Entertainment News
2007-07-28
Grey's Anatomy creator looking ahead
Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes said she's
confident fans will put last year's unsettling season in
perspective and re
Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes said she's
confident fans will put last year's unsettling season in
perspective and remain loyal to the ABC medical drama.
''It's a thing
that happens in any show,'' Rhimes said. ''People love
you, then there has to be a moment...in which people
disagree with where you're going creatively. But if
you're telling your stories, well, they'll stick with
you, hopefully, and watch us grow and change.''
The series will
get back to having fun next season, she said Thursday.
Rhimes
acknowledged story lines that included death and infidelity
represented a ''darker journey,'' one that provoked some
critics and fans. The series was hit by the real-life
drama involving Isaiah Washington, who was fired after
he twice used an antigay slur.
Rhimes said the
show rose above that crisis.
''It was a
difficult season for us behind the scenes. But, creatively,
we moved in the direction we planned to move,'' Rhimes
told a meeting of the Television Critics Association.
Washington moved
on quickly, hired by NBC to appear in five episodes of
the network's new fall drama Bionic Woman. Last
week NBC Entertainment cochair Ben Silverman said he had
spoken to Washington about coming to the network
before the actor was dumped by ABC in June. The move
prompted ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson
to denounce his NBC counterpart at TCA for allowing
Washington's hiring.
Rhimes, who had
called Washington with the network's decision, was asked
if she was aware he had talked to NBC and what her reaction
was to his hiring.
''No, I wasn't
aware of any conversation that happened before I had a
conversation with him,'' she said. ''I guess I don't have a
reaction. He's a very talented actor. I hope he does
really well with the Bionic Woman. I hope that
show does well.''
''Not as well as
Private Practice,'' she added, a reference
to the Grey's Anatomy spin-off debuting this
fall. The series stars Kate Walsh as her Grey's
character, Dr. Addison Shepherd, and costars include
Amy Brenneman, Tim Daly, and Taye Diggs. (AP)
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