Netflix and Shonda Rhimes are staying in business together. Rhimes has signed a new multi-year overall deal that extends Netflix’s partnership with Shondaland and longtime producing partner Betsy Beers.
The agreement covers television series, feature films and gaming, with Netflix continuing to exclusively produce, stream and distribute projects from Shondaland. The partnership will also continue to include merchandise and live events tied to its properties.
The extension comes as one of their biggest collaborations moves forward: Bridgerton Season 5 is currently filming in London, with Francesca Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling taking center stage.
Shonda Rhimes and Shondaland Extend Their Netflix Partnership
Rhimes first entered into an overall deal with Netflix in 2017, moving Shondaland’s future projects to the streamer after years in network television.
Under the newly extended agreement, Rhimes, Shondaland and Beers will continue working exclusively with Netflix across several areas of entertainment.
Netflix will also continue supporting Shondaland’s inclusion initiatives, including the Ladder Program, which provides training opportunities for underrepresented below-the-line creatives.
“I am excited to extend our relationship with Netflix,” Rhimes said in a statement announcing the deal. “For almost a decade, Netflix has provided Shondaland with the autonomy and support to tell our kind of stories.”
She also thanked Netflix executives Ted Sarandos and Bela Bajaria and the wider Netflix team for their continued partnership.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said the company was “thrilled” to continue working with Rhimes, pointing to the reach Shondaland’s projects have had both on and beyond Netflix.
Bridgerton Season 5 Is Currently Filming in London
The new deal arrives while Bridgerton is already moving ahead with its next season.
Season 5 is currently in production in London and will focus on Francesca Bridgerton, played by Hannah Dodd, and Michaela Stirling, played by Masali Baduza.
It follows Season 4, which debuted at No. 1 on Netflix’s Global English TV list and reached the Top 10 in 92 countries. According to Netflix, the fourth season has reached 100 million views.
The streamer says the entire Bridgerton franchise, including Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, accumulated 180 million views during the first half of 2026. Across the four seasons of Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte, Netflix reports 610 million views since the first half of 2023.
The franchise has also expanded well beyond the series themselves. Netflix and Shondaland have developed live experiences including Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience and the Bridgerton Concerts by Candlelight, alongside merchandise and appearances at Netflix House locations in Philadelphia and Dallas.
Shondaland’s Other Netflix Projects
Bridgerton may be the largest part of the partnership, but it isn’t the only series Rhimes and Shondaland have produced for Netflix.
Rhimes created Inventing Anna, with Rhimes and Beers serving as executive producers. The limited series spent 10 consecutive weeks on Netflix’s Global Top 10 English TV list following its 2022 release and reached No. 1 in more than 90 countries tracked by the streamer.
Shondaland also produced the Uzo Aduba murder mystery The Residence, which premiered in March 2025, as well as the documentaries Black Barbie and Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.
The company’s upcoming Netflix slate also includes an untitled Grey’s Anatomy spinoff.
With the new multi-year agreement now in place, those projects will not mark the end of the Netflix-Shondaland partnership. The deal ensures Rhimes and Shondaland will continue developing new series, films and other projects exclusively with Netflix.
