Shonda Rhimes
Inventing Anna Review: Shonda Rhimes Reminds Us That She’s the Master of Captivating TV
The Pitch: If there is one constant running through the work of Shonda Rhimes, it’s this: Her instincts for what makes a good story are dead on. Not every show with her name on it is an out-of-the-gate hit like Bridgerton or Grey’s Anatomy — rest in peace, The Catch, a great little show about con artists that deserved more of a chance. But it’s impossible to say that a Shondaland series is ever boring. Speaking of con artists, though… Inventing Anna, the new limited series premiering this Friday on Netflix, represents Rhimes’ first Netflix project that bears her name as not just a producer, but a creator. And you can sense why she chose not to hand this project off to someone else, given how many delicate elements are involved in these nine episodes — primarily, the depiction of its two le...
Inventing Anna Trailer: Shonda Rhimes Brings the Notorious Con Artist Tale to Netflix
Everyone loves a good con artist story, and the upcoming limited series Inventing Anna promises a doozy, as teased by the new trailer released by Netflix today. Shonda Rhimes created this adaptation of the New York Magazine article “How an Aspiring ‘It’ Girl Tricked New York’s Party People — and its Banks” by Jessica Pressler, with Julia Garner (Ozark, The Assistant) starring as Anna Delvey, whose larger-than-life exploits led her to the inner circles of New York elite, and then eventually jail. Anna Chlumsky (Veep) stars as the journalist trying to tell Anna’s story, with reasons of her own for trying to get Anna on the record. Here’s the official Netflix description: In Inventing Anna, a journalist with a lot to prove investigates the case of Anna Delvey, the Instagram-legendary German h...
Netflix’s Bridgerton Reveals Uncomfortable Truths About Sex
While watching Bridgerton last week, I jokingly referred to the series as “the fancy British sex show” to friends on a text thread. Although that’s perhaps reductive, the description is fairly accurate: Netflix’s new Victorian drama is filled with sex, scandal, pearl clutching, and opulence. Yet, at the same time, it’s also a lot of fun, which is why I happened to binge most of the season in a day. (It was a welcome distraction during a stressful week.) However, there are deeper truths underneath Bridgerton’s addictive exterior. Sure, at first blush, it’s a Victorian romance with a Gossip Girl subplot, but the series cuts much deeper than that. At its core, Shondaland’s latest drama stealthily reveals the damaging lies and practices perpetuated by the patriarchy, particularly the struggle ...
Nigerian doctor named one of TIME’s Most Influential People in the world
TIME named Nigerian physician Tunji Funsho to the 2020 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes are available now at time.com/time100, and Mr Funsho’s TIME100 profile is available here. The list, now in its seventeenth year, recognizes the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals. Mr Funsho, a cardiologist based in Lagos, Nigeria, is the first Rotary member to receive this honour for the organisation’s work to eradicate polio, having played an essential role in ensuring Africa’s certification as wild polio-free in August of 2020. “I’m honored to be recognized by TIME for my part in ensuring that no child in Africa will ever again be paralyzed by wild polio, a disease that once disabl...
