Time to get scandalous!
Aside from being ridiculously in love with each other (get a room!), Kerry Washington and the Scandal cast also dropped some scoop about season three at the ABC party on Sunday night in Beverly Hills.
Here are seven not-too-spoilery (what fun would that be?) spoilers you need to know about what lies ahead on one of TV's most addictive series:
1. Daddy Is Back—And Sticking Around! Remember how Olivia's (Kerry Washington) father shocked us all with his appearance in the second season finale, in that big ol' whopper of a cliffhanger? Well, according to creator and showrunner Shonda Rimes, season three picks up "exactly 22 minutes later" from where we last left off, and according to Bellamy Young (the first lady), what happens next does not disappoint. "That first episode back picks up right after Dad and it comes out of the barrel like a bullet," she teases. "We learn so much about this one here [motions to Kerry Washington] with the dad thing." Rimes reveals to us that Olivia's father will be a "major story arc" that lasts for at least the first half of the season. And while she agrees that the Daddy cliffhanger is very much what sets up all of season three, it does so "In an odd, peripheral way. In the same way that at the end of season one, the question of who is Quinn Perkins set up season two. It turned out that Quinn Perkins is this girl whose building blew up went to we fixed an entire presidential election."
2. Scott Foley (Jake) Gets Out of the Hole! Remember how Scott Foley's character Jake was tossed in that devastating hole of torture where Huck (Guillermo Diaz) nearly lost his mind? Well, it sure sounds like he gets out. (Cue the Gladiating angels.) When we thanked Shonda on behalf of Noel Cr...er, Scott Foley fans everywhere for making him a series regular in season three, she said: "I would not have been able to put [Scott] in the hole if I had known he weren't going to get out of the hole! It's exciting to have Scott join us because he fits right in, emotionally and personally with everybody. But also story wise, we have a very clear sense of what we want to do with that character." When asked if Jake (who served as one-third of a love triangle with Olivia and Fitz last season) will have any kind of romantic involvement with anyone this year, Shonda shrugged and said "Maybe." Hmph! Maybe they just haven't found the right new love interest for him yet. Any volunteers?
3. Scott Foley Spoils Everything! Just kidding. But he is hilarious. And looks nice with a (hole-grown?) beard. When asked if he gets out of the pit of despair, Scott fumbles a bit, looks for his talking points that were emailed to him, and then says that sadly there is nothing there about Jake. "I can tell you about Olivia Pope, her father, more about her background, her relationship with her father. Huck. I can tell you about Huck. I can tell you about David. I can tell you we're going to learn more about B613." But nada about Jake. Scott also teases that his reaction to the first script was: "Oh my god they're there? Oh my god, what are they doing together? You won't believe who's working with who. Or who's colluding with who. It's very secretive but exciting."
4. Huck and Quinn Will Have More of a Connection: "The last we saw of Huck, he was sort of hesitant of torturing Billy Chambers," Guillermo Diaz (Huck) reminds us. "And Quinn took a liking to Huck's drill...A lot of questions will be answered. We're going to get some flashback episodes. You're going to get find out more about Huck's relationships before he worked for OPA with Olivia. Stuff you didn't know before." Guillermo is also hoping that his long-lost son and wife come back. Seven. Fifty. Two. Sob!
5. 'Flashback Abby' Could Be Awesome: "Last season at the very last table read," Darby Stanchfield (Abby) tells me, "Shonda came up to me and said, ‘We're gonna find out a lot more about Abby this season', so fingers crossed. I'd love to see it. Abby is such an odd bird it would be fun to see what makes her tick and why is she this combination of being so guarded and so sort of unable to trust her gut when it comes to love. She was in an arranged marriage for god's sake! Who put her there? And what kind of woman was she to agree to an arranged marriage?" Darby is also hoping for more romance with Abby and David (Josh Malina) and reveals they're "still sniffing around each other."
6. Olivia Gets "Outed": According to Jeff Perry (Cyrus), "These first couple of episodes back are all about the drama of Olivia has been outed by someone. How did this leak? Who leaked it? Who sent it? Is it possible anyone will actually admit to it? If they do, what will that mean?" We don't know but we do want to find out.
7. The First Two Episodes Will "Break Twitter": "I have read the first two scripts and I am in shock," Stanchfield teases. "There's some amazing flashback stuff that you thought you knew the answers to but it's like ‘Whoa, that's what really happened?!?!''" And Kerry Washington (Olivia) reveals that in the first two episodes, "There are a couple of moments that just might break Twitter." "I have a line in episode two that will definitely break Twitter," Tony Goldwyn (Fitz) admits. "We are already planning t-shirts," Washington teases. "Much merchandising and hash-tagging that one!" And Kerry says the cast's love affair with Twitter just shows "how much we are so grateful for our fans… We think about what you guys are gonna tweet about because that brings us joy!"
So what else will Shonda spill? Not much. "Season three is definitely going to move in the same fast-paced way" she tells me. "I hope it's as exciting season two. And I don't know what else I can tell you because everything else is a spoiler. I'm terrified of giving spoilers. It's seriously stressing me out."
OK. Well, we'll just let you get back to work then. And start breaking Scott Foley out of that hole. Um, please? And thank you.
—Additional reporting by Leanne Aguilera