Celebrated television producer Shonda Rhimes left ABC after 15 years of producing shows like Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy—and now she’s explaining why.
In a honest conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Rhimes revealed she had been in an ongoing battle with ABC over multi-year deals and compensation years before her departure. But wasn’t until she attempted to receive an additional all-inclusive Disneyland pass for her sister (which was a perk allotted to her through her deal with ABC at the time) that she decided to leave the network. After allegedly being told “Don’t you have enough?” by a high-ranking official, Rhimes immediately called her lawyer and implored that they negotiate a deal with Netflix.
Since then, she has signed a nine-figure deal with the streaming service and producers like Ryan Murphy have followed in her footsteps.
In the interview, Rhimes said that her relationship with Netflix was a work in progress and that she was emphatic about the type of work she wanted to create. “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 said, reminiscing on a 2016 conversation with Netflix’s CEO.
Three years after Rhimes’ first-of-its-kind deal with Netflix, she is finally releasing two new bodies of work.
Her first project with the content giant will be a documentary about choreographer and director, Debbie Allen, which will be available on Nov. 27th. She will also be releasing a period drama, Bridgerton, on Dec. 25th.
By Brooklyn White ·October 22, 2020October 22, 2020
The post Shonda Rhimes Shares The Final Straw That Pushed Her To Leave ABC For Netflix appeared first on Essence.
