{"id":746,"date":"2014-10-09T02:40:52","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T07:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/?p=746"},"modified":"2014-10-09T00:21:39","modified_gmt":"2014-10-09T05:21:39","slug":"tgit-welcome-to-shondaland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/2014\/10\/09\/tgit-welcome-to-shondaland\/","title":{"rendered":"TGIT – Welcome to Shondaland"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday night if you tune your television to ABC you will take a trip to a place many refer to as Shondaland. \u00a0TGIT, or Thank God It is Thursday as the network is branding the night, is the home of Grey’s Anatomy<\/em>, Scandal<\/em> and How To Get Away With Murder<\/em>, 3 scintillating shows with executive producer Shonda Rhimes in common.<\/p>\n

Now in it’s eleventh season on the air, Grey’s Anatomy<\/em> is an anchor for the night. \u00a0The relationship between Derek Sheppard and Meredith Grey has long been the central focus of the ensemble show which follows a complex group of characters through their daily lives in a Seattle hospital. \u00a0For those who like serial shows with slightly soapy plots, this is your show! \u00a0If you want to be able to drop in and out of a show however, nothing in Shondaland is likely to be for you.<\/p>\n

The hallmark of a Shondaland show tends to be story arcs and plots that are woven together over the course of weeks, sometimes seasons, with twists and turns that simultaneously feel as though they came out of no where and yet, when you look back there is this nagging feeling that the writers played fair. \u00a0Bread crumbs were laid, hints dropped and the gut feeling exists that if only you had been paying a little more attention you just might have seen it coming. \u00a0That the shock that had you going “what just happened!” should not have been a shock.<\/p>\n

Scandal<\/em> follows the intrigues of a President in office (Fitz) and his Washington, D.C. fixer (Olivia). \u00a0Both Grey’s Anatomy<\/em> and Scandal<\/em>\u00a0are loosely inspired by real people. \u00a0That is to say that it has come to light that a real problem solver for a President was spoken to before Scandal went on the air, no such behind the scenes relationships existed etc, but from a kernel of truth, and the knowledge that a real job existed \u00a0— a lot of curiosity about all the potential that existed a that whole world of possibilities — intrigue and Scandal<\/em>s was created.<\/p>\n

Currently in its fourth season, Scandal was a mid-season replacement when it first hit the air in April of 2012. \u00a0A fact that the show used to its advantage to hook early viewers — because it enabled the show to start with a powerful 7 episode arc that contained individually satisfying episodes, but at the end of those 7 episodes it felt as though viewers had reached the end of a novel they could not wait to get their hands on the sequel to… and guess what, the seasons have just kept coming.<\/p>\n

How To Get Away With Murder<\/em> is this years addition to prime-time television from Shonda Rhimes and co. \u00a0Another brain-teasing show with trailers that sizzle off the screen, it is about a law professor who is also a practicing lawyer, who chooses several top students to intern in her law firm for some rare hands on experience, and by the looks of it, a year that will change all of their lives. \u00a0While the title is officially taken from the lead characters nickname for the class she is teaching, one might suspect it has some more practical applications to at least one subplot… or maybe I have just learned a thing or two from watching other Shondaland land shows over the past decade.<\/p>\n

Someone recently told me that they had tried Scandal after hearing praise of the plot twists, but the dialogue did not feel like everyday conversation, the situations did not feel like something they could easily relate to, and as a result, they did not easily slip into the shows universe. \u00a0The only response I could give was, ‘go back, marathon those first 7 episodes, and view it not as the real world, but as something set apart, knowing it isn’t meant to be your real world. \u00a0Try and anticipate the twists, try and figure out where it is going, embrace the challenge, enjoy the cunning of the writers in Shondaland, and marvel at their skill in plotting and surprising their viewers.’ \u00a0I for one would not want to live in the realm of Grey’s Anatomy<\/em> or Scandal<\/em>. \u00a0I have not seen enough of How To Get Away With Murder<\/em> to make a decision there… but if what I’ve seen of other Shondaland shows holds true, I can already hazard a guess.<\/p>\n

These are shows I watch to appreciate the world I live in. \u00a0Pay Shondaland a visit, then come back to the real world, take a nice deep breath, relax, and be grateful that is not reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd, Justin Chambers as Alex Karev, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens, Jr. as Richard Webber, Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jessica Capshaw as Arizona Robbins, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery, Sarah Drew as April Kepner, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Jerrika Hinton as Stephanie Edwards and Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd.<\/em><\/p>\n

Facebook <\/em>\u00a0www.facebook.com\/GreysAnatomy
\n<\/a><\/em>Twitter <\/em>@GreysABC<\/em>, <\/em>#GreysAnatomy<\/em>
\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cScandal\u201d stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, Guillermo Diaz as Huck, Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan, Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins, Tony Goldwyn as President Fitzgerald Grant, Jeff Perry as Cyrus Beene, Bellamy Young as Mellie Grant, Joshua Malina as David Rosen and Scott Foley as Jacob \u201cJake\u201d Ballard.<\/p>\n

Facebook<\/em>:\u00a0http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ScandalABC<\/a><\/em>
\nTwitter<\/em>:\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScandalABC<\/a><\/em>
\nOfficial Hashtag:<\/em>\u00a0#Scandal<\/em>
\nPinterest:\u00a0<\/em>http:\/\/pinterest.com\/scandalabc\/<\/a><\/em>
\nTumblr:<\/em>\u00a0http:\/\/ScandalABC.tumblr.com<\/a><\/em>
\nABC.com:\u00a0<\/em>http:\/\/abc.go.com\/shows\/scandal<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHow to Get Away with Murder\u201d stars Academy-Award Nominee Viola\u00a0Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, Billy Brown as Detective Nate Lahey, Alfred Enoch as Wes Gibbins, Jack Falahee as Connor Walsh, Katie Findlay as Rebecca Sutter, Aja Naomi King as Michaela Pratt, Matt McGorry\u00a0as Asher Millstone, Karla Souza as Laurel Castillo, Charlie Weber as Frank Delfino and Liza Weil as Bonnie Winterbottom.<\/p>\n

Facebook: <\/em>www.facebook.com\/HowToGetAwayWithMurder
\n<\/a><\/em>Twitter: <\/em>www.twitter.com\/HowToGetAwayABC
\n<\/a><\/em>Hashtag:<\/em> #HowtoGetAwayWithMurder<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Thursday night if you tune your television to ABC you will take a trip to a place many refer to as Shondaland. \u00a0TGIT, or Thank God It is Thursday as the network is branding the night, is the home of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder, 3 scintillating shows with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[1423,144,960,1399,957,1419,970,1413,1409,1440,1429,956,1443,1405,1414,1418,1400,963,1437,1428,1422,1432,1397,1394,1444,1426,969,1442,107,1420,965,1421,958,1411,1434,1402,1427,1416,1410,1408,1415,1431,1398,962,959,1424,339,1406,1441,964,961,1430,1395,1439,1401,1435,972,1407,1396,1425,1438,1403,1445,1404,1412,1238,1433,967,968,1417,527,955,1436],"class_list":["post-746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-television","tag-abby-whelan","tag-abc","tag-aja-naomi-king","tag-alex-karev","tag-alfred-enoch","tag-amelia-shepherd","tag-annalise-keating","tag-april-kepner","tag-arizona-robbins","tag-asher-millstone","tag-bellamy-young","tag-billy-brown","tag-bonnie-winterbottom","tag-callie-torres","tag-camilla-luddington","tag-caterina-scorsone","tag-chandra-wilson","tag-charlie-weber","tag-connor-walsh","tag-cyrus-beene","tag-darby-stanchfield","tag-david-rosen","tag-derek-shepherd","tag-ellen-pompeo","tag-everwood","tag-fitz","tag-fitzgerald-grant","tag-frank-delfino","tag-greys-anatomy","tag-guillermo-diaz","tag-how-to-get-away-with-murder","tag-huck","tag-jack-falahee","tag-jackson-avery","tag-jake-ballard","tag-james-pickens-jr","tag-jeff-perry","tag-jerrika-hinton","tag-jesse-williams","tag-jessica-capshaw","tag-jo-wilson","tag-joshua-malina","tag-justin-chambers","tag-karla-souza","tag-katie-findlay","tag-katie-lowes","tag-kerry-washington","tag-kevin-mckidd","tag-laurel-castillo","tag-liza-weil","tag-matt-mcgorry","tag-mellie-grant","tag-meredith-grey","tag-michaela-pratt","tag-miranda-bailey","tag-nate-lahey","tag-olivia-pope","tag-owen-hunt","tag-patrick-dempsey","tag-quinn-perkins","tag-rebecca-sutter","tag-richard-webber","tag-sandra-oh","tag-sara-ramirez","tag-sarah-drew","tag-scandal","tag-scott-foley","tag-shonda-rhimes","tag-shondaland","tag-stephanie-edwards","tag-tony-goldwyn","tag-viola-davis","tag-wes-gibbins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=746"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":748,"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions\/748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.popartsplace.net\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}