Friday, March 29, 2024

TV: Shondaland at a Crossroads with “Scandal” Ending, “Catch” Cancelled, Launching Firefighter and Lawyer Shows

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Shonda Rhimes’s Shondaland is at a crossroads.

This week they announced that “Scandal” was coming to an end– something I told you in February.

Then ABC cancelled “The Catch,” a show no one watched or knew was on the air. Or why. Or what it was about.

That leaves Shondaland very unpopulated. They have “Grey’s Anatomy” in its 14th season which seems amazing considering no one watches it and most of the original cast is long gone.

“How to Get Away with Murder” continues with Oscar winner Viola Davis. But Davis probably is done with the show as she has movies to make and Broadway and doesn’t have time to figure out what the hell the plot is. (I cannot figure that show out. Can you?) Anyway, they’ve gotten away with murder, that’s for sure.

And then they announced their own “Chicago Fire”– which I’m calling “Seattle Fire.” Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, Shondaland is taking a page from the Dick Wolf playbook. What’s next, “Seattle PD”? “Seattle Law”? In fact, probably. Because to stay alive, Shondaland will have to build “Grey’s Anatomy” out into some of kind of franchise business a la Wolf. (He’s a genius at this.)

Well, they’ve got “For the People,” about young prosecutors in Manhattan. My only hope for this re-tread is that Anna Deveare Smith and Vondie Curtis-Hall are in it. They’re gold.

Here’s the trailer:

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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