Throughout her career journey, Shonda Rhimes has continued to set the bar high in the entertainment industry. She is the first Black woman to develop and executive produce a Top 10 network series and she is continuing to make historic moves.
According to the Huffington Post, Rhimes’ show “Grey’s Anatomy” hit a major milestone, becoming the longest running medical drama in U.S. television history.
On Thursday, when the show aired its 332nd episode, it took the title away from ER which ran for 15 seasons and had a total of 331 episodes. The current cast of “Grey’s Anatomy” features actors Jesse Williams, Ellen Pompeo and Justin Chambers. The show made its debut in 2005 and has been going strong ever since.
“I wanted to see people on television who look like me, and I wanted to see people on television who look like my friends. And I didn’t relate to a lot of the women on television because they didn’t seem realistic,” said Rhimes in an interview with Business Insider. “It was just about writing people I wanted to watch and writing people who felt like the people I knew. That’s what we ended up doing.”
She also added that it’s important to authentically bring narratives to life when working in television and not chase trends.
“The goal is to make sure it’s not a trend,” she said. “I don’t know what I can do to encourage it. I tell the stories I tell and I do it naturally.”
Rhimes has seen success with many of the projects that she’s created including “Private Practice,” “Scandal,” and “How to Get Away with Murder.” In 2017, she inked a multi-year deal with Netflix where through her Shondaland production company she will develop eight series.
