Scandal (TV series)
| Scandal | |
|---|---|
 Intertitle text | |
| Genre | Political thriller |
| Created by | Shonda Rhimes |
| Starring | Kerry Washington Henry Ian Cusick Columbus Short Darby Stanchfield Katie Lowes Guillermo Díaz Jeff Perry Tony Goldwyn |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Shonda Rhimes Betsy Beers |
| Running time | Approx. 43 minutes |
| Production company | ABC Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | April 5, 2012 – present |
Scandal is an American political thriller television series starring Kerry Washington. It debuted on ABC on April 5, 2012, moving into the usual timeslot for Private Practice, which will finish its season in the Tuesday evening timeslot starting on April 17 usually occupied by Body of Proof, which has completed its second season.[1] The series was created by Shonda Rhimes. Seven episodes will be produced for the first season.[2] Kerry Washington's character Olivia Pope is partially based on former George Bush administration press aide Judy Smith.[3]
Plot
Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) dedicates her life to protecting the public images of the nation's elite and making sure their secrets never get out. Olivia is a former White House Communications Director for the President, but has left to start her own crisis management firm, Olivia Pope and Associates. She is hoping to begin a new chapter of her life, but is finding out that she cannot leave parts of her past behind. She is a strong character and believes wholeheartedly what she feels; she can destroy a person with her intellect, but has a definite soft side.
Olivia Pope and Associates staff includes Stephen Finch (Henry Ian Cusick), a womanizer considering settling down, Harrison Wright (Columbus Short), a smooth and efficient litigator, Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield), the firm's investigator, Huck (Guillermo Diaz), a hacker with a CIA past, and Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes), a fresh faced lawyer quickly learning the world of crisis management.
Cast
Main cast
- Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope: The head of the crisis-managing firm that is the center of Scandal, Olivia is a strong, confident woman who "wears the white hat".
- Henry Ian Cusick as Stephen Finch
- Columbus Short as Harrison Wright
- Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan
- Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins
- Guillermo Diaz as Huck Finn
- Jeff Perry as Cyrus Beene, White House Chief of Staff[4]
- Tony Goldwyn as Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, President of the United States
Recurring cast
- Kate Burton as Sally Langston, Vice President of the United States[5]
- Liza Weil as Amanda Tanner[6]
- JoBeth Williams as Sandra Harding
- Joshua Malina as David Rosen, US Attorney
- Brendan Hines as Gideon Wallace
- Bellamy Young as First Lady Mellie Grant
Critical reception
The show has been met with "generally favorable" reviews, with a collective score of 64/100 based on 28 critics from Metacritic.[7] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix stated: "To be perfectly honest, after watching four episodes of 'Scandal', I'm not 100 percent clear on what it is that Olivia and her team (most of them fellow lawyers who don't practice law) do, nor on exactly what the show is. I'm also not entirely sure that it matters. 'Scandal' is a good example of what a show is about being far less important than how it's about it."[8] Newsday's Verne Gay called the series "fun", but added, "All the tropes, cliches and (especially) soap conventions [series creator Shonda Rhimes] has poured so generously into 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Private Practice' over the years have been poured right back into this Beltway potboiler. The hairpin plot twists. The whiplash character reveals. The bumptious moralizing. The Strong Woman/Wronged Woman character type, and its direct corollary, Weak, Middle-Aged, Married Man Who Secretly Likes Hookers. It's all here! And it's all utterly foolish!"[9] Brian Lowry of Variety, however, was one to not like the series, stating, "As usual, Rhimes' workplace characters talk very fast, but the manic visual style can't obscure a series flawed on most every level."[10]
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | DVD release dates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
| 1 | 7 | April 5, 2012 | May 17, 2012[11] | June 12, 2012[12] | — | — | |
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (million) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Sweet Baby" | Paul McGuigan | Shonda Rhimes | April 5, 2012 | 7.33[13] | |
|
Young lawyer Quinn Perkins is in awe when she becomes part of Olivia Pope and Associates, a crisis management designed to protect and defend the public images of the nation's elite by keeping their secrets safe, and works alongside her idol Olivia Pope – a woman who is willing to help her clients whatever the cost may be. But when decorated war veteran Sullivan St. James is accused of murder and White House intern Amanda Tanner accuses President Fitzgerald Grant of having an affair, Quinn discovers that nothing is as it seems. | ||||||
| 2 | "Dirty Little Secrets" | Roxann Dawson | Heather Mitchell | April 12, 2012 | 7.28[14] | |
|
Pope & Associates' newest client, DC Madam Sharon Marquette, is determined to make sure her clientele list, which contains the names of the Capitol's most eminent individuals, does not fall into the wrong hands. But it soon becomes clear that Olivia is protecting a lot more than just the madam. Quinn is assigned to watch Amanda Tanner and discovers that someone is determined to see front-page headlines. | ||||||
| 3 | "Hell Hath No Fury" | Allison Liddi-Brown | Matt Byrne | April 19, 2012 | 7.21[15] | |
|
The team takes the son of a millionaire as their next client and work to clear his name when he is accused of rape, but it soon becomes difficult to change public perception and the case becomes one that Pope & Associates might not be able to win. Olivia insists on taking Amanda Tanner as a client but soon discovers Amanda is requesting a meeting with President Grant and is unable to put her own past. | ||||||
| 4 | "Enemy of the State" | Michael Katleman | Richard E. Robbins | April 26, 2012 | 6.86[16] | |
|
As the team of Pope & Associates helps a dictator locate his missing wife and children, Olivia learns the Amanda Tanner case has taken a shocking turn - forcing her and Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene to take opposing viewpoints. Cyrus digs deeper into the personal lives of Olivia's team and Quinn goes out with a reporter seeking information about Amanda Tanner's heated accusation. | ||||||
| 5 | "Crash and Burn" | Steve Robin | Mark Wilding | May 3, 2012 | 6.69[17] | |
|
The team of Pope & Associates must defend a pilot from media and airline accusations when a commercial plane crashes and takes the lives of everyone onboard. Huck is forced to call on his dark past when Amanda Tanner disappears and President Grant works with Vice President Sally Langston to pass key legislation. | ||||||
| 6 | "The Trail" | Tom Verica | Jenna Bans | May 10, 2012 | TBA | |
|
As Gideon investigates Amanda Tanner's past, a series of events from the past reveal the contentious primary race between Fitzgerald Grant and Sally Langston, Olivia's first meeting with Grant on the campaign trail and the formation of the Pope & Associates team. | ||||||
| 7 | "Grant: For the People"[18] | Roxann Dawson | Shonda Rhimes | May 17, 2012 | TBA | |
|
The team rushes to help Quinn when she finds herself in a compromising position and a reluctant Cyrus must turn to Olivia when Billy Chambers makes an announcement that shakes the Grant Administration to its core. | ||||||
Development and production
In early 2011 it was announced that Shonda Rhimes was developing a new pilot. In February, Kerry Washington was cast in a leading role.[19] Henry Ian Cusick also landed a role with Washington.[20] On February 28, 2011 it was announced that Tony Goldwyn landed the role as the president.[21] In May 2011, ABC picked up the pilot as a mid-season replacement,[22] During the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour, it was announced that the show would premiere April 5, 2012 after Grey's Anatomy, relocating Private Practice to Tuesday nights.[23]
References
- ^ Seidman, Robert (May 17, 2011). "ABC 2011-12 Primetime Schedule Announced". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (July 8, 2011). "Networks Put in Short Orders for Next Season". TV Guide. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
- ^ Chozick, Amy (May 31, 2011). "Shonda Rhimes on Owning Her Characters And Her New Show". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ "About the Show". Scandal. ABC. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
- ^ Porter, Rick (September 28, 2011). "'Scandal': 'Grey's Anatomy' veteran Kate Burton joins Shonda Rhimes' new show". Zap2it. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ "Everyone has secrets, but only Olivia Pope can make them go away, on the series premiere of ABC's 'Scandal'" (Press release). ABC MediaNet, via The Futon Critic. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ^ "Scandal - Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (April 4, 2012). "Review: Kerry Washington is strong in ABC's 'Scandal'". HitFix. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
- ^ Gay, Verne (April 3, 2012). "Shonda Rhimes' 'Scandal' premieres on ABC". Newsday. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
- ^ Lowry, Brian (March 30, 2012). "Critic Reviews for Scandal Season 1". Variety. Metacritic. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
- ^ "Shows A-Z - scandal on abc". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ Lambert, David (March 23, 2012). "Scandal - The Upcoming ABC Network Series is Already Scheduled for DVD". TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (April 6, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Bang Theory', 'American Idol', 'Person of Interest', 'Missing', 'Up All Night' Adjusted Up; 'Scandal' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (April 13, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'The Office' and 'American Idol' Adjusted Up; 'Scandal' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (April 20, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Awake' & 'Missing' Adjusted Up; 'Scandal' & 'Parks and Recreation' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (April 27, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Idol', 'Big Bang Theory', 'Grey's', 'The Vampire Diaries', 'Mentalist' & 'Missing' Adjusted Up; 'Scandal' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (May 4, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory', 'American Idol', 'Vampire Diaries', 'Grey's Anatomy' Adjusted Up; 'Secret Circle', 'The Mentalist', 'Scandal' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- ^ "(#107) "Grant: For the People"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ Porter, Rick (February 22, 2011). "Kiefer Sutherland locked in for 'Touch'; 'Firefly's' Alan Tudyk headed to 'Suburgatory'". Zap2it. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ Eng, Joyce (February 9, 2011). "Kerry Washington, Henry Ian Cusick to Star in Shonda Rhimes Pilot". TV Guide. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ Bentley, Jean (February 28, 2011). "HBO Passes on Diane Keaton, Ellen Page Pilot, FX Orders 'Powers' Pilot and More". AOL TV. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ Porter, Rick (May 10, 2011). "ABC fall TV 2011 schedule predictions: Comedy block tinkering, fresh dramas". Zap2it. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (January 10, 2012). "ABC Boss Talks Cougar Town Return, New Night For Private Practice, 'Relocation' For Revenge". TV Line. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
