Shonda Rhimes is branching out of her usual drama series and is developing a comedy for ABC about divorce.
The Grey’s Anatomy , Scandal , and How to Get Away with Murder showrunner will be working with Shondaland’s Betsy Beers, Emily Halpern, and Sarah Haskin, the creators of Trophy Wife , to create a new 30-minute sitcom for the network.
According to the New York Daily News , Trophy Wife starred Malin Akerman who played the part of Bradley Whitford’s latest wife. Marcia Gay Harden, his first wife, played a serious doctor, while his second wife was a “flighty New Age type played by Michaela Watkins.”
Gather up your friends and family and get ready for the #TrophyWife Season Finale TONIGHT at 9:30|8:30c! pic.twitter.com/tebumOUXGq
— Trophy Wife (@TrophyWifeABC) May 13, 2014
“I have observed this syndrome by being it. The show is sort of very loosely based on my life,” Haskin said while promoting the show. “I moved to L.A., and Emily and I were writing together. One day we ran out of ideas, so I married my next door neighbor, a man 20 years my senior.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the sitcom will be titled Splitsville , and will center on a “group of single residents of a suburban cul-de-sac, who in the wake of a wave of divorces join forces to raise their kids and get through it together.”
Shonda Rhimes is developing a comedy series for ABC! http://t.co/xAbtTCgM6p pic.twitter.com/Sm2jjQ2n9m
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) August 22, 2015
Shonda Rhimes is typically known for her intense dramatic television shows, and some fans were shocked to find out she would be working on a comedy. However, Beers assures us that they will be able to make it work with both of their expertise in screenwriting.
“We can definitely make it work,” she told Entertainment Weekly . “I started my career in comedy and Shonda also wrote comedies and started when she was a screenwriter. We’re really, really looking forward to the prospect of having one on a network sometime soon.”
2 years ago today THIS HAPPENED! #GreysAnatomy , remember when we thought THAT was a lot of episodes? #herecomes250 pic.twitter.com/G2BMjKPZCJ
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) August 19, 2015
The project will mark a reunion for Rhimes and Beers with Halpern, who served as an executive story editor/writer on the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private Practice .
Are you excited for Shonda Rhimes’ ABC comedy? Do you think it will meet the expectations of Shonda’s fans? Leave your comments below.
[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
