Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes

ABC may need to double up on Shonda Night so that it occupies 2 nights instead of just one, as is the case currently. The network has announced a pick up of a pilot for a new untitled drama from Shonda Rhimes and her Shondaland partner Betsy Beers.

Described as a legal drama, here’s the pitch: “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.”




The project hails from “Scandal” writer Paul William Davies.

Might this be a planned eventual replacement for “Scandal,” given that the Kerry Washington series may be close to its end (another season or less, as Rhimes herself previously suggested)? We love to speculate here at Shadow & Act.

Rhimes and Betsy Beers will executive produce, while Paul William Davies will serve as showrunner.

If greenlit to series — and any Rhimes series has strong odds — the legal drama would mark her sixth current ABC drama on the air (“Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “The Catch,” and an upcoming “Still Star-Crossed”). Shonda Night may have to become 2 nights – Shonda Nights.