Quick Hits – Shonda Rhimes = Boss, Westworld Pay Raises, Luke Cage & More

This week was another busy week in news and accomplishments for many creators for The Culture so here are some quick hits highlighting some of the things you might’ve missed.

Top Showrunner (creator/executive producer) in the game Shonda Rhimes (creator of Greys Anatomy, How To Get Away With Murder, etc.) is officially the top showrunner in the game. With her historic 9 (yes 9) figure deal to create shows for Netflix, Rhimes is officially the highest paid creator in Hollywood, a fact she is not hiding from at all. “I will not hide. I am going to brag. I am the highest paid show runner in television!” #Salute.

Two of the most acclaimed actors on the acclaimed show Westworld have secured the bag (aka pay raises). Jeffery Wright and Thandie Newton (who just won an Emmy for her role on the show) have both negotiated pay raises for next season. Actors of color getting their worth for the talents they bring to a project, again #salute.

Darling of The Culture Keke Palmer is starring in a new project PIMP that released it’s debut trailer this week. In this Lee Daniels produced film Palmer plays a female pimp and as you can imagine, things get pretty dark. Its definitely something different. Check out the trailer.

Last (and certainly least because it’s a bit of bad news) black super hero show Luke Cage has been canceled after only 2 seasons by Netflix. The groundbreaking show that was a star turn for future Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali and in a lot of ways a precursor for the success of the Black Panther film is no more…for now at least. Rumors are that either Disney will pick the show up for it’s own upcoming streaming service or the characters Luke Cage and Misty Knight will be woven more heavily into other Marvel related shows on Netflix. Let’s hope so because the more black superhero representation on TV and film, the better.

Check out some of our recent articles:

Written by @TalentedMrFord

Follow him on Instagram & Twitter