ABC Greenlights Pilot Episode For 4th Shonda Rhimes Series "Gilded Lilly" (Drama Set In 1895 Luxury Hotel)

21 Comments

• | Reply

• Tamara | January 17, 2012 1:05 AMReply

  Sounds interesting. Was reminded as well of Downton Abbey or something akin to it, with it being a period piece and all. And at that point in history; turn of the century; beginning of the modern age? Could be a successful show so yeah, will check it out.

• Rasheed | January 15, 2012 8:39 AMReply

  @ Jug, Zeus, and Sandra
  I think in your rush to defend Rhimes, you miss the main point of her critics. It's not that her casts aren't multi-racial, because it's clear that they are. The criticism, I think, is that her shows, like every other show on TV, are still primarily about white people. The leads are all white with the Black cast members playing supporting roles. How is that different from any other white show on the air? As good as House of Lies looks, it still maintains that formula that has been in place since the Eddie Murphy/Whoopi Goldberg vehicles of the mid 80's: Black lead with a mostly white cast and ALL white creative team.
  Comparing these shows to Cosby and A Different World is inaccurate and does a disservice to the struggles Cosby went through to get these shows on the air without compromising the cast/crew makeup. What Rhimes is doing is great for Rhimes and good for the Blacks she casts, but let's stop pretending like she's knocking down doors.

• Jug | January 17, 2012 3:02 PM

  @Zeus-LMBAO I ain't mad at ya, I'm focusing on Pilot season mane!

• Zeus | January 17, 2012 2:48 PM

  @Jug -- Your comment here -->"This is an argument that no matter what happens, Black people won't be satisfied. If you're white & you put an all black cast out there, you're mad that a Black person didn't do it or you say it's a "white man running things". If you have a Black showrunner with a white cast or a number of non-black characters, you say "it isn't about us". If you're a Black Showrunner & you create a show about Black people with an all Black cast & it doesn't do well, then you complain that it was set up for failure. If you have a Black show with an all black cast, then the show has to have a "certain type" of Black cast on the show to qualify for it's "Black Card"." --- so much truth and is why I turn a deaf ear now. Totally insatiable.

• Jug | January 17, 2012 2:38 PM

  Ok. If that's your beef, than be specific. Don't mix one issue with another. If you're upset that the show isn't about Black people or that instead of being multi-racial you want it to be all Black, than say that. Don't say she doesn't hire actors of color or promotes diversity. If you want shows more akin to THE GAME, then say that. But don't critique a show based on the qualities of another, apples & oranges you know. And Shonda, actually, she IS knocking down doors. Before Shonda, who was the last Black FEMALE show runner (not someone who worked their way up the ranks to an EP but created a show out the gate) on the BIG FOUR who was successful? Go ahead...I'll wait. & remember Google is your friend. And comparing it to Different World/Cosby is not inaccurate, because Cosby's whole production team was white, sorry but they were, & because even though he wanted a black family on the screen, he recognized talent behind the scenes, unless Carsey/Werner & Brandon Tartikoff (Pres of NBC at the time) were in White face all those years & I didn't know it. And I know the struggles Cosby went through, I've seen the documentaries and met some former crew of Cosby show, but it was Marcy Carsey who took a second mortgage on her home to finance the damn pilot-which was low budget at best. Says a lot about who's down & who ain't-regardless of skin color. Let's not act like white people have never had a hand in making things happen for black & truly cared. White people worked on IN LIVING COLOR & BERNIE MAC show behind the scenes. This is an argument that no matter what happens, Black people won't be satisfied. If you're white & you put an all black cast out there, you're mad that a Black person didn't do it or you say it's a "white man running things". If you have a Black showrunner with a white cast or a number of non-black characters, you say "it isn't about us". If you're a Black Showrunner & you create a show about Black people with an all Black cast & it doesn't do well, then you complain that it was set up for failure. If you have a Black show with an all black cast, then the show has to have a "certain type" of Black cast on the show to qualify for it's "Black Card". Totally ridiculous argument after a while & just as agenda driven as what we say about white people excluding Black people. When does it stop & become a good product with quality Black characters, leads & stories?

• sandra | January 15, 2012 9:06 PM

  @Rasheed - Did you read my post?

• Akimbo | January 15, 2012 11:00 AM

  The fact that she is a black female show runner/creator with serious hits under her belt and power is knocking down doors. You may see Grey's as the MerDar show, but they have come to be the two most reviled characters on the series and aren't even the focus on a weekly basis. The show has way too many diverse regulars, recurrings, and guests for them to be considered tokens. I guess when Scandal airs, it will still be "too white" for folks, despite Kerry Washington, Guillermo Diaz, and Columbus Short starring. Granted, Rhimes hasn't created City of Angels (which people did not watch) but she (and ABC in general) do a better job than most...outside of Tyler Perry and BET.

• Zeus | January 14, 2012 11:28 PMReply

  Good for her. I respect the fact that she doesn't follow some bullshit racial quota. Why? She could make five all black shows and the networks still won't change their "whitewash to be a success" belief. Just like "The Cosby Show" didn't change the white wash trend. To put that on Shonda's shoulders is naive and a pipe dream. plus it's just a reason for folk to bitch. Fuck a quota. Make quality art.

• Akimbo | January 15, 2012 11:26 AM

  Agreed. At the end of the day it's more important that there is a powerful, black, female showrunner. If she had created a Friends (lily white) or a show on which all of the POC were bad/stereotypes, then maybe I'd be mad at her.

• sandra | January 14, 2012 10:12 PMReply

  I don't think any showrunner has EVER employed such a diverse as Shonda. Yes, the people of color play key roles. Having said that, Private Practice is the ADDISON show and Grey's Anatomy is the MERDER show. I wonder if Shonda could create a predominately black (1 or 2 white people) or full black show if she wanted to...That is a burning question for me. That's when I'll know she has POWER.

• jmac | January 14, 2012 11:10 PM

  She could if she went to a black network - but that would mean less money, less prestige. We could have more diversity and quality in tv and film but blacks working in the mainstream don't want to do what it takes to get that. Personal ambition trumps community every time.

• sandra | January 14, 2012 10:13 PM

  typo - such a diverse cast

• urbanauteur | January 14, 2012 2:45 PMReply

  Hollywhite "still" nippin at the edges of slavery and using "her" to crochet a quilt of white guilt.

• Jai | January 14, 2012 10:32 AMReply

  I wonder if there will be any one of color in this one.

• Jug | January 14, 2012 12:04 PM

  Oh, and GREY'S added Jason George (also on her produced show OFF THE MAP) & Daniel Sunjata as a love triangle for Chandra Wilson's character. WHEN was the last time you saw that standard storyline on NETWORK tv comprising all Black people? Proof is in the pudding...

• Jug | January 14, 2012 11:41 AM

  First things first Mecca, this isn't a Shonda Rhimes created show. It's produced by her, created by one of her proteges. Same is JJ Abrams didn't create UNDERCOVERS, it was by one of his proteges. But his input & hers, will be there. Second, your comment about Shonda works"mostly with white folks" is probably one of the more misinformed & flat out dumb comments regarding Shonda I've heard in a while. GREY'S ANATOMY was & is a multi-race, multi sexually orientated show. Chandra Wilson's character was originally white & till she got the audition and they rewrote it for her. Isaiah Washington (till he fucked it up), Sandra Oh, James Pickens, Jr., Sara Ramirez (whose character is also a lesbian). Geez, there STILL isn't another show on tv with that much diversity, much less black characters in the LEAD roles. THEN you have PRIVATE PRACTICE, her show, which has Taye Diggs AND Audra MacDonald, well she's leaving or has left, and they owned the practice! But show me another network show on the top four with that sort if black representation. Is it REED BETWEEN THE LINES, no? But then again, it is on ABC & had to appeal to the masses, whereas anything & everything on BET does not have to. Not too mention, her storylines, like those of THE COSBY SHOW & DIFFERENT WORLD don't have to spend all their time having to write storylines "super duper black". They just are, characters living their lives, who happen to be Black. On a related note, just saw HOUSE OF LIES, and Don Cheadle is KILLING IT! But in the same vein, NOTHING about that show says he is "Black" or living the "Black Experience". He just IS, with his Black son & his Black father living life as a lovable, self-loathing egomaniacal asshole. Sometimes when you wear your "color fight" on your sleeve, it cheapens your product & weakens your argument.

• Mecca | January 14, 2012 10:53 AM

  Ignore typos.

• Mecca | January 14, 2012 10:53 AM

  I highly doubt it! If there is they are probably playing some Uncle Tom or Fat Mamie. Shonda works mostly with white folks. And white folks portray images of themselves on TV.

• Josh | January 13, 2012 9:48 PMReply

  Looks like ABC is searching for their own Downton Abbey. Please be good.....

• Ty Lattimore | January 13, 2012 8:09 PMReply

  Actually she already had a third series...Off the Map, which was cancelled. But I love Grey's and Private Practice.

• mantan | January 13, 2012 6:41 PMReply

  you couldn't have found a better picture of her??? lololol....