Grey’s Anatomy‘s creator Shonda Rhimes revealed that the series’ fans got so intense she had to hire private security. Grey’s Anatomy is currently in its 20th season, and one of the longest-running series on television.
Speaking with The Sunday Times ahead of Bridgerton Season 3 Part One, Shonda Rhimes also recalled her time as Grey’s Anatomy‘s showrunner. Rimes, who is the founder of the production company Shondaland, created several spin-offs for Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and Station 19, but also shows like Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, and, most recently, Netflix’s hit Regency show Bridgerton.
“Social media changed. Fans have passionate feelings, and I was always fine with that,” she told the U.K. outlet (via The Hollywood Reporter). “I understand that the characters felt like their friends. They were my imaginary friends too. That’s why I was writing them. And I think people just had very strong feelings about what happened with their friends. But then it became weird.”
Rhimes stepped down as showrunner in 2015. She recalled that she needed a police car outside her house after every season finale after getting death threats from unhappy fans. “They got mean,” Rhimes continued. “And you never knew who was going to really take offense in the wrong way.” Police cars were just the beginning, as she eventually had to hire private 24-hour security at her house in Los Angeles “because people are dangerous and strange.”
“I wanted to just be able to walk out my front door and hang out with my kids and not be worried. I would lay awake at night with stress,” she said. “I had some very helpful friends who’d had similar experiences, who were able to give me a lot of perspective, and who were adamant that if you can’t live normally then you’re not going to be able to live.”
Grey’s Anatomy Continued Without Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes stepped down as showrunner at the end of Grey’s Anatomy Season 8. In 2017, Rhimes signed a multi-year deal with Netflix. That meant stepping down from her day-to-day responsibilities at ABC and focusing on her new projects, which now include Netflix titles like Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte, and Inventing Anna. Krista Vernoff took over as Grey’s Anatomy showrunner from Season 16 to 19, after being credited as co-showrunner in Seasons 6 and 7, alongside Rhimes. Vernoff stepped down at the end of Season 19. Starting Season 20, Meg Marinis took over, who has worked on the show for a long time.
Despite the multiple changes in the show, with many main characters leaving or dying, the show continued. ABC recently renewed Grey’s Anatomy for Season 21, maintaining the show’s status as the longest-running medical drama TV series in history, as well as the longest-running primetime scripted show for ABC.
