What’s All the Fuss About Scandal?

Have you heard about Scandal? It’s series three premiere will be on Thursday, 10th October, on More4, and if you’re on any sort of social media, chances are you’ve seen someone talking about how amazing the show is and how they can’t wait for the new series to start.

But why is everyone talking about this show? At first glance, it’s your standard Washington, D.C.,-set political drama, but once you start watching, you’ll see.

Just in time for the More4 premiere, we’re going to explore what all this fuss about Scandal is about.

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The show was first aired on American TV channel ABC on the 05th of April, 2012. It stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, a Washington, D.C., “fixer”. She essentially fixes political problems before they become public news, keeping politicians’ and other power people’s dirty laundry out of the papers. Of course, she has her own secret: an on-off affair with the President of the United States. So while she tries to fix other people’s problems, she tries to juggle her own.

The first series was very melodramatic, much like Rhimes’ other show, Grey’s Anatomy. Critics largely found the first series enjoyable but pretty vacuous. The lukewarm reviews led to low viewing figures, but ABC let the show continue nonetheless. The format was simple: a client would ask Olivia to fix a problem, which she would, and she would try to keep her own secrets under wraps.

The second series completely turned critical opinion around, however. As the series found its feet, the shifted from a crisis- of-the-week format to a political thriller/romantic drama/murder mystery. It kept certain soap opera elements, getting the plot to twist and turn on a hairpin, but made the plot sharper and faster. The characters became more fleshed out and relatable, and all of this saw its ratings rise in an era when most other shows’ ratings have been falling.

Critics have compared the second series to The Practice, Dexter, House of Cards and The West Wing, amongst many other shows, reflecting the genre-blending nature of the show, the high quality writing and the interesting characterisations.

So it has the writing, the acting and the critical reception to justify the hype, but what is that elusive x-factor that takes Scandal to such a higher level? In short, it engages its audience in a truly 21st century way.

Despite its popularity, the show  isn’t’ the most watched in America or in the UK. Instead, it has won praise and the internet’s attention because of its social media engagement. It encourages live tweeting from the show’s stars, crew and fans alike, making the show a must-see live event. It also encourages engagement pre- and post-show through Facebook. The show has been tweeted about more than 4 million times in 2013, and its Facebook page has been liked more than 850,000 times. It encourages the production and sharing of fan pages, fan art and groups, and it actively finds and thanks its super fans. This, in turn, encourages more engagement and gets outsiders wondering what the “Gladiators” (the show’s loyal fans) are so excited about. Then they start watching, engaging in the social media, and the cycle continues.

That’s why Scandal is so popular, but what do you think about it? Are you going to live tweet it on the 10th, record it on your DVR or skip it?