Shonda Rhimes recently addressed her decision to end ABC’s hit show, “Scandal.”
As previously reported, last week, ABC confirmed rumors that the series starring Kerry Washington in the role of Olivia Pope, a former media consultant to the president, who starts her own crisis management firm, will wrap with season seven.
On Friday, May 19, Rhimes, the creative mind behind the drama, penned the first in a series of newsletters that’ll be blasted out ahead of the launch of Shondaland.com, where she discussed the bold move, Entertainment Weekly reports.
“I didn’t have to actually face it. The decision I made. This decision to end a thing I love. This decision to turn the lights out on a place I call home,” wrote Rhimes. “I was glad I didn’t have to make it real by being there on that stage with my cast. Ending ‘Scandal.’ This is a big huge roaring deal in my world. It’s scary to make a change.”
In fact, deciding to end “Scandal” was the result of her turning to her right-hand lady, Betsy Beers and saying, “What if we don’t let ‘Scandal’ go on forever?”
“It had begun to occur to us that — warning, warning: swagger alert — shows written by me don’t seem to … end. Every show I’ve created has gone more than 100 episodes. People keep watching. The network is happy. And that’s awesome,” she explained. “But what happens if we let all the shows go on and on without end? What if we just hang on so long that people don’t say WHY are you ending, but WHEN? What if we don’t let anyone say WHEN?”
From there, she discussed the origins of her upcoming lifestyle site — set to launch this fall — where she’ll, “chronicle the end of one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life,” among other things.
“And here’s the thing. The idea of this place? Is that here you will find a place to hang out. To spend time with your people. With your tribe. Your gladiators. Your warriors. Your friends who love their wine or popcorn or cereal or tequila. With your fellow citizens of Shondaland. You may even find some new people to stand in the sun with. Some buddies to dance it out with. Or maybe you will find some inspiration or exultation or relaxation. Maybe you’ll just get a good laugh,” wrote Rhimes. “Because Shondaland.com is not about the shows. It’s about the community of people who watch the shows. It’s a place to be — more than just on Thursday night. So maybe you will come here on a really bad day and you will discover the most important thing: that you are not alone. Not in Shondaland.”
As she explained, the newsletter’s purpose is to tease the site, and will contain exclusive interviews, essays, and “all the badass things you should be talking about.”
