Shonda Rhimes Says Creating Three Hit Shows For ABC At The Same Time Was Exhausting: It Almost Killed Me [Video]

Picture this: It’s a Thursday night in 2014, cable is still commonplace, and Shonda Rhimes is dominating network television.

The series creator, writer, and producer helmed three separate television series on ABC: Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder, all of which aired on Thursday nights. Their massive success spurred ABC to brand the entire Thursday night lineup as “Thank God It’s Thursday,” echoing the thoughts of Rhimes fans everywhere.

Though fans may look back on that era of television fondly, Rhimes confessed in a recent interview with Variety that she had “zero” work-life balance during that time in her career.

“That was exhausting,” she said. “It was an accomplishment. But it was exhausting. And it was great. I loved the storytelling. But I feel like it almost killed me. It was too much.”

Scandal ended in 2018 after seven seasons, while How To Get Away With Murderended after a …