Gladiator in a Suit?: Scandal’s Olivia Pope and the Post-Identity Regulation of Physical Agency

The US television drama Scandal (2012-present) provides a rare feature in American television: an African American heroine wielding considerable political clout as the series’ protagonist. Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) is a clever, driven, and highly successful crisis manager whose clients include politicians, businesspeople, and others with deep pockets and powerful allies. A self-professed ‘gladiator in a suit,’ she fights political battles for her clients and friends with fierce determination. At the Pope and Associates crisis management firm, Olivia surrounds herself with a team of law and intelligence specialists who assist her in spinning public relations stories, covering up accidental deaths, and brokering clandestine negotiations. Each episode revolves around a crisis while introducing numerous other complications — all with the lead gladiator charging the way. The series is brimming with melodrama, intrigue, and, yes, numerous scandals encircling the first black female protagonist in a US television drama in nearly 40 years (Vega 2013).1