Shonda Rhimes Inducted into TV Hall of Fame

The Television Academy has announced its inductees for their 24th Hall of Fame class. One of the few to be selected is renowned television producer Shonda Rhimes. Serving as the creator, and killer of Television’s most beloved characters in shows like “Scandal”, “How to get away with Murder”, and “Grey’s Anatomy”, Rhimes was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame on Thursday. Some of her other credits include “Private Practice” and “The Catch.” In August, she signed a multi-year deal with Netflix that sees her producing a new Netflix series and other projects exclusively for the streaming giant.
“I really hate the word ‘diversity,’” Rhimes has said. “Diversity suggests something… other,” she explained. “As if it is something… special. Or rare. Diversity! As if there is something unusual about telling stories involving women and people of color and LGBTQ characters on TV. I have a different word: normalizing. I’m normalizing TV. I am making TV look like the world looks. Women, people of color, LGBTQ people equal way more than 50 percent of the population. Which means it ain’t out of the ordinary.”
Rhimes has become the third black woman to join the ranks of honorees; Oprah Winfrey was the first to be inducted in 1993, followed by actress and singer Diahann Carroll, who was inducted in 2011. This is an important thing because there isn’t a plentiful amount of black television producers in the entertainment industry. Rhimes being one of the first to be chosen is a great accomplishment not only for the black community, but for women as well. Rhimes serves as a representation that women can be just as successful as anyone else, especially black women.
Alongside Rhimes, is six-time Emmy-winning writer, and producer John Wells, comedy legend Joan Rivers, ten-time Emmy-winning art-director, and production designer Roy Christopher, and the original cast of Saturday Night Live—Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner who were all also inducted this past Thursday.
The induction ceremony will take place November 15 at the Academy’s Saban Media Center. “All of these individuals are innovators who have shaped television and left an indelible mark on the medium and our culture,” TV Academy chairman, and C.E.O. Hayma Washington said in a statement. “We are honored to welcome the latest group of distinguished individuals and look forward to showcasing their impacts for future generations.”
The TV Academy Hall of Fame is a very new institution and it was founded in 1984. But it’s worth noting that Rhimes, compared to many inductees, has earned her spot extremely early in her career as evidenced by the number of this year’s inductees who join.
“Television’s evolution can be attributed to the substantial work of numerous individuals,” said Hall of Fame Selection Committee Chair Rick Rosen. “It is a pleasure to honor a group whose contributions have had and will continue to have a powerful influence on our ever-exciting and evolving industry.” Along with Rosen, this year’s selection committee included producer Marcy Carsey NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group chairman Bonnie Hammer; The Fred Silverman Company founder Fred Silverman; and former CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler.