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2 • May 28 - June 3, 2017 • Brainerd Dispatch By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media S hondaLand is going in a differ- ent direction this summer. The production company founded by screenwriter/producer Shonda Rhimes has made a comfortable home for itself in ABC's Thursday night prime-time block, with such hit drama series as "Grey's Anato- my," "Scandal" and "How to Get Away with Murder." In a departure from the contem- porary, workplace-based shows we usually get from Rhimes, the latest offering from ShondaLand is a period piece — and you can look for it Monday nights instead of in the usual TGIT block. "Still Star- Crossed" takes us back to fair Ve- rona in a series that serves as a se- quel to William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." It's based on the novel of the same name by Melinda Taub and makes its long- awaited debut Monday, May 29, on ABC. As just about anyone who made it through high school English knows, "Romeo and Juliet" is one of Shakespeare's best-known trag- edies and ends with the deaths of the play's two titular lovers. The fi- nal scene of the play leads us to believe that the feuding Montague and Capulet families are recon- ciled by their children's deaths, but as we see in "Still Star-Crossed," things in Verona are still more than a little rocky. The series follows characters we were made familiar with, to varying degrees, in "Romeo and Juliet." British actress Lashana Lynch ("Fast Girls," 2011) stars as Rosaline Capulet, Juliet's cousin. In the series, she's taken in by her aunt and uncle (Juliet's still-griev- ing parents) following the deaths of her parents, and is forced to work as a servant. In Shakespeare's play, Rosaline is a minor character, but an impor- tant one. Her role is a non-speak- ing one (and in most productions, she's never even seen), but those familiar with the play will remem- ber that she's the object of Ro- meo's affections in Act I, Scene I, before he sets his eyes on her cousin, Juliet — though Rosaline "hath forsworn to love," a.k.a. the feeling isn't mutual. It's because of Rosaline that he sneaks into the Capulet party, and thus meets Ju- liet. You know the rest of the story. Starring opposite Lynch is Wade Briggs ("Please Like Me") as Ben- volio Montague, Romeo's cousin, who tries to keep the two families from ripping each other to pieces for much of the play. In "Still Star- Crossed," his desire for peace doesn't extend to his own mar- riage prospects; he's ordered to marry Rosaline, who has no say in the matter, and neither of them is thrilled with the arrangement. Prince Escalus (Sterling Sulieman, "In Time," 2011), however, is con- vinced that the match will bring peace to Verona at long last, and is heedless of the fact that Benvolio is firmly against mixing Montague and Capulet blood, and Rosaline despises her betrothed. For fans of Rhimes' shows, the debut of "Still Star-Crossed" has been long awaited. The announce- ment first came well over a year ago, in January 2016, that ABC had ordered the pilot for the 2016- 17 season. The plan was to give it a mid-season premiere, but the scope of the production (which is filmed in Europe), and Rhimes' packed schedule, simply didn't al- low for it. This isn't your average Shonda- Land production, filmed on a Los Angeles soundstage, after all. Showrunners wanted to give it the time and attention that a well-or- chestrated costume drama de- mands. "It has taken us a little longer than we thought it would've taken us," ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey told Deadline at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. "It has all the great hallmarks of a ShondaLand project, but it also is very epic in terms of scope and scale, and we did not want to rush it into a place where we felt like it wasn't ready." Period dramas have always been a draw, but the genre is hav- ing a moment right now in particu- lar. The dearly departed "Downton Abbey" was a megahit for PBS, and Netflix's "The Crown" has been raking in the accolades. There's "Victoria," "Poldark," "Boardwalk Empire," "Poirot" — the list goes on and on, and the popularity of the format shows no sign of waning. It's no great sur- prise that Rhimes would want a piece of that pie. While at first glance, the show looks nothing like the other series under the ShondaLand label, showrunners are confident that fans of "Grey's Anatomy" and the rest will still find the elements they love about those shows in "Still Star-Crossed." "It's different, but it isn't," ex- ecutive producer Betsy Beers told Variety. "It is different in that it's a period piece set in 16th-century Verona, but at the core of it, it's a very emotional, twisty-turny show about romance and re- lationships and family con- flict ... so in those ways, I think it lines up perfectly with the other ShondaLand shows. We just have them wear differ- ent costumes, and shoot in one of the most beauti- ful areas of Spain I've ever been in my life." It'll be interest- ing to see how well Rhimes and compa- ny carry out this lat- est project. Watch the series premiere of "Still Star-Crossed" when it airs Monday, May 29, on ABC. Shonda shakes it up ABC bolsters the ranks with ShondaLand's fi rst costume drama Cover Story this week Lashana Lynch in a scene from "Still Star-Crossed" 001574029r1 Kinship Partners OFFICES IN: Brainerd, Pequot Lakes, Crosby & Staples 218.829.4606 Toll Free 877.730.5437 001573710r1 S E A M L E S S "EXPERIENCE THE ADVANTAGE" "EXPERIENCE THE ADVANTAGE" Advantage Seamless, Inc. 218-270-2663 or 888-570-5778 WWW.ADVANTAGESEAMLESSGUTTERS.COM THE BEST DEFENSE IN GUTTER PROTECTION AMERICA'S FIRST HIGH FLOW SYSTEM™ COUPON % OFF *** Must do entire home. Must book project by 6/30/17 *** Call 218-270-2663. Must present coupon at the time of consultation. full home Seamless Gutter and Valor System S E A M L E S S

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