I first got hooked on “Grey’s Anatomy” back in 2006. Intrigued by Meredith Grey holding onto a live bomb in a patient’s chest cavity, how could any random viewer not want to watch more?
Since then I have fallen in love with “Grey’s Anatomy” couples like Cristina Yang and Owen Hunt, watched Olivia Pope stand strong as a gladiator on “Scandal,” and became fascinated with the complexity of Annalise Keating on “How To Get Away With Murder.” I cried over Denny’s death, Derek’s car accident, and the idea of Vermont. I spent hours enwrapped in the world that has become the TV production company called ShondaLand, but now, after much internal debate, my attention span for “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” and “How to Get Away with Murder” has dwindled. I once loved ShondaLand, but now I can barely sit through an episode.
Like the current status of Fitz and Olivia’s relationship, it’s difficult to realize how incompatible you are with something once you have been overexposed to it. Before “How to Get Away with Murder” aired last September, I would dedicate my Friday lunches to catching up on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal.” I was already dedicated to “Grey’s Anatomy” at that point, and had come to fall in love with “Scandal,” thanks to binge-watching in the midst of finals.
However, once “How to Get Away with Murder” became the third show on the Thursday night ShondaLand line-up, I had seen too much.
What came with the overexposure of ABC’s primetime dramas was the fact that producer and writer Shonda Rhimes has created specific tropes and recipes for each of her shows. Written to keep the audience on its toes and coming back for more, “Grey’s Anatomy” characters get killed off regularly, “Scandal” is a continuous cycle of Olivia and Fitz fighting and making up again, and each episode of “How to Get Away with Murder” is lined with clues to help you solve the cliffhanger that ends each episode. I can now predict what is likely to happen by the end of each episode, and it’s disappointing when that prediction comes true.
I wish I could enjoy ShondaLand. Rhimes has redefined the role of womanhood in Hollywood; she has created strong-willed female characters that are complex badasses and has become an amazing role model behind the camera.
Rhimes has also addressed major cultural topics that other TV shows have been unwilling to touch. Being a supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community and a patron for women’s health, some of the episodes written by Rhimes have defined the way we watch TV today. Television used to be a stress-reliever, a medium that our parents said would “turn our brains into mush,” but now it has become a platform for discussion.
Whether it’s as simple as talking about your likes and dislikes of last week’s episode with a friend, or getting into serious debates on an online forum, TV has reinvented the way in which its audience interacts with its content; much of that can be attributed to pivotal creators like Rhimes.
I commend Rhimes and her ability to change the standards of Hollywood television. I admire her as a creator, but now have a difficult time enjoying her content.
Reach contributing writer Sarah Anderson at development@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @sanderson794
