KCRW's The Spin-Off: Shondaland's Betsy Beers on Overseeing All Those Hit Shows (Listen Now!)

On the latest edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe and I are joined by Betsy Beers, Shonda Rhimes' producing partner and the executive producer of hits "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal" and "How to Get Away with Murder":

Along with her partner Shonda Rhimes, Betsy oversees one of the consistently best reviewed and best rated blocks of television -- Thursday nights on ABC. Or as she described it in a speech at a Marie Claire event last year: "Two chicks - three time slots!"

Beers tells us about her career evolution--she was an actress who moved to LA with hopes of getting cast as a "wacky next door neighbor" in a sitcom. When that didn't pan out, she started reading scripts and got into film development. Beers says she has always been a secret lover of television, but growing up, TV was always viewed as the lesser industry compared to film. Then, she met Shonda Rhimes. The two hit it off immediately, and 12 seasons of Grey's Anatomy later, they haven't looked back.

Listen below!

MIKE ON KCRW's PRESS PLAY: Discussing the New Season and the New York Times' Offensive Shonda Rhimes Piece

On this Monday's edition of Press Play with Madeleine Brand, NPR's Linda Holmes and I discussed the fall TV season -- what to watch and what to skip. But we also tackled that controversial and offensive New York Times piece that called Shonda Rhimes an "angry black woman." Here's the logline from our segment:

This week on the small screen: a superhero show without its superhero, a virgin birth story and a bunch of college students trying to solve a murder. It’s officially the start of the fall television season, and we take a look at the must-sees and the must-avoids.

Listen below!



Also, I forgot to blog about last week's segment, which featured me and Grantland's Andy Greenwald talking about "SNL" and other stuff. A logline:

Saturday Night Live fans will see a new face behind the "Weekend Update" desk next season, and for the first time in the show’s long history, it won’t be a white face. NBC announced that comedian Michael Che will replace Cecily Strong as co-anchor of the fake newscasts. We discuss the switch, and we talk about some of the best new shows wrapping up their first Summer seasons.

Listen here: