Shonda Rhimes spent the first 12 years of her TV career contributing to Disney’s empire. Now she’s building her own: “I never worried that I deserve the money,” Rhimes says. “I deserve every penny I make.' by MadelinePBerg ForbesOver50
for the first time, Shonda Rhimes was at home in Los Angeles with her three daughters, unwrapping gifts. Her first hints of the mania her debut Netflix series was sparking were multiple gushing texts from the streaming giant’s CEO, Ted Sarandos. Then came an email from Hillary Clinton.
With her adaptation of the popular romance novels, Rhimes, 51, has done the seemingly impossible: created a must-see sensation in a world overflowing with binge-worthy television. In the first 28 days it was available, 82 million households—40% of Netflix’s paying audience—watched the eight-episode series, smashing the service’s previous viewing records. Sarandos booked a second season within weeks, and in April he agreed to fund seasons three and four. A spinoff is in the works.
Not after all her success. Rhimes has brought in more than $2 billion to ABC’s parent company, Disney, with hits such as the medical dramawhich cast Kerry Washington as the first Black female lead in a network drama in almost 40 years; andstarring Viola Davis, who became the first Black woman to win a Best Lead Drama Actress Emmy for her role.Even so, Rhimes had to constantly fight for higher writing and producing salaries and a larger cut of the show’s profit.
When she began negotiations with Sarandos in 2017, Rhimes dispensed with any pretense of modesty. “I was very clear that everybody was going to make it happen in the way that I wanted,” she says. Sarandos concurs: “I’ve been astonished by Shonda’s total clarity about what she wants in this next chapter. . . . [She] is at the very top of her game.”
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