Why Scandal is still one of the best politically-themed TV shows

There are actually some great politically-themed series out there and one of those is the aptly named Scandal. Entertainment reporter David Meddows reveals why it’s worth the binge watch.

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World politics is in such a state at the moment that quite often fact is stranger than fiction. A billionaire property developer with absolutely no filter and an in-built magnet for controversy is in the White House.

Love him or loathe him, Donald Trump will go down as one of the most divisive presidents of all time — and that says a lot.

The UK parliament is in disarray as it tries to sort out the hot mess that is Brexit.

Donald Trump will be considered one of the most divisive presidents of all time, David Meddows writes. Picture: AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta

And Australia is certainly not immune — we’ve had about 100 prime ministers in the past decade (at the time of printing it was Scott Morrison but that can’t be guaranteed by the time you read this) and some in Canberra are making headlines for saying the most ridiculous things.

Of course that all creates a lot of uncertainty and frustration, but it also does something else — it makes imagining up good political TV harder when you have to compete with a 24-hour news cycle that once would have been a solid plot line itself.

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Some shows, even satirical ones, had to head back to the drawing board to change storylines.

Veep and House Of Cards (which had its own serious problems and reasons for a rewrite) are just two.

But it doesn’t mean they aren’t out there, or there aren’t great politically-themed series you should binge.

One of those is the aptly named Scandal, another creation from powerhouse producer Shonda Rhimes, the brains behind shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice.

Kerry Washington was outstanding as Olivia Pope in Scandal. Picture: Presto

Scandal follows the exploits of Washington DC “fixer”, or crisis consultant, Olivia Pope and her firm. Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actor Kerry Washington plays Pope who will seemingly go to any length to help those rich and powerful out of a bind.

And boy there are some binds that happen in Rhimes’ Washington.

Pope and her team, made up of some shady characters, deal mainly with clients who walk the halls of congress or the White House. And the most important person on her books is the most powerful man in the world: President Fitzgerald Grant III, whom she used to work for.

After some time away from the prez, Pope is drawn back into his orbit in the first episode when a woman claims to be having an affair with him.

The president’s chief of staff, whose morals can be counted on one hand, plays a big part in the show and demonstrates just where the power often lies in these settings.

The scandals only become grander from here and it’s so crazy that it isn’t drowned out by current events. Washington is at her best here.

Originally published as Why Scandal is still one of the best politically-themed TV shows