First network drama in decades with a Black woman lead; social TV innovator.
Why it matters
Episode guide
124 episodes across 7 seasons — titles, air dates, and synopses.
At a glance
Crisis manager Olivia Pope and her gladiators clean up D.C. disasters she half-created — soapy twists, white hats, and live-tweet national sport. Shonda Rhimes put a Black woman lead at the center of network drama in a way primetime had not sustained for decades. Kerry Washington made power dressing and moral compromise into Thursday religion. Political pulp meets romance operatics. It is Shondaland at full velocity.
Network & studio
- ABC — broadcast network
Why watch now
For pure network soap craft with representation stakes and twist density that laughs at subtlety. Ideal binge if you want D.C. as melodrama playground.
Cultural impact
Scandal made #TGIT a social-TV phenomenon and broke ground with Washington as a network drama lead. It rewired how broadcasts chased Twitter-era watercoolers. Olivia Pope became a cultural shorthand for fixer chic.
Creators
Shonda Rhimes
Key cast
- Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope
- Tony Goldwyn as President Fitzgerald Grant
- Columbus Short as Harrison Wright
- Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan
- Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins
- Jeff Perry as Cyrus Beene
Flash facts
- Created by Shonda Rhimes; ABC premiere April 5, 2012.
- Seven seasons (2012–2018).
- Kerry Washington stars as Olivia Pope.
- Known for live-tweeting culture and twisty political/personal plots.
- Landmark for a Black woman leading a major network drama in the 2010s.
FAQ
Who created Scandal?
Shonda Rhimes.
Who plays Olivia Pope?
Kerry Washington.
What does Olivia do?
She runs a D.C. crisis-management firm that fixes political and personal disasters.
How long did it run?
Seven seasons from 2012 to 2018.
Official & further reading
- Hulu — Scandal
- Netflix — Scandal
- ABC home
- Wikipedia
- IMDb search
- TMDB search
- YouTube — trailers & clips
External sites for further reading — TV Flash is not affiliated with these networks or studios.
Back to the decade
Also on the dial
Related & side shows
black-ish
Upper-middle-class Black family sitcom that smuggled essays into multi-cam comfort.
How to Get Away with Murder
Annalise Keating’s class of killers — twist factory with Viola Davis gravity.
Leave It to Beaver
Suburban innocence as national brand — and later, the punchline for every 'not like that anymore' think piece.
Bewitched
Suburban witchcraft and the nose-twitch that launched a thousand GIFs (retroactively).
The Addams Family
Goth glamour before it was a brand — weirdness as family values.
The Fugitive
One-armed man mythology and a finale that stopped America.