THE TV COLUMN

Television will be Scandal-less as series ends

ABC’s Scandal stars Little Rock native George Newbern and Kerry Washington. After seven seasons, the series comes to an end at 9 p.m. today.
ABC’s Scandal stars Little Rock native George Newbern and Kerry Washington. After seven seasons, the series comes to an end at 9 p.m. today.

To quote the famous lyrics from "My Way" -- "And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain ..."

For seven seasons on ABC, creator Shonda Rhimes has done it her way with the Washington-based prime-time soap opera Scandal. The final curtain rises at 9 p.m. today. This shortened season had only 18 episodes, bringing the total to 124 for the series that launched amid tepid reviews on April 5, 2012.

Scandal managed only No. 62 in the rankings its first season, but climbed as high as No. 8 in its fourth, with 12.7 million die-hard and dedicated viewers.

How? After the first season, Scandal became a social media phenomenon and today ranks among the most tweeted of shows, frequently setting the Twitterverse abuzz for its bold portrayal of female empowerment, particularly black female empowerment.

Scandal followed the adventures of powerful D.C. "fixer" Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington, who began working on the presidential campaign of then-Gov. Fitz Grant III (Tony Goldwyn), with whom she had a steamy affair.

Olivia then founded her own crisis-management firm, Olivia Pope & Associates, populated by what The Atlantic labels, "a team of lawyer types with murky back stories and questionable morals, who call themselves gladiators, because that's what you are when you work for Olivia Pope -- a warrior in a suit."

At a January gathering of TV critics in Los Angeles, the cast was asked about the sadness of the forthcoming final season and episode.

"I personally feel that we're going out solid, strong," Goldwyn is quoted in the Los Angeles Times. "The grieving process is part of the beauty of it in a way, because it's been such an extraordinary ride."

Series co-star and Little Rock native George Newbern (Father of the Bride) added, "I don't know. Are we all gonna die? Maybe we all die."

Let's hope he was teasing.

On Good Morning America last week, Washington promised, "We're going to end the way we've always done -- stuff to cry about, stuff to laugh about, stuff to feel great, stuff to feel angry. We're going to give you everything you want."

Finally, Washington said she was pleased to have played such a powerful black woman: "I think the fact that in my lifetime there had not been a black woman at the lead of a television show, and now everywhere you look, every single network has women of color helming shows. I think that will be part of the legacy of the show."

Scandal may be closing shop, but other Shondaland productions continue to do business on ABC. They include the flagship Grey's Anatomy, which is now in its 15th season, How to Get Away With Murder, For the People and Station 19.

However, it was announced in August that Rhimes would be leaving ABC Studios after 15 years for a multi-year production deal with Netflix. How that will all shake out remains to be seen.

Noooooo! Show of hands from all those who've already had enough of Kate Gosselin.

It doesn't matter, the reality matriarch of Jon & Kate Plus 8, then the Jon-less Kate Plus 8, and Dancing With The Stars, Celebrity Wife Swap and Celebrity Apprentice will be back this fall with a new TLC series, Kate Plus Date.

Sigh. We get to chaperone as the 43-year-old goes out on dates eight long years after kicking Jon to the curb.

"I'm nervous, I'm excited, and I'm forcing myself to do this," Gosselin told People magazine.

In case you've forgotten, Jon and Kate are the parents of twins and sextuplets. That totals eight kids who didn't leave much time for a social life.

Aaden, Joel, Alexis, Hannah, Leah and Collin are 13 now, and twins Cara and Mady will be 18 in October. The kids are evidently concerned about their mom's love life.

"It became apparent they want someone for me," Gosselin said. "They want me to have somebody in my life.

"I started picturing myself sitting in a rocking chair, knitting, and words like 'old maid' and 'spinster' started to come to mind, and I realized that no, I don't want that to be my fate."

And what better way to find a soul mate than on a reality show?

Gosselin explained. "It's creepy to me to think of just going out somewhere with some stranger. So I actually feel like doing it like this is the best and safest way for me to go on a date -- a camera crew will be there! I'll be safe! And the person will have been vetted by a matchmaker."

And lucky us, we'll get to tag along.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email: mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Weekend on 04/19/2018

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