Still Star-Crossed: Lead Sheet

Still Star-Crossed: Lead Sheet

“STILL STAR-CROSSED”
A one-hour period drama from Shondaland and ABC Studios, “Still Star-Crossed” picks up where the famous story of Romeo and Juliet ends, charting the treachery, fight for power and ill-fated romances of the Montagues and Capulets in the wake of the young lovers’ tragic fate. The series is based on the eponymous book by Melinda Taub.

In the wake of Romeo and Juliet’s tragic deaths, the Montague and Capulet rivalry escalates. A new royal takes the throne and struggles to determine what is best for his city when Verona as an epicenter of mayhem.

Following the death of her cousin Juliet, Rosaline Capulet (Lashana Lynch) finds herself in the middle of a political play to try and save Verona. She will prove she’s a force to be reckoned with especially when it comes to her destiny and must make tough decisions regarding her loyalty to the Capulet name. Rosaline’s sister, Livia Capulet (Ebonee Noel), is a hopeless romantic who dreams of a marriage to provide her with a life she’s always wanted, but her yearning for love makes her an easy target, and she gets drawn into a sordid secret unbeknownst to her.

Romeo’s death thrusts his cousin, Benvolio Montague (Wade Briggs), into a position of responsibility as he becomes the sole heir to the Montague name and must abide by a sinister plan to solidify his family’s prominence. A newly crowned Prince Escalus (Sterling Sulieman) is determined to end the bloodshed between the Montagues and Capulets, but his only solution forces him to decide between following his heart or protecting his kingdom. Eager to help her brother rule Verona, Princess Isabella (Medalion Rahimi) finds herself drawn to the throne, but quickly realizes that obtaining power as a woman will require succumbing to a twisted scheme.

Lord Capulet (Anthony Head) is the patriarch of the Capulet dynasty and is willing to maintain the legacy of his family’s name at any cost. Lady Capulet (Zuleikha Robinson) may want the same as her husband, but a mystery behind her true ambitions will slowly come to light. The Montagues are on the precipice of matching the Capulets social status, but Romeo’s death threatens to stall their ascent. Angered by grief and the loss of his son, Lord Montague (Grant Bowler) will stop at nothing to ensure the Montagues are the most respected family in Verona.

The sparring families aren’t the only one’s affected by Romeo and Juliet’s tragic fate. The keeper of Verona’s darkest confessions, Friar Lawrence (Dan Hildebrand), feels a deep responsibility for their deaths, along with the Capulet’s lifelong caretaker, the Nurse (Susan Wooldridge). She holds many secrets of her own including the fact that she is tending to Count Paris (Torrance Coombs), who was supposed to wed Juliet but was left for dead after a brutal fight with Romeo.

“Still Star-Crossed” stars Grant Bowler as Lord Damiano Montague, Wade Briggs as Benvolio Montague, Torrance Coombs as Count Paris, Dan Hildebrand as Friar Lawrence, Lashana Lynch as Rosaline Capulet, Ebonee Noel as Livia Capulet, Medalion Rahimi as Princess Isabella, Zuleikha Robinson as Lady Guiliana Capulet, Sterling Sulieman as Prince Escalus, Susan Wooldridge as Nurse and Anthony Head as Lord Silvestro Capulet.

The series was developed for television by Heather Mitchell, who is writer and executive producer. Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Mark Wilding and Michael Goldstein are executive producers. Michael Offer is executive producer and director of the pilot.

HEATHER MITCHELL, executive producer
Heather Mitchell is a television writer and producer who lives in New York City. A graduate of the Warner Bros. Television Writers’ Workshop and a Writers Guild of America TV Writer Access Project honoree, she has had the pleasure of writing for some of the biggest names in television, including Bruckheimer TV’s “Eleventh Hour,” Glenn Gordon Caron’s “Medium,” Shawn Ryan’s “The Chicago Code,” and Shonda Rhimes’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal,” where she spent five seasons and rose to co-executive producer before selling her own show. She has also written for telenovelas, animation, numerous reality shows, Yahoo! Search, and Disney Adventures magazine.

SHONDA RHIMES, executive producer
Shonda Rhimes is the prolific writer, executive producer and creator of the hit ABC series "Grey’s Anatomy," and "Scandal." In addition to creating the “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off series "Private Practice," Rhimes is the executive producer of the ABC series “How to Get Away with Murder,” “The Catch” and “Still Star-Crossed.”

For her collective work on her various shows, Rhimes is the recipient of a Golden Globe for Outstanding Television Drama, Peabody Award, Television Producer of the Year by the Producers Guild of America, Writers Guild Award for Best New Series, GLAAD Media Award, as well as numerous AFI Awards for Television Program of the Year and an unprecedented six NAACP Image Awards for Writing for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series, plus eight NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Drama Series.

Rhimes has twice been included in TIME magazine’s 100 list of the most influential people along with Fortune magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business," and Glamour magazine’s "Women of the Year." In 2013, Rhimes was appointed by President Obama to serve as trustee for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In 2014, Rhimes, along with producing partner Betsy Beers, received the Directors Guild of America’s prestigious Diversity Award. Rhimes was additionally a 2014 recipient of the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard and the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award from The Hollywood Reporter. In 2015, Rhimes was awarded the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement from the Writers Guild of America, West, as well as inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Broadcasting Hall of Fame.  She was additionally honored with the Ally for Equality Award from the Human Rights Council, the Eleanor Roosevelt Global Women’s Rights Award from the Feminist Majority Foundation and 2016 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild. Most recently, Rhimes received the 2016 Personality of the Year Award from MIPCOM as well as the International Emmy Founders Award, for her contributions to the quality of global television production.  In May of 2017, Rhimes will receive the Champion of Change Award from Planned Parenthood, for her commitment to transforming the conversation around the issues of gender, sex and sexuality, and race.

In 2016, Rhimes was asked to produce a short biopic of Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic National Convention. Rhimes interviewed President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton among others for the piece. The film was shown on the closing night of the DNC and was narrated by Morgan Freeman.

Rhimes released her first book, “Year of Yes” from Simon & Schuster in November of 2015.  The book, which candidly chronicles her moving and humorous attempts to come out of her shell by saying “yes” to everything that scares her, was an instant New York Timesbestseller and in 2016 Rhimes followed up with a companion piece, “The Year of Yes Journal.”

Most recently, Rhimes partnered with Dove to as creative director to their #RealBeautyCampaign. In this role, Rhimes is collaborating with the Dove team and real women across the country to bring their real stories to life while expanding the definition of beauty. The campaign will launch in May 2017. Rhimes also partnered with Pilot Pen to award the G2 Overachievers Grant to enhance the reach of ordinary heroes who give back to their community in unique and impactful ways.
Additionally, Rhimes will be expanding her brand with the launch of Shondaland.com, a digital storytelling platform that will feature first-person essays, exclusive interviews, reported features, advice, podcasts and video. Shondaland.com will kick off with its first newsletter in May of 2017, and the full site will launch in the fall.

Rhimes also serves on the board of several non-profit organizations. Most recently, she joined the national board of Planned Parenthood. In 2016, she founded The Rhimes Family Foundation which was created to support arts, education and activism with a focus on promoting cultural inclusion, fighting for equality and standing up against bigotry of any kind. The Rhimes Family Foundation proudly supports the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Beyond 12, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and The IAMA Theater Company, where Rhimes holds the position of Patron of the Arts for the LA-based theater company.
Rhimes began her career writing feature films including "Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement “and” Crossroads.” She also co-wrote "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," produced by HBO and nominated for numerous awards, and for which Halle Berry won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Best Actress in a Miniseries for her portrayal of Dandridge. In 2004, Rhimes created her production company Shondaland.

Rhimes holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College in English literature with creative writing. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the USC School of Cinema-Television. In 2014, Rhimes received an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from USC, as well as from Dartmouth where she was proud to deliver the commencement address.

The child of educators, Rhimes blames her parents for her rampant addiction to books. The youngest of six, she was born and raised outside of Chicago, Illinois, and now resides in Los Angeles with her three daughters.

BETSY BEERS, executive producer
Betsy Beers is executive producer of ABC’s hit series “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away with Murder” and “The Catch,” along with the new drama series “Still Star-Crossed,” which will be premiering this May. 

In 2008, Beers partnered with Shonda Rhimes and her company Shondaland to develop and produce additional feature film and television projects. In 2014, Beers and Rhimes were honored by the Directors Guild of America with the coveted and rarely awarded Diversity Award for their commitment to diversity hiring, as well as their long record of providing jobs and opportunities to women and minorities.

Marking its 13th season on the air, “Grey’s Anatomy”has experienced a ratings resurgence and was the No. 1 drama on ABC in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. The series has received numerous awards, including a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award. For her work on the show, Beers and her fellow producers were awarded the 2007 Producer of the Year Award, the 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series Drama, and received 2006 and 2007 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series. She has been nominated three times by the Producers Guild of America for their Television Producer of the Year Award.

“Scandal” will return for a seventh season this year. In 2013, the series took home prestigious awards, including the AFI TV Program of The Year Award and the coveted Peabody Award. In addition, Kerry Washington was nominated for an Emmy multiple times for her role as Olivia Pope, and both Dan Bucatinsky and Joe Morton took home Emmy Awards for their guest-starring roles on the show.
“How to Get Away with Murder” will return in the fall for a fourth season on ABC.  The series garnered an historic Emmy win for Viola Davis for Lead Actress in a Drama Series in its first season for her role on the show.  The show has also been recognized by GLAAD, as well as the NAACP; and in 2015, it received the prestigious AFI TV Program of The Year Award.

“The Catch” premiered its second season in the spring. The series stars Emmy-nominated Mireille Enos and Peter Krause and was one of the buzziest new shows of midseason.

“Still Star-Crossed” is a new series that will debut on ABC on May 29 at 10:00 p.m. EDT. Based on the book by Melinda Taub, the series marks the first period drama from Shondaland and picks up where the famous story of Romeo and Juliet ends, charting the treachery, palace intrigue and ill-fated romances of the Montagues and Capulets in the wake of the young lovers’ tragic fate.

Prior to her exclusive foray into television, Beers was president of the Mark Gordon Company.  While there, she oversaw the development and production of its feature film and television projects, including the development of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Previously, Beers was president of director Mike Newell’s Dogstar Films, where she produced the films “200 Cigarettes,” starring a stellar young cast including Ben Affleck, Dave Chappelle and Kate Hudson; and “Best Laid Plans,” starring Reese Witherspoon. She also developed such films as the cult hit “High Fidelity,” directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack; as well as “Pushing Tin” starring Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett and Angelina Jolie. She also served as executive producer on the movies “Safe Passage,” starring Susan Sarandon; and “Witchhunt,” starring Dennis Hopper, with producer Gale Ann Hurd.

Beers holds a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College, where she studied theater and English literature. She acted and performed comedy for several years in New York City before moving to Los Angeles, where she came to her senses and made the transition to producing. She is married to a criminal defense attorney and lives in Los Angeles.

MARK WILDING, executive producer
Mark Wilding is a television writer and producer who lives in Los Angeles. Wilding has written for and served as producer in both the sitcom and drama worlds for over twenty years. His sitcom credits include “Ellen,” “Dave’s World,” “Jesse,” “Caroline In The City,” “The Naked Truth,” and “Working.”  In 2005, “The Cell,” a pilot he co-wrote, was hailed by the New York Times as the “funniest unproduced script in Hollywood”.  Wilding’s drama credits include “Jake 2.0,” “Charmed,” “Grey’s Anatomy”and “Scandal.” He most recently served as executive-producer on “Still Star-Crossed.”

MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN, executive producer
Michael R. Goldstein is an independent television and film producer whose credits include “Scoundrels” for ABC, “Secrets in the Walls” for Lifetime, “44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout” for FX, “Four Minutes” for ESPN, and the docu-series “Caesars 24/7” for A&E Television; as well as a number of movies for The Hallmark Channel including “A Novel Romance,” “A Family Thanksgiving,” “October Kiss” and “It’s Christmas Carol.” He is an executive producer on the upcoming ABC drama series “Still Star-Crossed”’ which premieres in May 2017, and has a number of other projects in television both in the U.S. and around the world with networks including, ABC, Bravo, Disney Channel and Hallmark Channel.

MICHAEL OFFER, executive producer & director for “Pilot” episode
Michael Offer directed the pilot of ABC’s period drama “Still Star-Crossed” produced by ABC Studios and Shondaland, and the pilot for ABC’s “Of Kings and Prophets.” He is currently directing the pilot for ABC’s “Untitled Marc Cherry Project.” Offer also directs a lot in cable, having directed on Showtime’s “Homeland” and Netflix’s “Longmire.” He has also worked extensively in the U.K., where he has directed the pilots for a number of successful shows, including “The State Within,” which earned him two Golden Globe nominations. He is an Australian who lives in Paris.

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