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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a truly special episode of Queen Charlotte of Bridgetown Story, the official podcast.

I'm your host, Gabby Collins, and today we have the honor of being in the presence of one of the most influential voices in television and streaming, a trailblazer who has revolutionized the small screen, big screen, all the screens with her exceptional storytelling.

So join me in extending a very warm welcome from wherever you are. Just pause right now to just say, yes,

Shonda Rhymes. Because Shonda Rhymes is here. And we're going to talk about Queen Charlotte.

So let's just get right into it. Shonda Rimes, thank you for joining the podcast. We're here to talk about Queen Charlotte, a Bridgeton story. And we're going to just jump in and talk about characters, a story. I have to say, first of all, one of the things I love is a good flashback. And Shonda Land's body of work knows how to treat a flashback or a flash forward or rewind

like a delicacy.

And that I think is something that fans really appreciate.

And so Queen Charlotte of Richardson story is everything for the person that loves that vehicle.

Are there any moments from your early career to now,

considering the impact Queen Charlotte, its imagery, its stories will have on audiences? Is there

anything in your life that you can look back on and say, this is completely connected to this moment,

or you are answering a call or a question that you may have asked yourself a long time ago.

That's fascinating.

That's a really good question, and I say it's fascinating because I've never thought of it in any way, shape, or form.

I have this allergy to looking back on what I've done and trying to tie it or trying to

understand why I do what I do or write what I write.

I try really hard to let that just be a muse flying around in the Ethernet or the Ether, and going from there.

That's so interesting to hear you say that seeing our characters connecting what's happening to them in that moment to maybe the scene we had just seen.

Well, that's definitely written into the show. That idea, you know, in terms of the

characters, I really loved the way that we used the young Charlotte past to really understand

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