Moviefone Editorial

Tag: shonda rhimes

  • Here’s How ‘Scandal,’ ‘HTGAWM’ Crossover Will Deal With the Liza Weil Conflict

    We’ve been seeing a lot of TV show crossovers lately, but they don’t always blend smoothly together. Sometimes, there’s a sticky situation to handle, like in the case of the upcoming crossover episodes of “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder.”

    The problem lies in the fact that actress Liza Weil has appeared in both series. Before her days of starring as Bonnie Winterbottom in “HTGAWM,” she had a recurring role in “Scandal” Season 1. Weil played Amanda Tanner, a former White House intern who claimed to have had an affair with the president. In a crazy turn of events, she was murdered, so although there’s no need for her to play two roles in the crossover, it would still be awkward if the “Scandal” characters came into contact with Amanda’s doppelganger. Not surprisingly, though, Shondaland has a plan.

    When the crossover episodes air, we won’t see Weil appear at all in the “Scandal” episode, EW reports. Not only that, the show’s writers avoided putting Bonnie in any scenes with the “Scandal” characters during the “HTGAWM” episode. That way, there will be no need to address the fact that the attorney looks exactly like the ill-fated intern, which is probably for the best. Instead, we’ll get “black girl magic on steroids,” according to Viola Davis, whose character, Annalise Keating, will interact with Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington).

    The two-hour crossover event will air Thursday, March 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

  • First Look at ‘Scandal,’ How to Get Away With Murder’ Crossover

    47th NAACP Image Awards - ArrivalsOlivia Pope, meet Annalise Keating … and admire each other’s ginormous handbags.

    “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” two of ABC’s TGIT shows produced by Shonda Rhimes.

    In the photo, Olivia (Kerry Washington) and Annalise (Viola Davis) look very serious as they enter what appears to be a glass-walled conference room. Both are carrying very large handbags (their signature accessories).

    “It was black girl magic on steroids!” Davids told EW. “Me and Kerry dancing to ‘Rock the Boat’? Hey, it can’t get any better.”

    “I really love Viola,” Washington added. “I have such immense respect and admiration for her.”

    Scandal HTGAWMNot much is known about the crossover’s plot, but it’s likely to do with Annalise’s big class-action lawsuit against the state of Pennsylvania for negligence by the public defenders office. Perhaps Olivia and President Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) get involved, or the gladiators are called in to help with the case. Or maybe Liv needs a bulldog lawyer to get out of some fixing scrape?

    This is the first crossover between Shondaland’s shows (excepting between “Grey’s Anatomy” and its spinoff, “Private Practice”). It airs Thursday, March 1 on ABC.

  • 300 Prominent Hollywood Women Launch Anti-Harassment Initiative Time’s Up

    ELLE's 24th Annual Women in Hollywood Celebration presented by L'Oreal Paris, Real Is Rare, Real Is A Diamond and CALVIN KLEIN -They spoke up to say #MeToo; now, they’re fighting back with Time’s Up.

    Over 300 prominent Hollywood women have banded together to form an initiative to fight systemic sexual harassment in the workplace. Supporters include Reese Witherspoon, Ava DuVernay, Shonda Rhimes, Meryl Streep, Ashley Judd, America Ferrera.

    Times Up includes a legal defense fund, backed by $13 million in donations; legislation to penalize companies for ignoring sexual harassment claims; and a push for gender equity at Hollywood studios and talent agencies.

    In an open letter published in the New York Times and Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion said, “The struggle for women to break in, to rise up the ranks and to simply be heard and acknowledged in male-dominated workplaces must end; time’s up on this impenetrable monopoly.”

    The legal defense fund is targeted at less privileged women — like janitors, nurses, farm workers, and hotel staff.

    “It’s very hard for us to speak righteously about the rest of anything if we haven’t cleaned our own house,” Rhimes said. “If this group of women can’t fight for a model for other women who don’t have as much power and privilege, then who can?”

  • Sara Ramirez Is ‘Open’ to a ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Return Someday

    Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund Inaugural 'Damn Gala'There’s nothing set in stone just yet, but Dr. Callie Torres could be checking back into Grey Sloan Memorial someday.

    That’s the word from actress Madam Secretary.” Ramirez will be playing political strategist Kat Sandoval on the CBS drama, her first television role since leaving “Grey’s Anatomy” at the end of season 12 back in 2016.

    While the actress chatted with EW about the exciting new part of Kat, who may or may not reflect Ramirez’s own bisexuality (the actress was pretty coy when asked about the subject), talk eventually turned to “Grey’s.” According to Ramirez, she says she “absolutely” made the right decision in exiting the show when she did, and used her time off from television to explore political activism, becoming a fierce advocate for LGBT issues.

    That advocacy included slamming “Grey’s” network ABC earlier this year, when sitcom “The Real O’Neals” included a joke about bisexuality. Ramirez’s harsh words for her former home had some fans worried that she would never return to the medical drama after that dust-up. When asked about it by EW, the actress said she was still disappointed that ABC never apologized for the joke, but added that she was still on good terms — and in regular contact — with “Grey’s” creator Shonda Rhimes.

    ” … [W]hen Shonda [Rhimes] and I last spoke, we agreed to keep the conversations going, and she knows I’m open to keeping those conversations going,” Ramirez said of playing Callie again one day.

    It’s not a definite yes, but it’s certainly not a no, either. The actress will probably be busy with her “Madam Secretary” role for a while, but that doesn’t mean that “Grey’s” fans shouldn’t keep their fingers crossed. Maybe she’ll be back in time for the 400th episode?

    [via: Entertainment Weekly]

  • ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Firefighters Spinoff Probably Won’t Feature Original Cast Members

    Get ready to see some new faces in Seattle! The planned “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff revolving around firefighters is going to feature all-new characters.

    According to the Hollywood Reporter, none of the current regulars on “Grey’s Anatomy” are likely to move over to the spinoff. Fans had speculated that Jason George, who plays resident Ben Warren, might star in the spinoff, since he worked closely with firefighters in the season finale. But it seems Shonda Rhimes is opting to focus on new faces.

    While the news of the spinoff came as a surprise during ABC’s upfronts presentation to advertisers, it’s been in the works for some time.

    “he discussions have been going on for a while — earlier than this season. It was up to Shonda to tell us when she had inspiration for something that made sense, which was pretty recent,” ABC Studios president Patrick Moran told THR.

    “We talked about the elements of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ that seem to resonate with the audience — emotional storytelling, deep human connection, a high-stakes environment and strong and empowered women — and those elements will carry over to the spinoff.”

    The firefighters project is the second spinoff of “Grey’s Anatomy,” after “Private Practice.” And Rhimes has had other spinoff ideas, like one about Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and his history in the military.

  • ‘Scandal’ Ending After Season 7: Report

    SCANDAL - "Paris is Burning" - Olivia and Fitz face some very big consequences and Mellie brings in an old friend to make sure she gets her way. Meanwhile, Abby shows Olivia she is fully capable of handling working at the White House, on "Scandal," THURSDAY OCTOBER 8 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/John Fleenor)TONY GOLDWYN, KERRY WASHINGTONOlivia Pope is about to fix her final “Scandal.”

    Sources tell TV Line that the drama’s seventh season will be its last and ABC is expected to make the announcement at their upfront advertising presentation next week. Neither the network nor Shondaland productions commented on the report.

    In season 6, which has two more weeks before the finale, the show has been averaging 5.7 million viewers and a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Those figures are down from its peak, when it averaged 12 million viewers.

    Creator Shonda Rhimes has previously said she never envisioned the show having as long of a shelf life as “Grey’s Anatomy.”

    “I feel like there is a finite amount of ‘Scandal’ to be told,” Rhimes told NPR. “So I know what the end of ‘Scandal’ will be, and I feel really good about that. And I can see where the end point is. And I don’t think I’m going to change that.”

  • ‘Scandal’ Will Explore Alternate Reality in Big 100th Episode

    ScandalFor its milestone 100th episode, “Scandal” is turning back the clock.

    At Paleyfest, the cast of the ABC drama revealed that the 100th episode will explore an alternate reality — one in which Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) never helped fixed the election that made Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) president.

    “The 100th episode is insane. This is a ‘what if?’ episode. You’re seeing an alternate reality if things had not gone the way they went,” Goldwyn told the audience. “It’s not a standalone. It actually informs your understanding [of these characters] when we get back to our normal ‘Scandal’ reality.”

    If Olivia didn’t collude with Cyrus and Mellie to tamper with voting machines, that would mean Fitz didn’t get elected. It would also mean that Quinn (Katie Lowes) didn’t lose her boyfriend, who was killed after he did the tampering — which would mean she might not even be one of Olivia’s gladiators at OPA. In fact, it could even mean that OPA doesn’t exist. And that Olivia and Fitz are possibly together!

    As cast member Joshua Malina said, “We have some fantasy fulfillment, there’s some dread fulfillment.”

    The 100th episode of “Scandal” airs April 13.

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  • ABC Renews ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Scandal,’ ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ For Next Season

    SCANDAL - "Hardball" - After a tight race and shocking conclusion to the election, flashbacks reveal what happened on the campaign trail and just how far Olivia was willing to go to win. Meanwhile, Fitz and Abby are faced with an unprecedented national crisis, and the gladiators are determined to get answers, on "Scandal," airing THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2 (9:01-10:00 p.m. EST), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Bryon Cohen)TONY GOLDWYN, KERRY WASHINGTONEveryone can TGIT for another season.

    ABC has renewed “Grey’s Anatomy” for season 14, “Scandal” for season 7, and “How to Get Away With Murder” for season 4.

    All three Shonda Rhimes-produced Thursday night dramas “continue to keep viewers on the edge of their seats and wanting more,” said ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey in a statement. “I’m thrilled to bring back these shows and the OMG moments that come with them.”

    The early renewals aren’t a surprise, considering how successful the “TGIT” brand has been for the network. The power of the block became clear this fall when “Scandal” was delayed to midseason due to star Kerry Washington’s pregnancy. Freshman drama “Notorious” didn’t make a splash, and ended up negatively affecting ratings for “HTGAWM.”

    As for “Grey’s,” the veteran medical drama is still going strong, and Dungey is optimistic that it could even rival the 15-season run of “ER.”

    “I’ll take even more! Honestly, I think that the show is going to continue as long as Shonda and the gang have a creative passion for telling those stories,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “At the moment, it feels like we’re full steam ahead.”

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  • ABC Looks to Add Another Shonda Rhimes Show, Orders Legal Drama Pilot

    Glamour Celebrates 2016 Women Of The Year Awards - ArrivalsABC can’t get enough of Shonda Rhimes.

    The network has ordered a pilot for a legal drama series from the “Grey’s Anatomy” creator. The project doesn’t have an official title yet, but it does have a compelling premise, as all Rhimes’s shows do. The story will follow newbie lawyers as they face off against each other on high-profile cases in the Southern District of New York Federal Court (aka “The Mother Court”). As you can imagine, there will be plenty of personal drama as well; this wouldn’t be a ShondaLand show without it.

    Rhimes is executive producing with her frequent collaborator Betsy Beers. The two have worked together on “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” among other ShondaLand hits. They’re joined by “Scandal” writer Paul William Davies, who is set to serve as showrunner.

    We wouldn’t be surprised at all to see ABC give the project a full-season order, but we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, there’s no shortage of ShondaLand shows to keep us busy.

    [via: Entertainment Weekly]

  • ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 13: Shonda Rhimes Talks Complicated Relationships

    ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" - Season ThirteenRelationships are never easy on “Grey’s Anatomy,” and that’s not suddenly going to change in the second half of Season 13.

    That’s the main takeaway from a recent email interview Shonda Rhimes did for TVLine. The show creator answered questions about the upcoming episodes, and she made it clear that Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), Alex (Justin Chambers), Arizona (Jessica Capshaw), and the rest of the Grey Sloan gang will continue to have complicated relationships, romantic and otherwise.

    “Meredith’s journey is always interesting and complex,” Rhimes told the publication. “There are so many aspects to her as woman, a surgeon, a sister and a mother.”

    Given that she had been asked about the character’s relationship with Nathan (Martin Henderson), her response was impressively vague. Still, wherever things may go with the two doctors, it sounds like we can expect the usual turbulence.

    Rhimes was equally evasive when answering questions about Arizona and Eliza (Marika Dominczyk), and DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) and Jo (Camilla Luddington). She called the first two’s relationship “barely a flirtation” but hinted that there will be fun in “waiting to see what unfolds.” As for DeLuca’s feelings for Jo, she didn’t feel it was “mature to put a name on” whatever is developing, leaving it unclear what that could mean for them and for Alex.

    Clearly, Rhimes is good at keeping her story lines a mystery — just as she is putting together compelling and complex drama. We’ll see it all play out when “Grey’s Anatomy” returns on Jan. 19.

    [via: TVLine]