LA SCREENINGS: Shondaland executive producer Betsy Beers tells C21 about working with Shonda Rhimes, pivoting into more unscripted content and why Netflix is the perfect partner.

Betsy Beers

Having spent almost two decades as Hollywood über-producer Shonda Rhimes’ producing partner, Betsy Beers has navigated the constantly shifting sands of the US content industry through numerous trends, triumphs, peaks and troughs.

At celebrated LA-based prodco Shondaland, she’s been a boots-on-the-ground presence as the company brought to screen scripted hits such as Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. All of those series were made in close partnership with US network ABC, with Grey’s Anatomy going on to become the world’s longest running primetime medical drama.

But rather than keeping all its eggs in one basket by steadfastly sticking to the linear TV model, Shondaland has pivoted with the times. In 2017, as the global streamers began to exert their dominance on the TV ecosystem, Shondaland signed a lucrative creative content deal with Netflix, which was extended in 2021.

It was through this partnership that the prodco scored another critical and commercial success, in steamy historical romance Bridgerton, which now has spin-off prequel Queen Charlotte. Other projects for Netflix include limited series Inventing Anna, which dramatised the Anna Delvey scam story and was released in 2022.

“It was a real journey when Shondaland first went over to Netflix, because I was used to episodic television and network schedules,” Beers told C21 at SeriesFest in Denver earlier this month, when she accepted an Impact in TV award.

Beers remembers Netflix being enthusiastic about Bridgerton from the start

“Bridgerton was the first time I’ve ever seen a show of ours drop all around the world at the same time, which is incredibly inspiring to me. Netflix has been amazingly supportive. When we come up with an idea they say, ‘Let’s invent a way to do that.’

“A lot of people would have been frightened of Bridgerton, but that was the first thing Netflix jumped up and down about. They’re the perfect platforms and great partners,” she said of the company’s streaming partner, which had its first in-person upfront in New York earlier this week.

With one foot still in the world of traditional terrestrial TV – the 21st season of Grey’s Anatomy was commissioned recently – and the other firmly planted in the SVoD space, Beers is understandably reluctant to predict which model will prevail in the long-term.

“People are asking this question right now and it would be remiss of me to speculate,” she said. “Personally, I think there’s room for everything. In terms of the streaming platforms, maybe limited series flourish more there, while perhaps certain stories are told better through linear TV.”

Despite Shondaland’s enduring success, Beers is not blind to the myriad challenges facing the global screen sector. A soft advertising market has caused networks to rein in spending, while linear audiences have shrunk as a result of the migration of viewers to social media and video-sharing platforms like YouTube.

The streamers, meanwhile, dramatically rowed back on commissioning as consolidation took hold of the OTT space and Wall Street demanded profitability. Combined with economic headwinds and the fallout of last year’s Hollywood strikes, the content industry has been left in turmoil, with many prodcos going bankrupt.

Grey’s Anatomy became the world’s longest running primetime medical drama

“We work in an environment where the amount of content that is being produced is obviously shrinking,” said Beers. “I can’t argue that it’s very challenging. During the ‘peak TV’ era we got to a place where so much content was being produced. We all got used to that frenzied environment, so this contraction is really shocking to a lot of people.

“The only thing I can say to producers is to keep believing in your projects. Figure out any way possible to keep doing the best work you can.”

Shondaland’s current slate speaks to the outfit’s ability to work across diverse content genres. The third season of Bridgerton began streaming yesterday (May 16), while Grey’s Anatomy season 21 will air as part of ABC’s 2024/25 broadcast season.

In response to the current situation, Beers told C21 Shondaland will also lean into comedy content and factual projects. First up is Netflix comedy-drama The Residence, which stars Uzo Aduba as an eccentric detective investigating a murder in the White House.

Described by the streamer as “a screwball whodunnit set in the upstairs, downstairs and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion.” The strike-delayed eight-episode series is inspired by Kate Andersen Brower’s 2015 non-fiction book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, which delves into the nitty gritty of America’s first families.

Then there’s Black Barbie: A Documentary, which is set to stream on Netflix from June 19. Written and directed by Lagueria Davis, it tells the story of three black women who worked at Barbie manufacturer Mattel and were behind the debut of the black Barbie doll in 1980.

“Both Shonda and I really love the documentary space,” said Beers. “We have another upcoming unscripted project that I can’t talk about just yet, but we’re thrilled to be digging into that world.

Black Barbie: A Documentary tells the story of three black women who worked at Barbie maker Mattel

“At Shondaland, we are always curious to play in different genres. I come from a comedy background and one of the things I’m really excited about is doing more comedy projects in the near future. I’m more interested, certainly, in the humour that comes out of real life. Good comedy is simply a different twist on how people deal with insurmountable obstacles in their lives.”

A lifelong obsessive fan of television, with a father who worked in the industry as an agent, Beers initially aspired to be an actor. She performed comedy in New York for several years before moving into producing movies such as the 1999 cult comedy 200 Cigarettes, starring Ben and Casey Affleck.

Relocating to Los Angeles, Beers was offered a job as a script reader at United Artists, then progressed into developing TV projects at The Mark Gordon Company. This led to Beers’ fateful meeting with screenwriter Shonda Rhimes in 2005, when Rhimes created Grey’s Anatomy.

It was the start of a long and fruitful collaborative relationship, with the two working closely on projects such as Grey’s spin-off Private Practice, crime thriller The Catch and legal drama For the People.

As a non-writing executive producer, Beers describes herself as an “all-terrain vehicle” who is involved with every aspect of the development and production process, from brainstorming new show concepts to communicating with financers and promoting the finished product.

“I do a little bit of everything,” she said. “Creators need a buffer and someone who can run interference for them. There’s a respect and a commonality in the way that I work with Shonda. We’re both perfectionists and passionate about storytelling.

“I love the experience of longevity and I see no reason to change or move. The proof is in the pudding; over the years we’ve consistently done work that I’m really proud of.”