Keys to Shondaland

2002 After working as a researcher and writer on a few TV movies, Shonda Rhimes gets her break with Crossroads, a Britney Spears vehicle about three friends who take a cross- country road trip. 2004 The relative success of Crossroads leads Rhimes to Disney, where she writes The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Rhimes reportedly took the gig for the chance to work with Julie Andrews. 2005 Grey’s Anatomy debuts as a mid- season replacement on ABC. Grey’s quickly became a hit and pop cultural touchstone. Now in its 12th season, it shows no signs of stopping. 2007 The success of Grey’s leads to a spinoff focused on Dr. Addison Montgomery ( Kate Walsh), the ex-wife of Meredith’s boyfriend (and eventual husband) McDreamy. 2011 Rhimes produces Off the Map, a series about doctors working at a remote South American village created by Grey’s writer Jenna Bans. It’s the brand’s first taste of failure, cancelled after only one season. 2012 Rhimes writes and produces a pilot for Gilded Lilys, a historical drama set in New York’s first luxury hotel. ABC does not take it to series, presumably the last time it will ever make that mistake. 2012 Scandal debuts, and fairly quickly brings Grey’s-level attention back to Shondaland. Its breakneck plotting and steamy presidential trysts make it an instant hit. 2014 A full evening of Shondaland becomes a reality when ABC debuts How to Get Away With Murder. Produced by Rhimes, it’s about steely Philadelphia prosecutor Annalise Keating and her band of law students as they both solve and commit a few murders.

2016 The Catch debuts, because even a half-season without full Shondaland is unimaginable at this point. It’s about a private eye who finds out her fiancé is a fraudster. There’s no reason not to expect it be on for the next five years.