Shondaland’s Betsy Beers reveals Grey’s Anatomy prodco turning to comedy, factual
SERIESFEST: Shonda Rhimes’ producing partner Betsy Beers says their US prodco Shondaland will lean into comedy content and more factual projects.
Betsy Beers at SeriesFest
The LA-based company has been hugely successful in the scripted space for many years, churning out global hits such as Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder and period piece Bridgerton.
However, talking to C21 in Denver, former comedian Beers revealed Shondaland has a slate of comedy and unscripted titles to be rolled out soon.
First up is Netflix comedy-drama The Residence, which stars Uzo Aduba as an eccentric detective investigating a murder in the White House.
“At Shondaland, we are always curious to play in different genres,” said Beers, who was presented with an Impact in TV award at SeriesFest. “I come from a comedy background and one of the things I’m really excited about is doing more comedy projects in the near future.
“I’m more interested, certainly, in the humour that comes out of real life. Good comedy is simply a different twist on how one deals with insurmountable obstacles in their life.”
Shondaland is also starting to widen its brand in the unscripted and factual spaces.
In 2020, the prodco made the documentary Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, about Debbie Allen’s dance school.
Next up is Black Barbie: A Documentary, which is set to stream on Netflix from June 19. Written and directed by Lagueria Davis, it tells the story of three black women who worked at Barbie manufacturer Mattel in 1980.
“Both Shonda and I really love the doc space,” said Beers. “We have another upcoming unscripted project that I can’t talk about just yet, but we’re thrilled to be digging into that world.”
Launched in 2005, Shondaland initially worked in close partnership with ABC, which was home to all of the prodco’s scripted formats, coproduced with ABC Studios.
In 2017, Shondaland signed a lucrative creative content deal with Netflix, which was extended in 2021. Beers says the pact has allowed Shondaland to expand into almost any programming genre it wishes.
“Netflix has been amazingly supportive,” said Beers. “When we come up with an idea they say, ‘Let’s invent a way to do that.’ A lot of people would have been frightened of Bridgerton, but that was the first thing Netflix jumped up and down about. They’re the perfect platforms and great partners.”
The 21st season of Grey’s Anatomy – the world’s longest running primetime medical drama – will air on ABC this year.
However, despite Shondaland’s success, Beers said she has great sympathy for prodcos that are struggling to stay in business during a severe industry downturn and commissioning crisis.
“It’s a very challenging environment,” she said. “The contraction is really shocking after the frenzied environment of ‘Peak TV’ not so long ago.
“The only thing I can say to producers is to keep believing in their projects. Figure out any way possible to keep doing the best work you can.”
