Kerry Washington is garnering major anticipation as the next thriving black actress on the small screen in her latest gig as crisis manager Olivia Pope on ABC’s hour-long drama ‘Scandal.’
The Shonda Rhimes produced drama is centered around the real life story of Judy Smith, a black crisis manager in the Mecca of headline fodder, Washington, D.C.
“Scandal” takes viewers inside incalculable situations that are hugely appropriate for said position. Remember the Monica Lewinsky fiasco and the calumny brought to the White House thereafter? Smith handled that scandal and the onslaught of aspersions ushered in the aftermath. So, expect that level of grittiness…and beyond.
“This is Hollywood,” we were told as the screening began, Rhimes said. “Everything’s taken up a few notches.”
Kerry is expected to join an uprising taking place for black women who are enjoying riveting and complex roles, before and behind the lenses, mirroring their white counterparts.
Rhimes, who produced “Private Practice and “Grey’s Anatomy,” is lending her executive producing chops to “Scandal,” Kerry’s the lead actress, and Smith is operating as a producer too for the already well-received drama.
Following a good award season for Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis, Gabriel Union in an imminent BET black produced comedy, and Washington in three upcoming separate movies, black women are indeed making plentiful and remarkable strides in the television and film industry.
“I think it’s a really special time to be a woman of color in this business. The landscape of who has the power is changing,” Rhimes told “Essence.” “We are in more influential positions and are able to have a say in the stories that are told.”
Are you planning to tune in to watch Kerry on “Scandal”?
