Shonda Rhimes Ascends the Throne: TV’s Most Powerful Showrunner on the Future of ‘Bridgerton’

variety.com:

Shonda Rhimes — the writer behind such television sensations as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “Bridgerton” — has smashed pervasive racist-casting tropes, and in doing so, changed the literal face of TV, whether that meant having “Scandal” revolve around Kerry Washington’s antihero Olivia Pope or elevating Regé-Jean Page to thirsty heights as a Black duke in Regency England on “Bridgerton.” What’s talked about less is how Rhimes has changed the way people speak.

Any parent of a teenager who’s heard the derisive usage of “pick me” from Meredith’s “Pick me! Choose me! Love me!” speech in Season 2 of “Grey’s Anatomy” — used to describe, according to the Urban Dictionary, “a woman that is willing to do anything for male approval” — can tell you of Rhimes’ enduring power.

Especially since that oratory was delivered in 2005, and given new life on TikTok. Nor is “pick me” her only lasting linguistic innovation, as Rhimes herself points out during a recent interview for Variety’s Power of Women issue. “The phrase ‘my person’ has become just a part of conversation now,” she says. “I hear it all the time from people, and they’re not referencing me in their minds.

It’s weird! And it’s kind of amazing.” Rhimes’ and her company Shondaland’s viral power has only increased since she entered an overall deal with Netflix in 2017, which launched the England-set “Bridgerton” universe (comprising two completed seasons and the upcoming third season, which will premiere on Netflix on May 16 and June 13),last year’s “Queen Charlotte” prequel, as well as a consumer products line that includes tea sets, ornate mirrors, makeup and even wedding dresses.