Dear Shonda Rhimes

Medically inaccurate dramas are not the time or place

Popular television drama writer and creator Shonda Rhimes once described herself as “obsessed with politics” in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, and it’s proven true as her political leanings have started to seriously impact the content of her shows. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

I just want to watch my damn “Grey’s Anatomy.” 

Or “Law & Order: SVU,” or literally any other TV show nowadays without having to hear the latest political debate. So many shows have become over-politicized and I’m sick of it. 

Yes, I respect the fact that the writers and producers are trying to use their platform for something they believe in. But for me, it’s not the time or place. If I want to read about the latest issues in our society, I’ll go research it and read about it. I don’t want it to be the focus of every episode of my favorite show. 

When writers focus on shoving a new controversial topic into every episode, it gets old. It also leads them to focus less on character development and creating a meaningful plot, which is what got me hooked on these shows in the first place. 

Shonda Rhimes, I used to have a love-hate relationship with you because yes, you kill off almost every single character I grow to love but the stories you came up with were fresh and unexpected. But now “Grey’s Anatomy” has become boring and almost predictable. I was so excited for this new season until I realized every episode would be a political drama. 

Honestly, I haven’t watched an episode in months because of it. 

The reason this bothers me the most is that the political issues they have been choosing to highlight have been beat into the ground already. I’ve heard the debates on police brutality and transgender/LGBTQ+ issues so many times I could bash my head in. 

What’s more frustrating is the fact that the writers don’t delve far enough into these issues to be beneficial. 

So instead, each episode is focused on a new hot topic on a superficial level that won’t actually make a difference. It just makes me less and less interested in watching what was once my favorite show. 

A lot of TV has become like this, with talk show hosts like Jimmy Kimmel piping up to give their opinion after every political scandal or controversial event. And I would be okay with this except for the fact that so much of what Kimmel says is an emotional response and very poorly fact checked. But people still shower him with the highest of praise for speaking out and they take him at his word. 

Why? I don’t know. It’s probably because he’s a celebrity and it’s just too much work to look up what a politician with the same views as them is saying about the topic. Keeping ourselves thoroughly informed is just too hard for our generation, so TV like this is incredibly popular. 

This trend is unlikely to stop anytime soon, so you can catch me boycotting the rest of season 14 (honestly this show is kind of dragging out, maybe it should end anyway) of “Grey’s Anatomy” and re-watching old episodes on Netflix.

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