Netflix paid the producer a fortune to join up and her costume drama shows she is worth every dollar
When Netflix signed a development deal with the ultimate television boss, Shonda Rhimes, it paid a huge amount to do so. Rhimes had been responsible for such mega hits as Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, as well as the eternally pleasurable How to Get Away with Murder, and the Netflix deal was the first of its kind, setting a precedent for other star producers to follow in her footsteps. When she announced, in 2018, that she was the highest-paid showrunner in television, she said she did so because she noticed that men didn’t have a problem with revealing their successes. She teed up the declaration with: “On behalf of women everywhere, I will brag.”
She was right to brag. Netflix saved the release of her adaptation of the Bridgerton novels for Christmas Day, which gave it an old-fashioned fanfare, the sense that it was something special. It also had the backdrop of a tediously familiar terrestrial television landscape that asked viewers, once again, to Strictly Call the Doctor and brought as much joy as a festive mask. Last week, the streaming service announced that Bridgerton is now its biggest series ever, revealing that, globally, 82m households chose to watch the period drama within its first 28 days.
