50 Fun Facts About Scandal

Who plays Olivia Pope in Scandal?

She earned two Emmy nominations for the role and was named TV Guide's TV Star of the Year in 2013.

Who created Scandal?

It made her the first African American woman to create three dramas that each passed 100 episodes.

How many seasons did Scandal run?

It premiered on April 5, 2012, and ended on April 19, 2018, after 124 episodes.

Olivia Pope is partly based on Judy Smith, who served as deputy press secretary to which president?

Smith later founded her own crisis firm and was a co-executive producer on the show.

Which of these was a real client of Judy Smith's crisis firm?

Her firm has also advised Wesley Snipes, Michael Vick and Sony Pictures after its 2014 hack.

What is the name of the crisis-management firm at the centre of the show?

After Olivia moves to the White House in the final season, it is rebranded Quinn Perkins & Associates.

What nickname does Harrison give the members of the firm when he hires Quinn?

Fans of the show adopted the name for themselves.

What job did Olivia hold in the White House before founding her firm?

She met Fitz working on his presidential campaign, where their affair began.

Who plays President Fitzgerald 'Fitz' Grant III?

Fitz is a Republican former governor of California from Santa Barbara.

Before the presidency, Fitz was governor of which state?

His later running mate Andrew Nichols also came from the California governor's mansion.

Which actor plays White House chief of staff Cyrus Beene?

Cyrus ends the series as vice president after decades of clawing toward the top job.

Who plays the First Lady, Mellie?

Mellie was only a recurring character in season one before joining the main cast.

How does the First Lady try to stop Fitz from divorcing her after the assassination attempt?

When that fails she goes on television at the end of season two and reveals his affair with Olivia.

Who is revealed at the end of season two to be Olivia's father?

Joe Morton plays Eli 'Rowan' Pope, the fearsome head of the black-ops program B613.

What is the title held by the head of B613?

Rowan holds it for most of the show; Fitz, and finally Olivia herself, take it over later.

What is Huck's real name?

Guillermo Díaz plays the former B613 assassin who lost his family to the job.

Which actress plays Quinn Perkins?

Quinn was born Lindsay Dwyer, and by the final season the firm carries her name.

Which member of the firm goes on to become White House Press Secretary and then Chief of Staff?

Darby Stanchfield plays her; Cyrus and Fitz demean her at first by calling her 'Red'.

Which character, played by Columbus Short, is murdered by B613 at the end of season three?

He is killed after learning who was behind the death of the president's son, Jerry.

Which actor plays David Rosen, the US Attorney turned Attorney General?

He was only recurring in season one before joining the main cast.

Who plays Jake Ballard, the B613 operative ordered to get close to Olivia?

Jake was born Pete Harris; Rowan later marries him off to Vanessa Moss and has him kill her father.

Which vice president briefly takes over as president after Fitz is shot?

Kate Burton plays her; Cyrus is horrified.

What was the codename of the mission in which Fitz shot down a civilian airliner over Iceland?

Olivia's mother was believed to be among the more than 300 casualties.

Which Friends alum guest-starred as Congresswoman Josie Marcus, a Democratic presidential hopeful?

Olivia briefly ran her campaign after learning the truth about her mother's plane.

Who kills Cyrus's husband James to protect a cover-up?

Dan Bucatinsky won an Emmy for playing James Novak.

How was Fitz and Mellie's son Jerry murdered?

Rowan forced an agent to name Jake as the killer, kicking off season four.

Which Arrested Development star plays RNC chairwoman Elizabeth North?

Ellen DeGeneres broke the casting news on Twitter as a 'top secret arc' for her wife.

Which former vice president does Olivia brutally murder in season five?

He was recovering from paralysis and threatening to expose everyone's secrets.

Who becomes the first female President of the United States at the end of season six?

The final season follows her first year in office with Olivia as chief of staff.

Which Shondaland series crossed over with Scandal in March 2018?

Viola Davis and Aja Naomi King guest-starred; Olivia helped Annalise get a case to the Supreme Court.

What did ABC name its Thursday-night block of three Shondaland dramas in 2014?

'Thank God It's Thursday' echoed the network's old TGIF family sitcom branding.

Scandal premiered in 2012 in the timeslot right after which other series?

Private Practice was moved to Tuesdays to make room.

Why was season three trimmed from 22 episodes to 18?

The finale aired four weeks early, on April 17, 2014.

How many tweets mentioned the season three premiere, topping Nielsen's Twitter TV ratings?

The cast made a habit of live-tweeting with fans as episodes aired.

Which prestigious broadcasting honour did Scandal receive for excellence in television?

The AFI also named it a Television Program of the Year.

Olivia was the first Black woman to lead a network drama since Teresa Graves in which 1974 series?

Diahann Carroll's Julia, a comedy, ran from 1968 to 1971.

According to Time, which household item Olivia uses on the show sold out at Crate & Barrel?

Time ranked her second on its 2013 list of the most influential fictional characters.

In which New York City borough was the show's star born?

She has credited a teacher there, Larry Maldonado, as a role model for the neighbourhood.

The show's lead actress received an Emmy nomination for playing which real person in HBO's Confirmation?

Judy Smith, Olivia's real-life model, had helped steer the Bush White House through the same Clarence Thomas hearings.

Which Britney Spears film did the show's creator write in 2001?

She followed it with The Princess Diaries 2 before Grey's Anatomy changed everything.

Which Netflix period drama does the show's creator executive-produce?

She also produced its prequel, Queen Charlotte, and the con-artist drama Inventing Anna.

How many episodes of Scandal aired across its seven seasons?

The show ran from April 5, 2012, to April 19, 2018, always on Thursday nights on ABC.

Which organisation named Scandal a Television Program of the Year?

The show also won Outstanding Drama Series at the Image Awards, where Kerry Washington took Outstanding Actress.

Season six revolves around the murder of which president-elect?

His wife Luna is eventually revealed to have been behind the killing because she wanted power.

Why did Henry Ian Cusick's Stephen Finch not return for season two?

Bellamy Young and Joshua Malina were promoted to series regulars the same season.

Which cable channel struck an early syndication deal for Scandal in July 2013?

It ran marathons of the first two seasons that August and aired new episodes on an eight-day delay.

Which actress was cast in 2013 to play Olivia's mother, Maya Lewis?

Her role was first meant for a single guest episode but was upgraded to recurring within days.

Where did Stephen Finch end up after leaving Washington, working for the Russian oligarchy?

He left to be with his fiancée Georgia; Cusick returned only for a guest spot in season four.

How many total viewers watched the fourth-season premiere, a series high?

The episode also set a series record in adults 18-49 with a 3.8 rating.

What is the real name of Charlie, the B613 agent played by George Newbern?

Newbern was promoted to the main cast for season seven after more than fifty episodes as a recurring player.