Grey’s Anatomy said she could not comment directly on the decision-making processes that led to Paramount and Disney settling separate lawsuits with Trump, but confessed: “It definitely feels that way to a lot of people, that there is self-censoring going on.”
Appearing in front of an enraptured audience at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Rhimes said she was not stifling her own storytelling instincts, saying she still has the power to “make the shows that matter to me.”
In an interview with Mishal Husain, the former BBC Radio 4 Today show host, Rhimes — who has supported a string of Democrats, including Kamala Harris — reflected on quitting the Kennedy Center’s board in February after Trump appointed himself as chairman. She said the decision was not a “retreat.”
Rhimes explained: “I stayed on that board through his appointment, mainly because I was the treasurer of the Kennedy Center, so it was my duty as treasurer of the Kennedy Center to ask all the smart fiduciary questions while they were making that transition.
“But once that transition was made, I literally was the only person left who was an artist, who was of the old regime of the Kennedy Center … and therefore, in my mind, it wasn’t a board anymore. It’s certainly not the board with the same mission as when I came in.”
Rhimes also expanded on her decision to quit Twitter/X in 2022, saying she left simply because Elon Musk took control of the social network. “I walked away and I’m not paying attention anymore,” she added to applause. Tuning out noise also extends to claims that Bridgerton is “woke,” with Rhimes saying “that’s so cute” when asked about criticism of the drama’s diverse casting. “How people react and take in the show is none of my business,” she said.
During the career retrospective, Rhimes was introduced by Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh, who hailed the showrunner for changing the face of television storytelling. Rhimes’ arrival on stage was greeted by a standing ovation from a room full of British TV decision makers.
Rhimes said she had only recently been able to reflect on her achievements, which span series including Grey’s Anatomy (currently filming its 450th episode for ABC) and Scandal. The writer said she was no longer “climbing for survival, but climbing because I like the view.”
“I Was Nobody’s Nepo Baby”
Pondering her attempts to crack the industry, Rhimes remembered that she would return home from work and “sit and write every night,” and it “made it feel like everything had a purpose.” She eventually sold a spec script for a romantic comedy about an older white woman who falls in love with a young Black man, with Susan Sarandon and Will Smith as her imaginary leads. “I was nobody’s nepo baby,” she said.
Rhimes watched a lot of television after the birth of her child, and decided it was the best medium for “character development opportunities.” In 2003, Rhimes wrote her first TV pilot for ABC about young female war correspondents, though the network eventually turned it down. But with her foot in the door, she was told Bob Iger wanted a medical series, which eventually led to Grey’s Anatomy. The series was a “real shock to my system,” Rhimes said, explaining how she had to overcome her “deeply introverted” nature to run a team of 300 people making a television show.
Rhimes stumbled across Julia Quinn’s first Bridgerton novel while she was unwell in a hotel room. She picked up the novel and devoured it, venturing out of her sick bed to purchase the rest of the series. Rhimes said she had a lot of “disdain for romance novels” but could see Quinn’s world on a TV screen, describing her own vision for the Regency-era show as a “workplace drama” about women taking control of their lives through love.
Season 4 of Bridgerton will premiere next year, with the series already renewed for Seasons 5 and 6. Rhimes hopes to bring a further two seasons to Netflix. As Deadline revealed last month, Bridgerton has amassed more than 300M views on Netflix over the past two years, making it the streamer’s second biggest franchise after Squid Game.
Rhimes warned writers against thinking about their work in franchise terms. “What worries me is that people are making shows based on algorithms and numbers versus making shows based on the creative quality,” she said. “Tell a good story, that’s what we should be looking for.”
Rhimes joked that she would like to continue writing beyond the age of 100, but said she would settle for her company, Shondaland, becoming her legacy. “I’m going to tell stories as long as I want to tell stories,” she concluded.
The post Shonda Rhimes On Paramount & Disney Bowing To Trump: “It Feels There’s Self-Censoring Going On” appeared first on Deadline.
