How Disney lost showrunner Shonda Rhimes to Netflix

IN an interview published on Wednesday (October 21) by the Hollywood Reporter, Rhimes described the circumstances that led to her stunning departure for Netflix in 2017.

Rhimes - the creator and executive producer of smash ABC hits such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder” - described a frought relationship with Disney, owner of ABC, with constant tussles over budgets, content and advertising. Rhimes was already feeling creatively stifled three years into her latest contract, but never predicted what would be the final straw that would lead to her leaving Disney.

She told the Hollywood Reporter that it was a family trip to Disneyland that was her final breaking point. Rhimes had been given, as part of her compensation package, an all-inclusive pass to Disneyland (not interchangeable), and a second pass for her nanny, so she could bring Rhimes’ three children to the theme park. When Rhimes’ sister wanted to join Rhimes’ nanny and the children on a trip to Disneyland one day, Rhimes had to call Disney to obtain a new pass for her sister - which she did. But when the group got to the park, only one of the passes worked. When Rhimes called a Disney executive to resolve the matter, she was reportedly told, “Don’t you have enough?”

According to the report, Rhimes said she thanked him for his time, hung up and called her attorney. She told him to figure out a way to get her out of her ABC contract or she’d find new representation. She had reportedly been in secret talks with Netflix months prior to the Disneyland incident.

In August 2017, she joined Netflix in a multiyear, nine-figure deal that opened the floodgates for other prominent Hollywood showrunners to join the streaming service, strongly reinforcing Netflix’s content creation for years to come. She also became the highest-paid showrunner in television.

Rhimes said, “I just want to be in a place where I can make stuff and no one’s going to bother me or make me feel like I’m beholden.”

The first of Rhimes’ shows are set to debut on Netflix in the coming months. – The Vibes, October 23, 2020