Shondaland Explained

Shondaland should not be confused with Mashonaland.

Shondaland
Type:	Private
Founder:	Shonda Rhimes
Key People:	Shonda Rhimes (Chairwoman/CEO) Betsy Beers
Industry:	Television production
Products:	Grey's Anatomy (2005–present) Private Practice (2007–2013) Off the Map (2011) Scandal (2012–2018) How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020) The Catch (2016–2017) Still Star-Crossed (2017) For the People (2018–2019) Station 19 (2018–2024) Bridgerton (2020–present) Inventing Anna (2022) (2023)
Owner:	Shonda Rhimes
Location:	Los Angeles, California
Foundation:	2005 (Los Angeles, California)
Website:

Shondaland (stylized as ShondaLand from 2005 to 2016 and shondaland thereafter) is an American television production company founded by television writer and producer Shonda Rhimes.^[1] She founded it to be one of the production companies of her first series, the medical drama Grey's Anatomy in 2005. It has since gone on to produce Rhimes's other creations, Grey's spinoff Private Practice and the political drama Scandal, and her other productions—the short-lived Off the Map, the Viola Davis-starring legal thriller How to Get Away with Murder, and the crime thriller The Catch—all of which are co-produced with ABC Studios and air on ABC. As of 2017, it has a partnership affiliation with Netflix creating shows like Bridgerton and the spin-off . Their logo features a rollercoaster.

History

Programming block

In 2014, the ABC network programmed its entire Thursday primetime lineup with television series produced by Shondaland, then branded the Shondaland-filled programming block as "Thank God It's Thursday," also referred to in its shortened form, TGIT.^[2] This echoes ABC's former TGIF branding of its Friday night family sitcoms^[3] and NBC's Must See TV promotion of formidable Thursday night television hits in the 1990s. Thursday is an especially important night for American television networks because it is the last chance for advertisers of weekend purchases, like movies and cars, to reach a large TV audience, and networks schedule highly rated programming for the night to attract those advertising dollars.^[4] The Associated Press called Rhimes' reign of an entire night of network television "unmatched in TV history."^[5]

Productions

The first series produced by Shondaland is Grey's Anatomy, which premiered on March 27, 2005, and currently its twentieth season is ended.^[6] In 2007, Private Practice premiered, and lasted for six seasons, until its final broadcast, on January 22, 2013.^[7] The third installment, Off the Map, was created by Jenna Bans and lasted for only one season, in 2011.^[8] Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, premiered in 2012 and 2014, respectively, with Scandal airing its final episode on April 19, 2018, and How to Get Away with Murder airing its final episode on May 14, 2020. The comedy-driven crime drama The Catch aired for two seasons and received generally positive reviews from critics.^[9] The period drama Still Star-Crossed premiered on May 29, 2017, and was cancelled after one season.^[10] The legal drama For the People, created by Paul William Davies and set to premiere in the 2017–18 television season,^[11] is the eighth television series produced by Shondaland. In May 2019, it was cancelled after two seasons.^[12] It was announced on January 3, 2018, that Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder would crossover with one another in Shondaland's first crossover event (excluding spin-offs).^[13] In March 22, 2018, a second Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Station 19, premiered. This firefighter procedural drama lasted for seven seasons, broadcasting its final episode on May 30, 2024.^[14]

Website

In 2017, Shondaland launched the lifestyle website Shondaland.com in partnership with Hearst.^[15]

Initiatives

Shonda Rhimes shares her knowledge with aspiring screenwriters and producers through ShondaLand and initiatives for her MasterClass.com program.^[16]

Shondaland partnered with Seriesfest^[17] in 2019 to launch the Women's Directing Mentorship,^[18] a competition designed to discover aspiring female directors.^{[19] [20]} The Seriesfest panel included Shondaland's Head of Fiction Alison Eakle, Akua Murphy, Katie Lowes and Anna Deavere Smith. The first Shondaland Women's Directing Mentorship was awarded to Rachel Myers.^[21]

In January 2020, it was announced that Shonda Rhimes had partnered with iHeartMedia to launch Shondaland Audio.^[22]

Filmography

Television series

Series	Television seasons																				No. of episodes
																				2023–24
Grey's Anatomy																				20	420
Private Practice																					111
Off the Map																					13
Scandal																					124
nowrap	How to Get Away with Murder																					90
The Catch												1	2								20
Still Star-Crossed																					7
For the People															2						20
Station 19															2	3	4	5	6	7	95
Bridgerton																					16
Inventing Anna																					9
																					6

(The table is movable)

Recurring actors

Some actors appear in more than one television show produced by Shondaland. Currently, Liza Weil, Mimi Kennedy, John Getz, José Zúñiga, Cynthia Stevenson, Faran Tahir and Anthony Hill are the only actors to make appearances in four shows.

= Main role   = Recurring role

Grey's Anatomy	Private Practice	Off the Map	Scandal	How to Get Away with Murder	The Catch	Still Star-Crossed	For the People	Station 19	Bridgerton	Inventing Anna
Mark Adair-Rios	David Morris		Armando Cruz		Dr. Erik Turner
	Cooper Freedman	Cooper Freedman		Leo Bergen
	Officer Dan Pruitt					Nathan Ashmore
Amrapali Ambegaokar	Intern Dani			Jessica
				George Reed		Tony Ellis
	Simone Griffith										Neff Davis
Juan Antonio	Hot guy				Levi
	Neal Hannigan		Pher
Wes Armstrong				Chris Armstrong	Bill
	Danny Wilson	Dan Meyer		Noah Baker
Laila Ayad	Laura Morgan			Charlotte Reid
	Joe/Jeremy	Joe		Noah Elliot
	Mr. Baker							Douglas Delap
	Donna Gibson				Jill Hartford
	Amrita			Adnan Salif
Jake Borelli	Dr. Levi Schmitt								Dr. Levi Schmitt
	Gwen Graber	Dr. Meg Porter	Lynn
Alan Brooks				Chairman Mike Snedeker	Grant Hapstall
	Amanda Joseph							Allison Adams
	Jeffrey			James Novak
	Don	Mr. Spencer			Mr. Thomas
John Burke				Paul Mosley	ADA Vince Travers
	Ben Bosco		Richie Salerno
	Ellis Grey			Sally Langston							Nora
Tisha Campbell-Martin	Lila's mother	Pam Reiter
Catherine Carlen				Governor Kelly Rauch	Judge Emily Hargrove
Jennifer Christopher				Civilian	Gemma Walsh
	Mary Singleton		Marian Cooper	Susan Sawyer
Josh Crotty				Secret Service agent		Evan Connors
	Zona Cruz		Dr. Zee Alvarez	Carolina Flores
	Dr. Darren Parker				Victor Lesher
				Annalise Keating	Annalise Keating
		Derek Shepherd
	Rick Jacobs				Kevin Murphy
Kiran Deol	Young woman				Dr. Lira
	Female Intern	Lisa
		Dr. Sam Bennett
	Dr. Eliza Minnick										Talia
	Warren Sterman			Warden	Judge George Danvers
Matthew Downs	Frank				Agent Anthony Fain
	Carmen Hall				FBI Agent			Judge Diane Barish
		Judy
	Kathleen Wheeler	Maria Wilson			Gretchen Thomas
Tony Elias		Collin			Jimmy Wordshaw
	Henry Burton			Jake Ballard
	Nora	Katie Kent				Susan Bailey
	Dr. Ben Warren		Dr. Otis Cole						Dr. Ben Warren
	Michael Breyers	Mr. Kent		Patrick Keating	David Dolan
	Charlie Lowell		Dr. Tommy Fuller
	Bethany Anderson					Renée Etheridge
	Marge Walker			Betsy Ray	Robin Laforge
Misha Gonz-Cirkl	Social worker				Detective Lana Ramos
	Clark West		Mateo		Dominic
April Grace	Greta's Sister		Fran		Judge Renee Garret
	Alana	Julie
Jake Green	Pete Gibson					Seth Hamilton
	Ronny O'Malley				AUSA Caleb Abernathy
Caitlainne Rose Gurreri	Lori					Marie Sherwood
		Melinda Stinson			Judge Fiona Pruitt
	Dana Seabury	Ellen Miller			Sylvia Mahoney
						Danny Yoon			Travis Montgomery
	Tom Russell				Dennis				Michael Dixon
	Dr. Nathan Riggs		Dr. Ben Keeton
Anthony Hill	Dr. Winston Ndugu				Noah			Guy Watson	Neil
	Stephanie Edwards			Hannah
	Rhada Douglas	Angie McConnell	Margie Packard
Joe Holt	Steve Beck			Defense Secretary
		Linda	Bridget Clemmons						Battalion Chief Frankel
Eamon Hunt	Judge				Judge Colton Lee
	Thomas Archibald			Congressman Jacob Shaw		Mario Visconti
Jay Jackson				Mike Waters/News anchor		BNC News anchor
	Judge Madeline Kane							Senator Knox
Danielle Kennedy	Angry woman				Nurse
	Verna Bradley	Eleanor Bergin		Sharon Marquette		Virginia Foster
Anna Khaja		Cooper's Lawyer						Vera Simmons
				Michaela Pratt	Michaela Pratt
David L. King					Dr. Belridge	William Etheridge
						Tommy Vaughan
Nicola Lambo				Sienna Rogers		Saleswoman
Damien Leake				Judge Leo Theroux	Dr. Healy
Chris Lowell		William "Dell" Parker									Noah
	Blood donor	Kendra Walker/Kira									Rachel
	Anna Nyles	Stephanie Kemp	Teresa
	Roberta Thompson		Matilda
	Seth Hammer	Jason Windsor		David Rosen							Henrick Knight
	Otis Sharon		Papa Ucumari
Nelson Mashita	Proctor				Judge Gene Escobar
		Barbara	Becky
				Lisa Elliot				Chloe Daniels
	Maggie Pierce			Clare Tucker					Maggie Pierce
	Stanley Singer				AUSA Hobbs
Thomas G. McMahon				Government goon	Lloyd
Joan McMurtrey	Zoey Glass	Jennifer Debray			Helena Hapstall
	Kate Shaw	Simone Parker				Gwen Ericsson
	Ryan			Jerry Grant Jr.
	Evelyn Hunt	Sylvie		Verna Thornton							Judge
Judith Moreland	Mrs. Baer				Judge Virginia Wilder
	Stan Mercer	Brian Reynolds		Charlie
Niko Terho	Lucas Adams								Lucas Adams
Harry Shum Jr.	Benson Kwan								Benson Kwan
	Mrs. Sturgeon				Joyce Robinson
	Vince		Morris Cooper
	Chelsea Ansell				Catherine Hapstall
	Teresa Brotherton				Nia Lahey
Regé-Jean Page								Leonard Knox		Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings
April Parker Jones				Doctor	Detective Claire Bryce
Jeff Perry	Thatcher Grey			Cyrus Beene							Lou
Zoe Perry	Katy Noonan	Lisa		Samantha Ruland
Rick Peters	Sean Greene				Detective
Nicole Pettis					Court crier	Robin
James Pickens Jr.	Richard Webber	Richard Webber
Amy Pietz		Isabelle			Sharon Remini
Ellen Pompeo	Meredith Grey								Meredith Grey
Adina Porter	Dr. Ramsey	Stacy Hatcher				FBI Agent Emily Clark
Sally Pressman	Young Dr. Ellis Grey			Candace Marcus		Stephanie Duncan
Josh Randall	William	Carl							Captain. Sean Beckett
Medalion Rahimi						Princess Zara Al-Salim	Princess Isabella
Ben Rappaport								Seth Oliver			Billy McFarland
Dalila Ali Rajah	Leanne				Judy
Jill Remez	April's examiner				Lucinda Blair
Ron Roggé	Fire captain				Detective Paul Reed
Cristine Rose		Mrs. Freedman			Judge Wenona Sansbury
Jeffrey D. Sams	Andre Barrett				District Attorney
Caterina Scorsone	Amelia Shepherd								Amelia Shepherd
Kelsey Scott	Karen				Rose
Ben Shenkman	Rob Harmon							Roger Gunn
Samantha Sloyan	Penelope "Penny" Blake	ER Nurse		Jeannine Locke
Anna Deavere Smith								Tina Krissman			Maud
Cornelius Smith Jr.				Marcus Walker	Marcus Walker
Stefania Spampinato	Carina DeLuca								Carina DeLuca
Lauren Stamile	Nurse Rose			Carla Steele
Darby Stanchfield		Tess Milford		Abby Whelan
Cynthia Stevenson	Ruthie Carlin	Karen	Charlene	Mary Nesbitt
Anthony Stewart Head							Lord Silvestro Capulet			Lord Sheffield
Patrick St. Esprit				Peter Foster		Phillip Thompson
Faran Tahir	Isaac	Charles		President Rashad	Detective Terrence Amos
BJ Tanner	Tuck Jones								Tuck Jones
Adria Tennor		Dr. Berman		Brenda Swan				Susan Womack
Tessa Thompson	Camille Travis	Zoe Salter	Sydney
Tamlyn Tomita		Katie's lawyer			Judge Carol Morrow
Jamie Tompkins				Female corporate executive		Tammi Ingram
Mageina Tovah		Rebecca Hobart		Molly Ackerman	Jolene Samuels
Brett Tucker			Dr. Jonah Simpson						Fire Chief Lucas Ripley
Jim Turner	Dr. Schacter				George Gabler
Nia Vardalos	Karen					Leah Wells
Tom Verica	Michael Norris				Sam Keating
Tracy Vilar	Becca McMurdo				Prosecutor Barker			Lydia Perez
Sonya Walger				Katherine Winslow		Margot Bishop
Kate Walsh	Addison Montgomery
Nick Warnock	SWAT Guy #2				Attorney Trent Stockton
Kerry Washington				Olivia Pope	Olivia Pope
Derek Webster	Paul Anderson					Dr. Richard Watkins
Liza Weil	Alison Clark	Andi		Amanda Tanner	Bonnie Winterbottom
Michael Welch				Officer Newton		Teddy Seavers
Wayne Wilderson	Bill Adams	Neil Denhom			Eastham
Chandra Wilson	Miranda Bailey	Miranda Bailey							Miranda Bailey
Bellamy Young	Kathy			Melody "Mellie" Grant
	Anthony Meloy		Julio	General Benicio Flores	Jorge Castillo

External links

• • Shondaland.com

Notes and References

1. News: Jordan. Lebeau. The Angry Black Women of Shondaland: What The New York Times (and Slate) Got Wrong. The Boston Globe. September 22, 2014. September 23, 2014.
2. See how ABC is promoting Shonda Rhimes' Thursday takeover. Abrams. Natalie. August 21, 2014. Entertainment Weekly. September 28, 2014.
3. News: TV Upfront: Any Given Thursday: ABC May Not Have the NFL As It Heads to the Upfront, But It's Got Shonda Rhimes. Poggi. Jeanine. Advertising Age. 87. 10. May 16, 2016. 14–17.
4. News: McFarland. Melanie. On TV: Thursday night throwdown. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. September 28, 2014.
5. Web site: Moore. Frazier. Shonda Rhimes Lays Claim To Thursday Nights On ABC. Associated Press. September 28, 2014.
6. Web site: Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and HTGAWM Renewed for 2017–18 Season. Swift. Andy. February 10, 2017. TVLine. February 14, 2017.
7. Web site: Shonda Rhimes Announces Private Practice End Date, Calls Decision 'Heartbreaking'. Mitovich. Matt Webb. October 19, 2012. TVLine. October 19, 2012.
8. Web site: ABC: 'V' Cancelled, 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Mr. Sunshine,' 'Detroit 187,' 'Off The Map,' 'No Ordinary Family,' 'Better With You' Cancelled Too. https://web.archive.org/web/20170213160828/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/1/v-cancelled-brothers-sisters-cancelled-by-abc-too/92307/. dead. February 13, 2017. May 13, 2011. TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. November 20, 2017.
9. Web site: ABC Cancels 'American Crime,' 'Dr. Ken,' 'Imaginary Mary,' 'Secrets and Lies,' 'The Catch, 'The Real O'Neals'. May 11, 2017. The Hollywood Reporter. November 20, 2017. Stanhope. Kate. Goldberg. Lesley. O'Connell. Michael.
10. Web site: Still Star-Crossed Essentially Cancelled as ABC Banishes Drama to Saturdays. Nemetz. Dave. June 22, 2017. TVLine. November 20, 2017.
11. Web site: ABC Greenlights Shondaland Show, Zach Braff Comedy, Freddie Highmore Medical Drama, Three More Series. Wagmeister. Elizabeth. May 11, 2017. Variety. November 20, 2017.
12. Web site: For the People Cancelled at ABC. TVLine. Charlie. Mason. May 9, 2019. May 9, 2019.
13. Web site: ABC Announces a Special TGIT Event with 'How to Get Away with Murder' and 'Scandal' Crossover Episodes . www.disneyabcpress.com . 17 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180104073245/http://www.disneyabcpress.com/abc/pressrelease/abc-announces-a-special-tgit-event-with-how-to-get-away-with-murder-and-scandal-crossover-episodes/ . 4 January 2018 . dead.
14. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . 2023-12-08 . 'Station 19' To End With Season 7 On ABC . 2024-06-01 . Deadline . en-US.
15. Web site: Faircloth. Kelly. Shondaland.com Has Arrived. Jezebel. 2017-12-08.
16. Web site: Making Television Great Again: A "ShondaLand" Specialty. Abulaban. Dana. 2018-04-16. Medium. en. 2020-01-12.
17. Web site: Season 6: June 18-24, 2020. SeriesFest. SeriesFest Season 6: June 18–24, 2020.. en. 2020-01-12.
18. Web site: Shonda Rhimes' Shondaland Partners With SeriesFest for Female-Director Initiative. 2018-11-29. Variety. en. 2020-01-12.
19. Web site: If You've Always Wanted To Direct. Romero. Ariana. www.refinery29.com. en. 2020-01-12.
20. Web site: Season 6: June 18-24, 2020. SeriesFest. SeriesFest Season 6: June 18–24, 2020.. en. 2020-01-12.
21. Web site: Turchiano. Danielle. 2020-04-17. SeriesFest Renews Partnership With Shondaland, Introduces Executive Elevation Mentorship Program (EXCLUSIVE). 2020-09-10. Variety. en.
22. Web site: Shondaland Partners With iHeartMedia to Launch Shondaland Audio. www.nasdaq.com. en. 2020-01-12.