Shonda Rhimes Owns Netflix Now: Bridgerton Season 4 Viewership Numbers Trigger First-Ever Streaming Industry ‘Royal Dividend’.
In a move that has sent shockwaves through Hollywood and Wall Street, Netflix has announced that the record-shattering viewership numbers for ‘Bridgerton Season 4’—which surpassed 200 million households in its opening weekend, eclipsing the entire population of most countries—have triggered a clause in Shonda Rhimes’ contract that effectively makes her a de facto board member with profit-sharing rights. The ‘Royal Dividend’ now sees a percentage of every Netflix subscription fee diverted directly into Rhimes’ production fund, a legal precedent that competitor studios are dubbing the ‘Regency Clause.’