Before decamping to Netflix, Shonda Rhimes considered creating a spinoff for ABC hit “Scandal” focusing on Eli Pope (Joe Morton) and additional spinoffs for “Grey’s Anatomy,” including one that would have revolved around Derek Shepherd’s (Patrick Dempsey) four sisters.
Rhimes even contemplated setting “Grey’s” affiliate series in shows like Boston and Chicago, but ultimately decided against it.
“I felt like we could have done ‘Chicago Anatomy,’ Boston. We could have done that. It just didn’t appeal to me to rebuild the same world,” she told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Thursday.
“I thought that there could be a spinoff with Amelia [Caterina Scorsone] that was [about] the Shepherd sisters,” she says. “They’re all doctors. It could have been a Shepherd sisters show, which would’ve been very interesting,” Rhimes continued. The spinoff would have brought back previously introduced sister Nancy (Embeth Davidtz), Kathleen (Amy Acker) and Liz (Neve Campbell), with a possible return of Tyne Daly as their mother, Carolyn.
Meanwhile, a “Scandal” spinoff about Joe Morton’s intimidating “Papa Pope,” the father of Kerry Washington’s main character Olivia, was also on the table when the show was still on ABC.
“We really tried to look for shows that could stand on their own two feet, that were their own thing. If you spin off a character, what people want is more of the same,” Rhimes added. “They’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to get another show where Addison’s [Kate Walsh] the mistress.’ Instinctively you want more of the same because that really worked. And to build a new world is incredibly difficult.”
The showrunner explained that’s why she opted to make “Queen Charlotte” a prequel to “Bridgerton” rather than a spinoff. “I love that because it is of the world, but it’s not the world. I could tell the stories I wanted to tell and find great joy in that.”
“Grey’s Anatomy,” which is now in Season 21, has two prior spinoffs: “Private Practice,” which was set in Los Angeles and centered on Derek’s ex-wife Addison (and ran from 2007 to 2013); and “Station 19,” which was also set in Seattle and ran from 2018 to 2024.
“Scandal” ended in 2018 after seven seasons.
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