Shonda Rhimes has divulged new details about what prompted her exit from ABC! As People shares, Rhimes opened up in a recent interview about why she decided to leave the broadcast network behind in favour of Netflix, explaining that one incident, in particular, made her want to take her talents elsewhere.
Rhimes recounts difficulty getting family Disneyland passes
Rhimes talked to The Hollywood Reporter about how she felt creatively confined by network television after spending 15 years working on hit shows for ABC. "I felt like I was dying," she said. "Like I'd been pushing the same ball up the same hill in the exact same way for a really long time." However, the showrunner of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, and more revealed to the outlet that it was what happened during her family's trip to Disneyland that finally caused her to walk away.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rhimes— who had an all-inclusive park pass for Disneyland, thanks to her position with ABC— mentioned that she'd managed to get a pass for her nanny to visit as well. But the complication came when she realized that her sister would also need a pass since Rhimes wouldn't be there with her. "We never do this," she was reportedly told of the request to get a second additional pass for her sister.
Rhimes says she asked lawyer to get her over to Netflix
Rhimes went on to share that even though she was granted her request of an extra pass for her sister, her family's Disneyland trip still didn't go as planned. That's because when they got to the park, her sister's pass ended up not working! In response, Rhimes contacted a "high-ranking executive" at ABC, who she expected would help her correct the issue.
However, the answer she got in response was unexpectedly dismissive. "Don't you have enough?" Rhimes said the unnamed executive allegedly told her. Once she'd thanked him for his time and ended the call, Rhimes went straight to her lawyer and requested that they work on somehow bringing her over to Netflix.
It was a conflict of interest!
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Rhimes explained to Netflix what she sought to do
Rhimes was adamant with the Netflix co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, that she wouldn't be creating another Grey's Anatomy for the streaming service. Instead, she saw it as a platform to explore new creative ideas. "And then I said, 'I just want to be in a place where I can make stuff and no one's going to bother me or make me feel like I'm beholden,'" Rhimes explained of her conversation with Sarandos, "and he was like, 'That sounds great to me.'"
As People shares, Rhimes has around 12 projects currently in the works for Netflix, and fans of Shondaland won't have to wait too long for the first one to debut! That's because Bridgerton— an adaptation of Julia Quinn's period romance— is set to hit Netflix on Christmas Day!
