The woman who introduced the world to Meredith Grey, Olivia Pope, and Annalise Keating is being recognized alongside all-time TV greats. Shonda Rhimes has built an empire on the small screen, and now she’s been inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the latest batch of inductees also includes late comedian Joan Rivers.
The 2017 honorees will be celebrated at the the upcoming annual Hall of Fame ceremony on November 15.
Best known as the creator of long-running medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” and Kerry Washington-starrer “Scandal,” Rhimes is also an exec producer on Viola Davis-led “How to Get Away with Murder.” Her other credits include “Private Practice” and “The Catch.” Back in August she signed a multi-year deal with Netflix that sees her producing new series and other projects exclusively for the streaming giant.
“I really hate the word ‘diversity,’” Rhimes has said. “[Diversity] suggests something… other,” she explained. “As if it is something… special. Or rare. Diversity! As if there is something unusual about telling stories involving women and people of color and LGBTQ characters on TV. I have a different word: normalizing. I’m normalizing TV. I am making TV look like the world looks. Women, people of color, LGBTQ people equal way more than 50 percent of the population. Which means it ain’t out of the ordinary.”
“All of these individuals are innovators who have shaped television and left an indelible mark on the medium and our culture,” said Hayma Washington, chairman and CEO of the Television Academy. “We are honored to welcome the latest group of distinguished individuals and look forward to showcasing their impacts for future generations.”
Previous inductees include Oprah Winfrey, “Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and “Golden Girls” creator Susan Harris.
