Shonda Rhimes has revealed her biggest career hurdle.
The writer and producer is responsible for some of TV's best-loved shows, including Grey's Anatomy, Bridgerton, How to Get Away with Murder and Scandal.
However, while she's now considered the darling of US network television, Rhimes explained that one particular aspect of TV making wasn't her "strong suit" when starting out.
"Doing things like meetings and pitching were really not my strong suit," she told Entertainment Weekly.
"I always tried to let my writing speak for itself, which helped me a lot, because meetings were torturous."
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The show that really launched Rhimes to stardom was Grey's Anatomy, which debuted in 2005 and is still going to this day.
"[I had] zero experience in television [then]," she shared. "I didn't even realise how it all worked with studios and networks, and who you're supposed to suck up to.
"I didn't understand any of that. But I thought the pilot was really good, and I knew that I wanted to see it."
As for when she realised that Grey's Anatomy was going to be a hit, Rhimes said: "I think the moment I realised we were special in some way was they were doing audience testing with the pilot.
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"It used to be that they'd bring you in and there'd be this screen, and the audience would be on the other side and they'd be turning dials as they watched the show.
"And so we were there in real time watching it, and the trajectory kept going up, up, up – and it never dipped.
"Somebody turned to me and said, 'This has literally never happened in the history of ABC'. And I don't know if it really never happened in the history of ABC, but that's how they said it to us.
"I thought, 'Oh, so we're doing really good', but I still felt like a student getting my A-plus."
Grey's Anatomy season 21 airs on Thursdays at 10pm ET on ABC in the US. Previous seasons are streaming on Disney+ in the UK.
Read more Grey's Anatomy news on our dedicated homepage
Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
