Netflix announced the first slate of series developed by Shondaland, comprised of Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and their team, for the streaming service. The projects include The Warmth of Other Suns, based on the book of the same name, and an untitled project based on the New York Magazine article "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People," by Jessica Pressler.
“It’s been thrilling to begin this journey with Shonda, Betsy and their team and watch them embrace the full range of creative freedom possible at Netflix,” said Cindy Holland, VP, original content, Netflix. “Infused with Shonda’s sensibility, the Shondaland slate is shaping up to be something truly special that we know will delight our members around the world.”
Rhimes will create the Anna Delvey project.
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“I wanted the new Shondaland to be a place where we expand the types of stories we tell, where my fellow talented creatives could thrive and make their best work and where we as a team come to the office each day filled with excitement,” said Rhimes. “Ted [Sarandos] and Cindy and everyone at Netflix have been incredible partners in making that happen. This is Shondaland 2.0.”
Also on the slate are an untitled Bridgerton project, based on Julia Quinn’s novels that unveil “the glittering, wealthy, sexual, painful, funny and sometimes lonely lives of the women and men in London's high society marriage mart as told through the eyes of the powerful Bridgerton family,” according to Netflix.
Scandal veteran Chris Van Dusen will adapt and showrun the series.
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Pico & Sepulveda is set in the 1840s against the surreal backdrop of the then-Mexican state of California. The series tracks the end of an idyllic era there as American forces threaten war at the border to claim the land for its own.
Janet Leahy will create the series.
Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change is based on Ellen Pao’s memoir detailing her life and career, including the lawsuit she brought against her former employer that sparked intense media scrutiny and shook up Silicon Valley.
The Residence is based on Kate Andersen Brower’s book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, an insider’s account of White House staffers and the upstairs/downstairs lives they share with the First Families.
Sunshine Scouts is a comedic half-hour series that sees an apocalyptic disaster spare a group of teenage girls at sleepaway camp, who must then summon their survival skills to weather the fallout.
Jill Alexander will create the series.
Hot Chocolate Nutcracker is a documentary about the Debbie Allen Dance Academy’s reimagining of the classic ballet, “The Nutcracker.”
Oliver Bokelberg will be director, cinematographer and producer.
The Warmth of Other Suns tracks the decades-long migration of African-Americans fleeing the Jim Crow South in search of a better life between 1916 and 1970.
Anna Deavere Smith is set to adapt.
“From the world of Regency England all the way to present day Manhattan, we at Shondaland have a wonderful opportunity to explore new worlds and tell these stories in many different ways,” said Beers. “We are fortunate to be working with such an inspiring group of talent, including our amazing creative team at Netflix. I could not be more thrilled!”
