Shonda Rhimes will bring her Shondaland production company to Netflix, signing a multi-year deal to produce new series and other projects, the streaming giant has announced. Her ABC series Scandal, Gray’s Anatomy, and How to Get Away with Murder are among the most popular series on Netflix (and the new deal will not disrupt her contracts with ABC on those shows).
“Shondaland’s move to Netflix is the result of a shared plan Ted Sarandos and I built based on my vision for myself as a storyteller and for the evolution of my company,” Rhimes said in the company’s press release. “Ted provides a clear, fearless space for creators at Netflix. He understood what I was looking for — the opportunity to build a vibrant new storytelling home for writers with the unique creative freedom and instantaneous global reach provided by Netflix’s singular sense of innovation. The future of Shondaland at Netflix has limitless possibilities.”
The company has not yet announced the details of Rhimes’ new shows, or when they’ll begin to stream. But this announcement comes on the heels of Disney’s decision to begin a streaming service of its own, for the Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars films that are a huge draw in Netflix’s movie library – so it’s hard not to see this news as an indication of Netflix’s intention to move further from its initial mission as a movie provider and into even more original programming.