Shonda Rhimes is expanding into the world of podcasts.
The prolific TV producer has partnered with iHeartMedia to launch a new division of her company dubbed Shondaland Audio.
Under a new three-year agreement, the company will develop and produce original audio shows for iHeartMedia’s iHeartPodcast Network. Rhimes will oversee development of the programs, with chief digital and design officer Sandie Bailey managing day-to-day operations of Shondaland Audio.
While the move is an expansion for Rhimes, who also has a TV deal with Netflix, the iHeartMedia deal does not mark Shondaland’s first foray into podcasting. The company previously launched the show “Katie’s Crib,” a weekly podcast hosted “Scandal” and “Waitress” actress Katie Lowes. New episodes of that show will fall under the iHeartMedia umbrella starting next year.
“Podcasting continues to see tremendous growth and I’m excited to partner with iHeartMedia as Shondaland expands its storytelling journey into this medium which has seemed to usher in a unique sense of boldness, intimacy and connection,” Rhimes said in a statement. “With iHeartMedia we aim to share stories that are engaging, insightful, and reflect a robust world-view while staying true to the authentic storytelling voice that has become synonymous with Shondaland.”
“Shonda Rhimes is one of the greatest storytellers of our time,” said Conal Byrne, president of the iHeartPodcast Network. “We’re honored that she’s chosen the iHeartPodcast Network to extend her storytelling craft to audio, bringing a massive slate of new original podcasts to the world. With our unparalleled reach across multiple platforms, we can’t wait to introduce the incredibly engaging and brilliant Shondaland podcasts to millions of listeners.”
9 Times Shondaland Had Us Shook, From McDreamy's Death to Quinn's Torture (Photos)
It's pretty much impossible to get through any Shondaland series -- "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal," "How to Get Away With Murder" -- without balling our eyes out, but here are the top moments where Shonda Rhimes just went too far and had us shook.
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When McDreamy Died - "Grey's Anatomy"
We will never be able to forgive Shonda for this one. McDreamy was on his way out of town when he pulled over to help people who were involved in a car accident. After helping them and finally being on his merry way ... BOOM! He gets hit by a truck.
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When Wes Died - "How to Get Away With Murder"
We never saw this one coming, thanks for the blindside. Wes is basically the most important person on the show next to Annalise and all of a sudden he just dies in a house fire.
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When Papa Pope was Command - "Scandal"
We -- and Olivia -- find out that Eli Pope was Command after his daughter walks out of her apartment to a media circus questioning her if she's Fitz's mistress. He even sent Jake to gain Olivia's trust and keep her from the president.
And this whole time we just thought he worked at the Smithsonian.
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When Huck Tortures Quinn - "Scandal"
Y'all, Quinn was like Huck's bff and he literally enjoyed pulling her teeth out and torturing her. I mean at first we think he's just going to scare her a little bit, but nope. He goes full on torture mode.
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When Cyrus Ordered a Hitman to Kill His Husband - "Scandal"
Cyrus hired Charlie -- the B613 guy -- to kill James because he was going to be subpoenaed to testify about Defiance aka the election rigging.
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When Cyrus's Husband Was Killed Anyway - "Scandal"
Jake -- yes our beloved Jake -- ended up killing James Novak because he knew too much about Daniel Douglas Langston's -- Sally Langston's husband -- death.
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Frank Kind of Killing Annalise's Baby - "How to Get Away With Murder"
So Annalise technically loses her baby after being involved in a car crash ... which was set up by Wallace Mahoney ... because he found out that Annalise knew that he was Wes's dad ... because a woman working for Mahoney paid Frank to bug Annalise's house.
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When Annalise's Mama Killed Her Rapist - "How to Get Away With Murder"
So other than the fact that Annalise was raped by her uncle, we find out that her mother burned the house down ... and made sure the guy was in there.
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When Denny Dies - "Grey's Anatomy"
If this scene didn't make you cry, you have no heart, no soul, nothing.
Izzy literally broke all the rules to fix Denny's heart, but he ended up dying anyways and it was the saddest moment in all of television history.
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Quit playing with our emotions, Shonda
It's pretty much impossible to get through any Shondaland series -- "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal," "How to Get Away With Murder" -- without balling our eyes out, but here are the top moments where Shonda Rhimes just went too far and had us shook.