Shonda Rhimes Reveals ‘Gray’s Anatomy’ and ‘Scandal’ Spinoffs By no means Made

• Shonda Rhimes revealed she had “a bunch” of concepts for spinoffs for her hit collection, Gray’s Anatomy
• The Shondaland founder shared that she been cautious not “to rebuild the identical world” many times
• Rhimes additionally shared her plan for a derivative that by no means occurred for an additional one among her beloved collection, Scandal

Shonda Rhimes has present pitches to final a lifetime.

All through her 20 years of screenwriting and producing, the Shondaland founder revealed she has by no means had a scarcity of recent tales to inform. In terms of a few of her most profitable collection, like Gray’s Anatomy, Rhimes instructed Leisure Weekly that she had much more spinoff ideas than what in the end got here to fruition.

“On Gray’s, there have been a bunch,” she stated. “I felt like we might have carried out Chicago Anatomy, Boston.”

She defined that she has been cautious not “to rebuild the identical world” again and again regardless of the record-breaking recognition of the longest-running primetime medical drama. 

Nonetheless, some concepts stemming from Gray’s Anatomy — which was initially centered on Ellen Pompeo’s titular character Meredith Gray till she shifted away from being a collection common in 2023 — got here to life. In 2007, Rhimes created Personal Apply, and over a decade later got here 2018’s Station 19.

“I assumed that there could possibly be a derivative with Amelia that was the Shepherd sisters,” Rhimes shared, referring to Caterina Scorsone’s Gray’s character and her sisters Nancy (Embeth Davidtz), Kathleen (Amy Acker) and Liz (Neve Campbell). “They’re all docs. It might have been a Shepherd sisters present, which might’ve been very attention-grabbing.”

Rhimes additionally teased what she had in thoughts for a derivative of her anther one among beloved collection, Scandal. 

“We wished to do a B613 spinoff on Scandal,” she recalled, which might have honed in on the key authorities company led by Rowan Pope (Joe Morton) on the Kerry Washington-led drama.

Rhimes famous that there have been a number of potential offshoots, however reiterated, “We actually tried to search for reveals that would stand on their very own two toes, that had been their very own factor. For those who spin off a personality, what folks need is extra of the identical.”

“They’re like, ‘Oh, I’ll get one other present the place Addison’s (Kate Walsh) the mistress,’” she added of the Personal Apply and Gray’s Anatomy character’s storyline. “Instinctively you need extra of the identical as a result of that actually labored. And to construct a brand new world is extremely troublesome.”

That has by no means stopped her, although. Because the 2020 premiere of Rhimes’ Netflix hit Bridgerton, for instance, she has launched Queen Charlotte — a prequel somewhat than a derivative.

“I really like that as a result of it’s of the world, however it’s not the world,” she identified. “I might inform the tales I wished to inform and discover nice pleasure in that.”

By no means miss a narrative — join PEOPLE’s free every day publication to remain up-to-date on the perfect of what PEOPLE has to supply, from juicy movie star information to forcing human curiosity tales.

Gray’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. Seasons 1-3 of Bridgerton, and its spinoff, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, are streaming on Netflix.