QUEEN OF THE SERIES

Powerhouse producer Shonda Rhimes’ latest TV show looks set to be another runaway hit

- LAVERN DE VRIES

SHE does drama with a capital D, plot twists to drop the most rigid of jaws, sexy with so much extra sizzle and intrigue that it can only be described as epic. And if you’re a fan of small screen hit shows, you’re likely to have stumbled across something she’s had a hand in – Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, Inventing Anna, Scandal, Station 19 and the hit Bridgerton series to name a few.

It seems whatever Shonda Rhimes touches turns to TV gold, and it’s made her one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.

The powerhouse producer’s next offering is set to be another Netflix hit. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton story, premières on 4 May on Netflix, and fans of the franchise are thrilled. The Ton’s dominant royal wasn’t in the initial Bridgerton book series by Julia Quinn. But thanks to the character’s popularity in the show, Julia and Shonda teamed up to co-write a book about Charlotte which forms the basis for the new series.

Shonda knows how to make good TV – and bucketloads of money. In a savvy business move, the book will hit shelves in the US on 9 May to tie in with the release of the Netflix spin-off.

The Regency romance rewinds the clock on the life of Queen Charlotte and her relationship with King George III, aka Mad King George, and promises plenty of the pomp, pageantry and high-society scandal that made the original series a runaway hit.

“Queen Charlotte has been such a moving character to write,” Shonda says.

And like the magnificent monarch, she’s risen to the top and been crowned one of the wealthiest women in TV.