Kerry Washington in Scandal - Based on real Crisis Manager

I was taken from the first moment I heard about this ABC TV Show Scandal with Kerry Washington. First, it was written by Shonda Rhimes of Greys Anatomy and Private Practice, some of my favorite TV shows. It also featured a profession that is rarely seen on TV. Doctors, Lawyers, and Detectives usually get all the shine, and you rarely see the managers, consultants, and other gate-keepers.

Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC

After watching the first episode, I can say that my expectations of the show has been met. Olivia Pope is a fully realized woman, I guess I shouldn't have thought I'll get less from Shonda Rhimes. She is bad, she is good, she makes mistakes, she is the best at what she does, and she has emotions too. In fact, she is so emotional, she heaves off and slaps the President of America in the face! LOL...I won't spoil it for those who haven't watched it, just go online to your favorite TV watching destination, and see this show.

And now to the real crisis manager. It's no more news that in this day and age, Image is Key. It's like the more you look, the less you see. Every body is a brand these days, from when it used to be just musicians and actors, now presidents, and even 5mins reality TV celebrities have image consultants and PR teams.

Cue Judy Smith, image maker and crisis manager to the who is who in Washington DC.

For more than two decades, few high-profile people in Washington have been as invisible as Smith. She famously represents the well-to-do who are in high-end contretemps — Monica Lewinsky, the Chandra Levy family, Michael Vick, BP after the Gulf oil spill — and she just as famously stays off camera.

Her crisis management and communications firm, Smith & Co., is not listed in phone directories. It has no Web site. She says she has no current business cards. When you ask to meet at her office, she says she’ll come to you. When she calls you on the phone, the caller ID reads “Verizon.” - Washington Post

Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington and Judy Smith

The TV show is not based on real cases that Judy Smith handled, but rather on scenarios that Shonda Rhimes came up with and ran by her. Scandal is working off the premise that most of us have secrets we'd rather not let others know about, and the bigger you become, and the higher you go, the more determined you are not to have those secrets leak. In the first episode, one of the characters thundered in defense of his secrets, "I AM A HERO!" SMH...We sure are complicated, we human beings.

Another thing I liked about Scandal is the fact that it is not afraid to focus on touchy topics in both the personal and political arena. I loved this short video of the three major women behind Scandal.

This is my first time of seeing Shonda Rhimes and she is quite charismatic. Reminds me a bit of Emem Isong who also directs stories with strong female Nigerian protagonists. You go Girls!