Ellen Pompeo, Shonda Rhimes, Kate Walsh

Shonda Rhimes truly is a busy lady. Not only does she executive-produce two shows on the air Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice but her new political drama Scandal premieres next month, and she's got a period piece in contention at ABC. And while there's speculation her load could lighten should Grey's or Private fail to be renewed, Rhimes assures us that's not likely. TVGuide.com caught up with the showrunner for an uncensored look at everything on her plate, including actors' contracts, Private's move to Tuesdays and her upcoming projects.

You have two shows on the air with a third premiering next month and a fourth in development. What does a typical day look like? Shonda Rhimes: It's busy, but oddly enough, with Grey's in Season 8, Private in Season 5, and Scandal wrapped for the season, I feel like I've learned my job well enough that I hope that's it not too taxing. It's mentally taxing, but somehow I feel like I've finally figured it out and hit a stride where everything clicks the way it should.

At the beginning of this production year on Grey's, there was some uncertainty about which actors would be continuing. How did it feel heading into what could have been the final season of Grey's Anatomy, or did you not even think of it that way? Rhimes: No, the network has not allowed me to think of it as being the final season of Grey's Anatomy. That wasn't even a concern for me. I know that Grey's is going to live on past this season. So whether or not I feel like it could, it's going to.

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Will the next season be similar to what we've seen the last eight years or are you planning any major changes? Rhimes: Honestly, I really don't know. I feel committed to staying with the show as long as it feels interesting. I have some interesting ideas.

Was it difficult writing episodes not knowing who might or might not be returning? Or did you just charge ahead like you would during a normal season? Rhimes: No, we definitely didn't approach it the way I approach a normal season. But I like the challenge and that's been one of the things that's always been fun about getting to do this show; trying to figure out what the next challenge is going to be every season. This season the challenge was that we didn't know how the season was going to end. So in a way, it forced us to be creative in a different way. You want to keep it fresh after eight years and we were able to do that because we had this new problem to contend with.

The biggest question, obviously, is Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey. Do you have a back-up plan should they decide not to return? Rhimes: I can't even begin to address that concept.

There are a lot of major milestones coming up, things fans have been waiting a long time for. First, the McMansion. How long have you been waiting for that moment when it would finally be finished? Rhimes: I don't know if it's as big a moment for me as it's turned out to be for the fans. There were many times where we were like, "Oh, we should finish the house now." And it felt like we don't want to spend time dealing with the story of the house. There was a lot of that in some veins and then there were some moments in which it just didn't feel quite right. It does feel right to deal with it and talk about it and have it be done at the end of Season 8 when Meredith is graduating from being a resident.

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Anatomy of Shonda Rhimes, the Busiest Woman in Hollywood