ABC Orders Another Drama Pilot from Shonda Rhimes

After giving the network TGIT, The Catch, and an upcoming and currently untitled new show, ABC announced their ordering a sixth show from Shonda Rhimes.

Despite pushing back the premiere dates for TGIT, ABC isn’t looking to bite the hand that feeds it. Recently, the network said they may break up TGIT in the future. But in the same interview, ABC’s president of entertainment admitted, “I will take as many things as Shonda will give me.”

And it appears that Shonda Rhimes is ready to give one more.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Rhimes’ pitch is as follows:

"“Set in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Federal Court, aka ‘The Mother Court,’ this legal drama follows brand new lawyers working on opposite sides — for both the defense and the prosecution as they handle the most high profile and high stakes cases in the country, all as their personal lives intersect.”"

Of course, Shondaland produces a few shows that go something like this. How to Get Away with Murder follows Annalise Keating, an attorney and law professor at the fictional Middleton University in Pennsylvania. Likewise, Scandal revolves around Pope and Associates, a special law firm that specializes in crisis management. Even Alice Vaughan fromThe Catch operates a private investigation firm. Though not specifically law, several of these shows contain similar themes.

Alternatively, this pitch sounds like a decent replacement to CBS’ The Good Wife, which was canceled last year. Following its finale, all televisions were short one really good lawyer show. So this news comes as perfect timing. Although it may be a while before we see this show. Currently, Rhimes already has another show on the way based on Romeo and Juliet.

Once again, Rhimes will team up with Betsy Beers on the new drama, and establish writer Paul William Davies (Scandal) as showrunner.

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