Shonda Rhimes has produced some of the most successful television series, like Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and Bridgerton.
Grey’s Anatomy yielded two spinoffs with 2007’s Private Practice and 2018’s Station 19, which were equally successful. Rhimes’ most recent spinoff was Queen Charlotte, a prequel to Netflix’s Bridgerton.
In a new interview, Rhimes explained what she looks for in creating a spinoff and revealed some ideas that never materialized.
“On Grey’s, there were a bunch,” Rhimes told Entertainment Weekly. “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. And then we thought about a lot of things.”
Rhimes noted that she thought there was an idea with Caterina Scorsone’s character Amelia, Derek’s (Patrick Dempsey) sister on Grey’s Anatomy.
“I thought that there could be a spinoff with Amelia that was the Shepherd sisters,” she said. “They’re all doctors. It could have been a Shepherd sisters show, which would’ve been very interesting.”
The Shepherd sisters have all made guest appearances on the show but have never appeared together.
Rhimes also said there was a spinoff idea with Joe Morton’s Rowan Pope from Scandal.
“There was a bunch,” Rhimes added on spinoff possibilities. “But 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. 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.”
