Shonda Rhimes and Shakespeare? Looks like a no-brainer
BOTH ' Grey's Anatomy' and ' Scandal' have been known to take a Shakespearean turn or two. So it's fitting that the latest Shondaland drama takes place in fair Verona.
' Still Star- Crossed', created by Heather Mitchell and produced by Shonda Rhimes, along with her production partner Betsy Beers, is glitzy and melodramatic - the stuff Shondaland (not to mention, summer TV) dreams are made of.
The deaths of Romeo and Juliet are the jumping off point for this period drama, based on the 2013 book by Melinda Taub and premiering Monday on ABC. The doomed couple ( played by Clara Rugaard and Lucien Laviscount) are around long enough to wed in secret and meet their tragic fates. But we already know that story.
‘Still- Star Crossed' follows Juliet's cousin, Rosaline ( Lashana Lynch), a minor character in Shakespeare's play. As Verona descends into mournful chaos, Rosaline is ordered, along with Romeo's cousin Benvolio, to make a politically motivated sacrifice. The niece of Lord Capulet (Anthony Head), Rosaline once led a privileged life of nobility. But after the death of both her parents, she and her sister, Livia ( Ebonee Noel), were brought into the Capulet household as servants — loathed by Lady Capulet ( Zuleikha Robinson) for reasons beyond their control.
Lynch holds her own in a complicated role, and I am eager to see how the story unfolds. But ABC only provided the pilot for review, and I can't yet say whether this show should be on your must-watch list. Given the strength of her brand, I do feel confident saying that Rhimes' fans are going to love this show. For starters, the fireworks begin less than 10 minutes in. And
Still-Star Crossed’ follows Juliet’s cousin, Rosaline (Lashana Lynch), a minor character in Shakespeare’s play. As Verona descends into mournful chaos, Rosaline is ordered, along with Romeo’s cousin Benvolio, to make a politically motivated sacrifice.
we're talking actual fireworks here: Verona has a rather big budget.
The other thing that makes ‘Still Star- Crossed' a quintessentially Shondaland show is its approach to diversity — or as Rhimes prefers to call it, reality. “It's not trailblazing to write the world as it actually is,” she has said.
The internet may quibble over the historical accuracy of such a multicultural Verona. Rosaline and her sister are black. Their uncle, Juliet's father, is white. Prince Escalus ( Sterling Sulieman), newly ascended to the throne after the death of his father, is black — his sister, Princess Isabella, is played by Iranian-American actress Medalion Rahimi. And those are just a few examples of the show's perhaps unexpected casting.
The message here isn't one that needs to be overanalysed. This is a fictional story, and it's definitely not going to earn you an academic expertise in all things the Bard. But the show is a welcome challenge to some of society's notions about European nobility.
It's also a challenge to Hollywood, where Rhimes's willingness to put black women at the centre of stories — as opposed to the fringes — is still seen as trailblazing.