Shonda Rhimes and Netflix have announced they are extending their partnership to potentially include gaming content, among other additions.
The expanded deal will give Netflix and Rhimes’s production company, Shondaland, the opportunity to “exclusively produce, stream and distribute feature films as well as potential gaming and virtual reality content,” Netflix said in a statement on Thursday.
The streaming service also announced that it will invest in Rhimes’s mission to create programs dedicated to representation, called DEIA programs (diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility) in the U.S. and Britain.
Rhimes, whose hit ABC series “Grey’s Anatomy” became the longest-running prime-time medical drama in U.S. television history in 2019, notably left the network and inked an exclusive multiyear deal with Netflix in 2017.
Shondaland’s hit Netflix Regency drama, “Bridgerton” ― the first scripted Netflix show to come out of the multiyear deal ― made waves at the streaming service.
Netflix deemed the series, based on novels by Julia Quinn, its “biggest series ever” in January. The streaming service announced in May that it was expanding the Bridgerton universe with a limited series focused on young Queen Charlotte.
The second season of “Bridgerton” is set to be released in 2022. The show’s popular Duke of Hastings character, played by Regé-Jean Page, will not be returning for Season 2, much to the dismay of many fans.