Screen This: ABC’s Newest Set-In-D.C. Drama Debuts Tonight

We gotta hand it to our fine city: Not only did we land a gig as the buzzy backdrop for Showtime's mega-hit Homeland, but now we're getting another TV show all about us. ABC's new drama Scandal premieres tonight, and it's loosely based on the career of Judy Smith, a former Bush administration press aide who became famous for keeping Washington's power players out of salacious headlines (and helping them rebuild their image, if trouble couldn't escape them). The show's female lead, Olivia Pope, is a PR savant who handles high-profile crisis-management cases — she's a master at spinning a story, seducing a mark, and any other kind of scheming it takes to make her clients look good again.

With Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes at the helm, we can only imagine what obsession-worthy versions of McDreamy and McSteamy will be stirring the pot (or plot, we should say). A hottie State Department official who's spying for another country? A dashing CIA operative with a double life? A lobbyist with swagger and a problematic agenda? Or perhaps a handsome nerdy-type who works for the Library of Congress but has an, ahem, expensive habit or two? The scenarios could go on forever, so it seems that D.C. is pretty much the perfect place for some socio-political shenanigans. Plus, we have it on good authority that there is some serious chemistry between Olivia and the president (played by the very attractive Tony Goldwyn), which we're quite looking forward to. But you tell us: Will you be tuning in for the premiere of Scandal?

When: Tonight, April 5, at 10 p.m. on ABC.