Two years after the series finale of ABC’s political thriller series Scandal, I decided to put my white hat back on for a full rewatch of the Shonda Rhimes showstopper simply because the show is just that good. And it looks like I’m not the only gladiator with Olivia Pope on the mind; the cast of the Shondaland series recently reunited to talk all things Scandal.
PeopleTV and Stars in the House joined forces to bring the cast of the ABC series together via video chat for a lengthy discussion of the show's impact on their lives. Stars in the House hosts Seth Rudetsky James Wesley moderated the nearly two hour conversation, which was split between the stars who worked for Olivia Pope's (Kerry Washington) shadowy public relations firm and those who stayed busy helping the Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) presidential administration stay afloat crisis after crisis.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
We almost had a full house, too; the actors behind TV's best ship were joined by Guillermo Díaz (who played Huck), Katie Lowes (Quinn Perkins), Cornelius Smith Jr. (Marcus Walker), George Newbern (Charlie), Kate Burton (Sally Langston), Bellamy Young (Mellie Grant), Jeff Perry (Cyrus Beene), Dan Bucatinsky (James Novak) and Norm Lewis (Edison Davis), and Joe Morton (Rowan Pope).
Unfortunately, one major Scandal player was nowhere to be found in the reunion: Scott Foley.
Foley famously starred in the series as Captain Jake Ballard, Olivia's other love interest and Fitz's rival for her affections. Though my initial watch of Scandal put me off Jake — he just couldn't read the room — my second time around has me rooting for him even though I know exactly how this story ends. He might not be Olivia's one true love, but Jake was her perfect match. And y'all can tell Ms. Rhimes that I said what I said.
For whatever reason, Foley was a no-show at the virtual gathering, but that doesn't mean that he wouldn't be part of any talks to get the gang back together for a Scandal reboot. When the idea of continuing the D.C. drama was brought to the table — director Tom Verica casually floated the concept of an Olivia Pope White House — the cast actually mulled it over. It would be difficult to get everyone onboard since the stars are booked and busy in almost every part of Hollywood, but the door isn't closed just yet.
"It would be very hard to say no to the opportunity to work with these people again," laughed Washington when the reboot was proposed. "We still spend time together, and we really love each other."
Personally, I'm still pretending that last season of Scandal never happened (Olivia taking over B613 was nothing short of madness), so I would gladly tune in for another chapter that would take this story even further than its seven seasons were able to go. There are still so many loose strings to tie together, especially in a hotbed of political drama like Washington, D.C.
If you ask me, Olivia Pope's quest for world domination is far from over — we just need to make sure that Jake is a part of it somehow, thank you very much.