Shonda Rhimes, the mastermind behind Thursday night great TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder, is at it again. She's currently in the development stages of a new ABC TV drama based off the William Shakespeare classic, Romeo & Juliet.
The story of forbidden love between a Montague and a Capulet is the tale of Romeo & Juliet, and according to UPI, the new TV series that Rhimes is currently working on will act as the sequel to the story on the small screen. The concept will be based on the book by Melinda Taub, Still Star-Crossed, which tells the story of the two families after the death of Romeo and Juliet.
Rhimes is lending her help in this project as the executive producer through her ShondaLand production company, along with Scandal producer Heather Mitchell. Rhimes' production company will bring this show to ABC along with two other shows "including a divorce comedy entitled Splitsville and an unnamed nun drama," UPI reported.
Rhimes is currently dominating Thursday nights with great shows, great ratings and great actors including Emmy Award winning Viola Davis who stars in HTGAWM and Kerry Washington of Scandal. According to Huffington Post, the season 4 premiere of Scandal brought in "11.9 million viewers and a 3.8 rating." HTGAWM topped that number of views, bringing in over 14 million during th show's premiere.
Not only is Rhimes and her ShondaLand production company creating more TV dramas for adults to enjoy but she's also creating more roles for actors to fill, as pointed out in Davis' Emmy Award Acceptance speech. The NY Times reported that Davis thanked show creators and producers who create shows that allow more actresses to gain jobs and be seen in roles where they would not normally have a presence or viewed as sexy.
"So here's to all the writers, the awesome people that are Ben Sherwood, Paul Lee, Peter Nowalk, Shonda Rhimes, people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black."
