When it comes to female showrunners, Shonda Rhimes continually stands out as one of the best. She’s brought the likes of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal to our screens, and there’s no doubt that she’s been successful in the world of broadcast. However, there are some of her shows that are Netflix originals.
She has four Netflix shows at the moment, and there are sure to be more to come due to her deal with the streamer. Whether you want true crime or romance, there is something to check out, and we’re ranking the four shows from worst to best.
Inventing Anna
At the bottom of the list is the true crime series Inventing Anna, which was inspired by How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People by Jessica Pressler. If you’ve seen dramatizations of true crime stories, you’ll get an idea of what to expect. There are certainly some fictionalized elements to the story, but it still has to stick to some of the truth.
The issue with Inventing Anna is that it focuses too much on the media frenzy rather than the crime itself. We follow Anna, a Russian-born con artist who managed to infiltrate New York’s high society. After scamming millions of dollars, she was eventually caught, but what were her motivations? Why did she go after the elite in the way she did? The series could have done a much better job delving into that part of the story.
The Residence
I enjoyed The Residence, but it wasn’t as great as the Bridgerton shows on Netflix. The series just didn’t quite hit the mark in terms of intriguing crime, but I could see what Rhimes was trying to do with it. Based on the novel The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Anderson, the story is a basic murder mystery with no real twists or turns, especially if you’re used to this genre.
However, Cordelia Cupp is a fun character, and she certainly has a lot of confidence that we don’t tend to see with Black female cops. On top of that, she is smart and realistic, which is also rare for TV. I appreciated moving away from the stereotypes but still having fun. There are some twists, but they’re more comedic than intriguing, but at least the series is enjoyable.
Bridgerton
How could I not put this as No. 1? Well, that’s because there’s another in the franchise that I enjoy just a little bit more. Saying that, Bridgerton is a very close second, especially as the earlier seasons were pretty closer to the books by Julia Quinn. One of the elements I love about the series is how it captures the highs and lows of the Regency period.
Bridgerton is able to keep things fresh by moving onto a different sibling with each season. However, we still stay up to date with many of the others, so it’s not like a true anthology series. That being said, as the actors gain more popularity and other gigs, there’s no need to worry about the tone of the series changing if they can’t come back.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Just ahead of Bridgerton is its spinoff series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, as I love the story of King George III and Queen Charlotte in real history. This prequel series was beautifully told across two timelines, showing us what it would have been like for Charlotte to come from another country and almost another world, and then have to deal with mental illness and problems that need to be hidden away.
For me, six episodes was just the right amount of time. I don’t feel like more is needed to show us this beautiful love story, as it captured the hearts well. It does make me hope for more Bridgerton spinoffs, though.