Do you like Grey’s Anatomy? Bridgerton? How to Get Away with Murder?
Then, Scandal is the show for you. (Another epic TV series by Shonda Rhimes).
I have always been a lover of politics and drama shows, but after finishing the show Designated Survivor, I couldn’t find another political drama that matched it. I tried Madam Secretary, Quantico, and even the British political series Bodyguard. Still, none of them compared. Then, in late 2022 I finally started the political thriller Scandal and instantly loved it.
Scandal is for the girls, with the palpable tension between the love interests and the empowering protagonist Olivia Pope. Olivia is a powerful, intelligent, and charismatic woman of color who runs Washington. She leads her own crisis management PR firm, the protector and revealer of the world’s most important secrets. Based in Washington D.C., Olivia works with politicians, CEOs, celebrities, and the White House to fix their problems. She struggles to balance her relationships with these high-profile individuals with her innate goal to do good. As you can imagine, this gets extremely messy and extremely fascinating.
The show is based on the life of Judy Smith, a PR expert who worked in the administration of US President George H. W. Bush and subsequently ran her own crisis management firm, Smith & Company. Along with famed screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, Smith developed Scandal, even reading through every script with lead actress Kerry Washington and ensuring all procedural elements were accurate to her experience in the White House.
The political decision-making and procedure were what I found the most interesting. Beyond the entertaining relationship plots and the thrilling spy missions, Scandal is extremely informative about the complex workings of US politics, specifically the strategic balances of connections, priorities, and US interests. The mind-boggling web of deception, evil, and good that makes up politics is unraveled and explored.
Scandal cultivates an intimate understanding of the political process and public relations while being as interesting to watch as Grey’s Anatomy or Bridgerton. It is the perfect balance of entertainment and intellect.
In fact, the show’s excellence has even been globally recognized, as it won the Peabody Award for Excellence in Television in 2014, along with Outstanding Drama Series at the NAACP Image Awards two years in a row. For her performance as Olivia, Kerry Washington has been nominated for Best Actress in a Series at the Emmys, Golden Globes, and SAG awards. Being a show that was released in 2012, written by a black woman and featuring a black female lead, Scandal was ahead of its time. It set the trajectory for a more inclusive film industry and set the standard for a good political television show.
It’s about time to start watching it.