Scandal
From the creator and executive producers of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice (Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers) comes a drama revolving around the life and work of a professional crisis manager and her dysfunctional staff. Olivia Pope is inspired by Judy Smith; who was the Founder, President and CEO of The Crisis Management Firm.
Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) is a former Presidential media relations consultant who has dedicated her life to protecting and guarding the public images of America's high society elite. Pope opened her own consulting firm after leaving the White House, hoping to start a new chapter in her life not only professionally, but personally. However, no matter how hard she tries, cutting ties with her past seems to be easier said than done. As for her new staff, who specialize in fixing the lives of other people, the issues in their own lives turn out to be more challenging to fix than those of their clients.
Characters
Olivia Pope is the best fixer in D.C. A title earned first by getting an underdog candidate elected President, she's kept it up by being the invisible hand behind problems that seem to disappear as quickly as they came. She doesn't just fix problems, she fixes people. They come to her at their lowest moment, on the worst day of their lives. Olivia takes on the biggest scandals of the era, all the while trying to hide the fact that she's one of the key players at the center of it all. This is particularly embodied by her forbidden love affair with Fitz otherwise known as Fitzgerald Grant, the President of the United States.
Fitzgerald Thomas "Fitz" Grant III is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States. Fitz was married to his eventual successor Mellie Grant, with whom he has a deceased son, Jerry Grant Jr., a daughter, Karen Grant and a son, Teddy Grant. Born to lead, President Fitzgerald Grant checked every prestigious box on the way to the White House. He had the Ivy League degree, the decorated military service, the perfect wife and children, and years of experience as the Governor of California. What he didn't have was passionate, devastating love. He found it in Olivia Pope. A divorce, a re-election, and countless scandals later, he finally has what he wanted all along. But can he hold onto both his office and the woman he loves?
Abigail “Abby” Whelan worked at Olivia Pope's consulting firm, Olivia Pope & Associates until she joined The White House as the Press Secretary. She later became the Chief of Staff of the White House after Cyrus was fired. When Fitz's presidency ended, she rejoined Olivia Pope & Associates, which is now renamed to (Quinn Perkins & Associates (QPA) and run by Quinn Perkins. Abby Whelan is President Fitzgerald Grant's Chief of Staff at The White House. Outspoken, indomitable and always willing to spar, Abby takes her work seriously and never suffers fools. As the mouthpiece of the most powerful house in the nation, she often has to deal with rowdy press and a stubborn president. But as an original Olivia Pope & Associates gladiator, she definitely knows how to handle the heat. As Olivia's oldest friend, she tries to remain the voice of reason when scandals run through D.C. — which is pretty darn often.
Quinn Perkins, born Lindsay Dwyer is currently the head of Olivia Pope & Associates, which is renamed to QPA (Quinn Perkins & Associates), after Olivia gave the firm to her. Before becoming the head, she worked as an associate at the firm. She also worked at B613 as a junior operative for a short time. She is married to Charlie, with whom she has a daughter named Robin.
Diego Muñoz, better known as Huck, works as a member of the crisis management team at Olivia Pope & Associates. Huck is a former black ops agent/assassin for B613, the top secret sub-division of the CIA. He was married to Kim and together, they have a son named Javi. Huck is a highly trained and highly damaged covert operative, the low-key and quietly brilliant Huck now swears his allegiance to Olivia Pope and will happily go very, very far to protect her or his colleagues at Olivia Pope and Associates. He's a seasoned spy and a masterful hacker with an admitted tendency for extreme measures—very, very extreme measures, the most extreme measures. But he's trying really hard to be good.
Captain Admiral Jacob Hamilton Ballard, formerly Pete Harris, was the White House Chief of Staff, and Command of B613. He is also the former director of the NSA. He is currently being held in a Supermax Prison in Illinois after the public discovery of B613. Jake Ballard lives to serve his country, first as a U.S. Navy captain and now as the head of the NSA, though not always at the pleasure of the President. Jake is the former stand-in-the-sun partner of Olivia Pope. Not to mention, he was Command of the black-ops team B613. You can take the man out of the darkness, but you can't take the darkness out of the man. Jake sees the laws of the country as mere guidelines—which means no one can ever predict what he'll do next to save the people he loves.
Cyrus Rutherford Beene is an American politician who served as the 51st Vice President of The United States of America under President Mellie Grant. Before that, he was the Chief of Staff of former President Fitz Grant until he was replaced with Abby Whelan. He was married to James Novak until his death and to Michael Ambruso, who has the custody of Ella Beene. Cyrus Beene was a political animal from day one. He lives, breathes, and sleeps D.C. politics. A true believer in the promise of America and the political process, nothing is off limits to this patriot in protecting the White House.