Shonda Rhimes Reveals ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Scandal’ And ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ Formula For Her Three Hit Shows

Thursday night is Shonda Rhimes' night to shine. With ABC's "TGIT" (Thank God It's Thursday) theme, it is clear that Thursdays are for watching TV — and lots of it. The top three shows on Thursday night for ABC all come from the mind of Rhimes, the creator of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder.

With so much success, Shonda is one of the biggest names in the television industry right now. She got her biggest break in television when she created Grey's Anatomy in 2005. The hit hospital show is now in its 11th season. In 2012 she created Scandal and the onscreen fashion icon Olivia Pope (played by Kerry Washington) was born. Her newest hit is How to Get Away With Murder starring Viola Davis.

But how did Shonda create so many hit shows? "I don't think there is any sort of formula to it. I just try to make something I would want to watch," Shonda told People.

"I find something very satisfying about the pace of television. Movies take a long time to get going, but I can have an idea for an episode and three weeks later, I can be watching it on TV," she explained.

In 2013, Shonda sat down with The New York Times and talked about her success, freedom to create and how Scandal was different than Grey's.  

"What was great for me about Scandal was I had earned a lot of political capital with the network. I had done Grey's, I had done Private Practice. What were they going to do, fire me? I wasn't worried about what anybody else thought. This one was for me," Shonda revealed to The New York Times.

The 44-year-old writer and producer admitted that she enjoys the power that has come with Scandal's success. "I'm in a position of power where I run this world and handle this situation ... If I'm going to make a crazy decision, then I better be damn sure. Because it's not like anybody's going to tell me, 'You can't do that,'" Shonda told the publication.

With the early success of How to Get Away With Murder, Shonda is bound to get even more power within the network and even greater praise within the industry.