Shondaland – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE RESIDENCE – Review by Susan Granger

March 24, 2025March 24, 2025 Susan Granger Al Franken, Giancarlo Esposito, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Jane Curtin, Julian McMahon, Kylie Minogue, Shonda Rhimes, Shondaland, The Residence, uzo aduba

Shondaland has invaded the White House! Prolific producer Shonda Rhimes teamed up with Paul William Davies to create a captivating comedic whodunit miniseries that’s set in The Residence of the President of the United States. The mystery begins when the dead body of stoic White House Chief Usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) is discovered on the night of a gala State Dinner, honoring the Australian Prime Minister (Julian McMahon) – with pop star Kylie Minogue doing an impromptu live set.

Reviews

BRIDGERTON Season 3 – Review by Susan Granger

May 20, 2024May 26, 2024 Susan Granger Adjoa Andoh, Bridgerton season 3, Golda Rosheuvel, JULIE ANDREWS, Luke Newton, netflix, Nicola Coughlan, Phoebe Dynevor, Shonda Rhimes, Shondaland

Gentle reader, if you have not seen the first two seasons of the Regency-era melodrama “Bridgerton,” you’ve missed some truly delightful television. Producer Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland series is now heavily into Season 3 with a cliffhanger concluding Part 1 – and Part 2 scheduled to commence on June 13. Re-imaging a diverse 19th century England, it focuses on aristocratic families finding proper husbands for their ‘eligible’ daughters while seeking favor from Black royalty: “We were two separate societies, divided by color, until King George fell in love with one of us,” explained influential Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) in Season 2.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Lagueria Davis’ ‘BLACK BARBIE Documentary Lands at Netflix and Shondaland – Brandy McDonnell reports

November 27, 2023November 29, 2023 Brandy McDonnell betsy beers, Black Barbie: A Documentary, greta gerwig, Lagueria Davis, netflox, Shonda Rhimes, Shondaland, the week in women, twiw, week in women

Writer-director Lagueria Davis has found a home for her timely and relevant Black Barbie: A Documentary. Netflix and Shondaland recently announced the acquisition of Davis’ film.Black Barbie. Davis brought her “Black Barbie” to the festival circuit just as Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie started generating critical acclaim and record-breaking box-office numbers. Considering Davis spent a dozen years making Black Barbie, and the movie Barbie had been in the works since The LEGO Movie became a 2014 blockbuster, it’s interesting timing that both films debuted within just a few months of each other.

News

Shonda Rhimes: SeriesFest and Shondaland’s Women Directing Mentorship

August 4, 2021August 8, 2021 Brandy McDonnell Rachel Myers, seriesFest, Shondaland, the week in women, twiw, Women Directing Mentorship

SeriesFest and Shondaland have partnered for the past two years on the Women Directing Mentorship, a competition designed to discover aspiring women directors with a unique voice and provide a launchpad for their career. The Women Directing Mentorship is anchored with the opportunity to shadow a director for an episode of a Shondaland original series.