Shonda Rhimes is heading to the Edinburgh TV Festival.
Landing one of its biggest names in years, the fest will hand the Bridgerton, Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal creator the inaugural Edinburgh Fellowship during its 50th anniversary edition.
Rhimes will be guest of honor and deliver a masterclass during which she will discuss her career and an industry “in flux both culturally, economically and creatively.”
The fellowship has been created for the first time this year at one of the UK’s premier TV festivals. Rhimes is a coup for the fest and this year’s advisory chair Jane Tranter. The rest of the lineup and the deliverer of the MacTaggart lecturer be unveiled in due course.
Rhimes is the the first woman to have created three television dramas (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scandal) that have achieved the 100-episode milestone. Her other credits include Bridgerton, How to Get Away with Murder and The Residence, while she runs global media company Shondaland and The Rhimes Foundation.
Watch on Deadline
Alongside Netflix boss Ted Sarandos, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her service to U.S. / UK relations late last year.
Rowan Woods, Creative Director of the Edinburgh TV Festival, called Rhimes an “inspirational figure and a guiding light for us all.”
She added: “This year the Festival celebrates an incredible 50 years of agenda-setting thought leadership across the international TV industry. We’re delighted to mark this milestone with the creation of the Edinburgh Fellowship, which recognises significant creative and cultural achievement in television, and we can’t think of anyone more fitting to receive this inaugural honour than Shonda Rhimes, one of the international industry’s most respected creative powerhouses and someone whose global cultural impact cannot be understated.”
The fest takes place August 19 to 22.