The third season of ABC's flagship drama Scandal delivered some jawdropping moments. The 18 episodes that screened delivered more content than numerous other series do in multiple seasons, let alone a single, shortened season as Scandal's was last season. A new timeslot, some special guest stars, and a bunch of sizeable cliffhangers have laid the foundations for an explosive season 4 premiere, airing Thursday, 9|8c.
The creative team, led by Shonda Rhimes, have grown Scandal from a series which was bordering on cancellation after season 1, to a hashtag powerhouse with an enormous online following. ABC have been relentless during the summer hiatus with daily posts on the web, and the third season made its way onto online streaming service Netflix in late May, just one month after the season finale. The series received three Emmy nominations, with Kerry Washington and Kate Burton nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress and Guest Actress in a Drama Series respectively. Joe Morton went one better, winning Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, an award he thoroughly deserved.
The season 3 finale, titled "The Price of Free and Fair Election", saw a bomb go off at the funeral where Sally Langsdon was about to give the eulogy. Cyrus knew of the threat but let events unfold anyway in the hope that President Grant's competition would be neutralized. Maya Pope wreaked havoc, almost killing Rowan Pope, and following the death of Fitz and Mellie's son Jerry from meningitis, Rowan pinned the murder on Maya even though he instigated it, giving him the green light to return to the command of B613 who captured Maya soon after.
Rowan also sent Harrison to an early grave. Huck and Quinn rekindled their relationship, and as payback, Quinn's ex, Charlie, gave her the location of Huck's long lost family. Mellie finally let it slip that Fitz's father had raped her years earlier, something Olivia wasted no time in passing on to Fitz. After being on the verge of losing the election, Jerry's death swayed the vote in Fitz's favor, giving him a second term as president. Olivia cashed a raincheck on her father's offer for a plane trip to nowhere, and took Jake with her on his request, but not before he could send over his intel to David Rosen. And to wrap it all up, the most intriguing part of the finale for me was seeing Huck knock on the door to his family's home.
As is almost tradition with anything Shonda Rhimes is tied to, we know next to nothing about the proceedings of next season. We do have some press releases for the season 4 premiere, bizarrely titled "Randy, Red, Superfreak and Julia", episode 2, titled "The State of the Union", and episode 3, titled "Inside the Bubble".
We've seen some gorgeous cast photos with a theme completely different to that of last season's. In casting news, Sonya Walger may recur, Mary McCormack and Josh Randall will guest, along with Portia de Rossi, who will appear on Thursday night. Mary Mouser is down to play Fitz and Mellie's daughter Karen Grant due to the unavailability of Madeline Carroll. And finally, my pick of the numerous season 4 promos, and the most mysterious, is this one. Be sure to use our STV+ database to find any other spoilers you may have missed.
As I mentioned earlier, Scandal fans will have to wait one hour less on Thursday nights as the series shifts forward an hour to 9|8c on ABC. It retains its steady lead-in, Grey's Anatomy which shifts to 8|7c, and for the first time in its history, Scandal will lead in a series, in the form of How To Get Away With Murder, the drama starring Academy Award nominee Viola Davis at 10|9c. You can read SpoilerTV's review of the pilot episode here.
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to share your thoughts and theories on the fourth season of Scandal in the comments below. Check out Scandal's ratings and statistics on my website, www.seriesmonitor.com/scandal.
Thank Got It's Thursdays!
Jimmy.
