If you love watching series with surprising turns, fascinating cliffhangers and constant heartbreaking news then you must know who Shonda Rhimes is! Yes, Shonda Rhimes is the creator of various well known series and each of them is more fascinating than the last one. Shonda was born in Illinois on January 13, 1970, she obtained a BA from Dartmouth College in English Literature and Creative Writing after she enrolled in the Writing for Screen and Television Program at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
Before creating and writing acclaimed series and becoming the over achiever she is today, Rhonda wrote her first screenplay called “Human Seeking Same”. Sadly, the film never got made. After that, she wrote the film “Crossroads” in which Britney Spears and Zoe Saldana are protagonists and she also wrote “The Princess Diaries 2” starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. But now, I would like to focus on what this amazing African American has achieved: revolutionizing the American television by being different and stepping out-of-the-ordinary.
Shonda’s first series was Grey’s Anatomy, a medical drama series that focused on a group of doctors at a hospital in Seattle where treating patients is not the only problem to solve. A series of life changing events constantly happen and if you watch this show regularly then you know what I mean (like the fact that the cast right now is almost unrecognizable from the first season). The audience fell in love with this series which is now on its 13th season. Can you imagine!? And there are no rumors of it ending anytime soon. The series has won multiple awards including a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series: Drama.
Greys Anatomy is so good that Shonda created a spin-off series called Private Practice which lasted for six amazing seasons. Thanks to this spin off, Shonda won an NAACP for Outstanding Writing for a Drama series in 2011.
You have probably heard about this next series I’m about to tell you…SCANDAL. Scandal is about a former media consultant for the President of the United States. Olivia Pope, who tries to move on with her life, opens her own crisis management firm but her past keeps catching up with her. Between resolving matters for people of high power, and trying to maintain her personal life away from her professional, Olivia encounters many life changing decisions. Scandal is on its 6th season and let me tell ya it keeps getting better and better!
Last, but certainly not least, is the latest addition to an already amazing list of series by Shonda: How To Get Away With Murder. The series is about a criminal defense attorney, and brilliant professor of defense law, Annalise Keating. She selects a group of students from the classroom “the best and the brightest” to assist and be part of her firm alongside her coworkers. But everything is not as it seems and, as they keep working for Annalise, mysteries arise and everyone’s limits are tested into revealing dark truths. Annalise Keating is played by the talented Viola Davis who won an EMMY for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and whose speech left many speechless (pun intended).
Shonda has shown the true power of women in general (badass women) and the capability women have to make great things. Shonda Rhimes created female characters who are not simple nor fragile but better yet are powerful, profesional and capable of standing for themselves without taking away their femenine, sexy and beautiful side. She refers to her TV shows as “…full of women of color, competitive women, strong women, women who own their bodies and whose lives revolve around their work instead of their men, women who are big dogs..”
After taking a trip to what is Shonda’s world we can say thank you Shonda! For all the stress-free nights, the happy tears and sad tears, the goosebumps moments and for all the good, incredible series you have created. Thank you for the memories and happines they bring into our lives. And most certainly we can say: “Can’t wait for more!”