AHS Awards: Ethel Waters Lifetime Achievement Award Tribute To The Unstoppable Force That Is Shonda Rhimes
After graduating from Dartmouth, a Chicago native took it as a challenge to get into the University of Southern California’s film school after reading an article claiming that admission there was more selective than at Harvard Law. Not only was this future-acclaimed screenwriter admitted— She graduated at the top of her class. Then in 2005, this same screenwriter made the transition from film to television writing and pitched to ABC a medical drama series set in a fictional Seattle hospital that focused on five surgical interns’ everyday lives and struggles. She was nervous. Surrounded by a room full of older-male network executives who told her the show would fail because her pilot was an inaccurate portrayal of women. Little did they know that the same show would be an out-of-nowhere ratings phenomenon from the start that lasts to this day, eighteen years later. From that moment on, through dedication and hard work, she would become one of the most influential people in modern pop culture as the first black woman to showrun a Top 10 primetime network drama. She is an acclaimed screenwriter, producer, author, mentor, and philanthropist who has built and continues to lead one of the most successful empires in television production history. She is the force behind groundbreaking series like ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, and, most recently, Netflix’s Bridgerton.
To put it simply, Shonda Rhimes is the Beyoncé of scripted television productions.
Through her Shondaland production company, Shonda creates television shows she would want to watch. As a fierce advocate for representation, she has shown us we all deserve to see characters on television who look and love like us and speak to and for us. Television viewers took notice as her series broke boundaries in casting. Showcasing people— especially women— of color as complex, strong, intelligent, fully-dimensional characters in non-stereotypical roles. But to her, a diverse cast was not something she considered “revolutionary.” She simply just wanted to normalize television and make it look more realistic.
From network broadcast to streaming services, the shows to come out of Shondaland push the limits of what’s seen on screen— earning some of the highest viewership ratings and streaming hours. Recently both seasons of Netflix’s Bridgerton clocked over 625.4 million hours each during their respective premier months. The political thriller, Scandal was the first show in nearly 40 years to have a network drama starring a black woman, and an estimated 67.6 million viewers tuned in throughout its seven-season broadcast run. Over 45.4 million people collectively watched the acclaimed series, How to Get Away with Murder during its six-season run from 2014 to 2020. And the show to start it all and take over Thursdays— The hit Grey’s Anatomy, which executives thought would fail but instead solidified her as the television powerhouse she is, has averaged 224.9 million viewers and counting through its continuing 400-episode run since 2005. In 2016, shows produced by the Shondaland production company were featured in 256 territories in 67 languages.
As a mentor, Shonda frequently shares her success with aspiring creatives through multiple initiatives providing her knowledge and wisdom to those who seek it. In her 2015 memoir, Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person, she wrote, “I am not lucky. You know what I am? I am smart, I am talented, I take advantage of the opportunities that come my way and I work really, really hard. Don’t call me lucky. Call me a badass.”
This year we are proud to honor Shonda with the recognition of our Ethel Waters TV Award for her outstanding and continuous contributions to the world of television. Shonda’s work and impact have forever affected how the industry and audiences view people of color as leading characters and have empowered millions of viewers by raising the bar in diverse casting. She encourages us to harness our greatness and take ownership of our inner champion. She inspires us to chase our dreams instead of just dreaming of them. To learn from one another and say yes to growth. Shonda and the characters she creates show us to believe in ourselves and know we belong everywhere.
