Shonda Rhimes has lined up her first Netflix series. The mogul, who signed a huge deal with Netflix last summer, will adapt Jessica Pressler’s New York Magazine feature on con artist/phony socialite Anna Delvey for the streamer, Deadline confirms.
Rhimes is writing the project, which will be the first series she’s created since “Scandal.”
Pressler’s article, “an instant hot commodity, with about a dozen producers pursuing it for a screen adaptation,” chronicles Delvey’s misadventures. Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, bluffed her way into becoming an NYC “it” girl and, by lying and scamming money from friends, businesses, and banks, she almost succeeded in opening a club.
Delvey is now being held at Rikers Island without bail. She has been charged with multiple counts of grand larceny and theft of services.
Per last year’s deal, Rhimes and her business partner Betsy Beers will develop and produce new series and other projects exclusively for Netflix via their company, Shondaland. Deadline notes that “Rhimes had been quietly acquiring IP [intellectual property], meeting with writers, and developing ideas for potential series” since inking the agreement in August.
Rhimes is the creator of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal.” The latter ended its seven-season run in April. The former recently wrapped its 14th season and will return this fall on ABC. Rhimes also produces other ABC series such as legal drama “For the People,” “Grey’s” firefighter-centered spinoff “Station 19,” and Viola Davis-starrer “How to Get Away with Murder.”
“I don’t think I ever sought out the idea, ‘We’re going to show a diverse group of people!'” Rhimes has said of her shows, which are known for their inclusivity. “I wanted to see people on television who look like me, and I wanted to see people on television who look like my friends. And I didn’t relate to a lot of the women on television because they didn’t seem realistic. It was just about writing people I wanted to watch, and writing people who felt like the people I knew. That’s what we ended up doing.”
