SHONDA RHIMES TO RECEIVE INAUGRAL EDINBURGH FELLOWSHIP AS FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 50th ANNIVERSARY

The Edinburgh TV Festival (brought to you by Screen Scotland), the leading event for the television industry, has confirmed the internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning writer, producer, and author, and creator of iconic TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice, Inventing Anna, Queen Charlotte and executive producer of Bridgerton, How to Get Away with Murder and The Residence, has been confirmed as the guest of honour at the 2025 Festival.

This year sees the Festival celebrate its 50th anniversary, and to mark this significant milestone, the Festival is launching the ‘Edinburgh Fellowship’ which honours an individual whose work has had significant cultural and creative impact and recognises their influence on both the international industry and television as an artform.

Rhimes will be the inaugural recipient of the Edinburgh Fellowship in recognition of her long-standing, ground-breaking and hugely influential contribution to the TV industry. She will also take part in an In Conversation event at the Festival to discuss her fascinating 30-year career and where the industry is heading as it finds itself in a moment of flux both culturally, economically and creatively.

Rhimes is an award-winning television creator, producer and author, as well as the CEO of the global media company, Shondaland, which is this year celebrating its 20th anniversary. Rhimes has made a name for herself as the creator of hugely popular, long running series including Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scandal. She is also the first woman to have created three television dramas (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scandal) that have achieved the 100-episode milestone. In 2017, she left network television to exclusively produce content in partnership with Netflix. Bridgerton, Shondaland’s first scripted series with the streamer, has become a worldwide franchise with seasons of the series currently holding three of the ten top spots among English language programming for Netflix.

Rhimes is also the founder of The Rhimes Foundation, whose mission is to support arts, education, and activism. She serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations – including the American Film Institute, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Dartmouth College, Lincoln Center and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Rhimes has three times been included in the TIME 100 list of most influential people, has been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her service to US / UK relations and her work has been celebrated with numerous awards including induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Rowan Woods, Creative Director of the TV Festival said: “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. As we celebrate the rich legacy of the past 50 years and look towards the future, Shonda remains an inspirational figure and guiding light for us all.”

The full programme will be announced in mid-July.

Passes for the 2025 Festival are on sale now.