Shonda Rhimes lands ‘significant’ raise at Netflix in $300M deal
Rhimes first left ABC and signed an exclusive deal with Netflix back in 2017, which she shared at the time gave her "limitless possibilities."
Shondaland isn’t going anywhere. According to a recent report, Shonda Rhimes has landed a “significant” raise at Netflix, moving her deal up to the $300M -$400M range.
Back in 2017, the veteran screenwriter-producer made a major move by signing a TV deal with Netflix after spending years with successful shows on ABC, such as Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal. So far, it’s proved to be successful, with Rhimes’ first series on the streamer, Bridgerton, becoming a cultural, critical and commercial hit.
In a statement shared at the time, she expressed her excitement, saying “The future of Shondaland at Netflix has limitless possibilities.”
Four years later, it seems that she’s feeling just fine at the streamer, extending her time there and earning a significant raise to boot.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the extension of her deal “will keep Rhimes at the streamer for five more years. Sources say Rhimes scored a ‘significant’ up-front raise from the $100 million-$150 million initial pact she inked in 2017.” The raise will reportedly push her into the $300M to $400M range, which is comparable to the deals made by her white male counterparts, such as Ryan Murphy and Greg Berlanti.
Rhimes’ Netflix deal extension, however, reportedly covers much more than just television and film, including, The Hollywood Reporter reports, “film, games, VR, branding and merchandising, live events and experiences. Although Rhimes started her career in features, sources close to the Scandal creator note it’s the merchandising and live events and experiences that are of particular interest to Netflix as the streamer plots other revenue opportunities to help offset its slowed subscriber growth.”
In October 2020, Rhimes opened up to the outlet about her Netflix contract.
“The reason I came to Netflix,” she explained at the time, “is because I wanted to be able to make television without anybody bothering me … and as long as I get to keep making television without anybody bothering me, I’m happy.”
Bridgerton is currently in production after being renewed for seasons two, three and four earlier this year. Also coming soon is the next Shondaland series written by Rhimes herself, Inventing Anna, which stars Julia Garner, Anna Chlumsky, Katie Lowes, Laverne Cox and Alexis Floyd.
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