Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers reflect on 20 years of Shondaland
Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers aren't just aspirational goals, they're also friendship goals.
From "Scandal" and "How to Get Away With Murder" to "Bridgerton," the duo have worked together over the past 20 years to tell bold, inclusive stories.
To commemorate the milestone, Rhimes and Beers sat down with "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts to reflect on the projects they've worked on together, which have left a lasting impact on audiences across the world, specifically their first show, "Grey's Anatomy."
"I feel like we made a lot of mistakes," Rhimes said about the series. "Not in a bad -- like, I don't feel any of the mistakes -- were a problem. Whatever came from those mistakes turned out to be fantastic."
Beers added, "We were the last show picked up and we were mid-season. What did we have to lose? Because no one was paying any attention."
Beers said at the time that "Grey's Anatomy" first premiered in March 2005 on ABC, it was also the year of "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," which she added were "already two big megahits."
Despite the apprehension they shared before diving into the series, "Grey's Anatomy" became the longest-running medical drama in American TV history.
"For me, that's a really personal feeling to feel like I've made something up and people are embracing it in this way," Rhimes said about how the show has been received by audiences.
Rhimes echoed Beers' sentiments about the show and said how "amazed" she is by how people have told her that it's "helped them save somebody in their family's life."
"It happens a lot," she said.
"I'm also amazed at how many young women can say they were gonna go into the sciences or they're doctors," she added. "It was because of Meredith Grey, which is amazing."
Rhimes and Beers teamed up out of a shared frustration toward the television industry.
Beers said at the time, they noticed a "gap" in television.
"We didn't see anything that looked or acted like us," she said.
Rhimes said, "There were no women who felt like real women on television at that point in time."
She added, "We were like, 'Where are all the competitive, mean-spirited, fun, well-meaning women out there?"
With "Grey's Anatomy" rewriting the rules of primetime, the duo expanded the "Shondaverse" with more shows, including "Scandal," "How to Get Away With Murder," "Station 19," "Bridgerton" and "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story." All are led by women protagonists.
When it comes to choosing the next story, Rhimes and Beers said that timing matters.
"I feel like right now we're tryin' to mine a lot more joy and a lot more enjoyment," Rhimes said. "Because I feel like people want to escape a little bit from the realities of eggs being too high and all kinds of other things."
Beers added that whatever the next project is, she knows it will include a lot of "fun."
"It will be something that will probably surprise people, and they'll say, 'Why do you wanna do that?'" she said. "And we'll say, 'Cause we love it.'"
