Kerry Washington not the first pick to play Olivia Pope in ABC’s ‘Scandal’

Kerry Washington is doing a great job portraying Olivia Pope in “Scandal.” In fact, she has garnered multiple nominations from several award-giving bodies. Surprisingly, she was not the first choice to play the role.

Casting director Linda Lowy revealed that ABC executives initially wanted a white woman to play Olivia. Lowry admitted that it was “Nashville” actress Connie Britton who was first lined up for the role.

“The network was reading us their top choices, and it was Connie [Britton] and all white women. I panicked. Somebody finally piped up, ‘We’re going to have to redo this list,’” Lowy told The Hollywood Reporter.

“When the show got picked up [to pilot], I got a phone call from somebody who said, ‘This would be the perfect show for Connie Britton.’ I said, ‘It would be, except Olivia Pope is black,’” creator and showrunner Shonda Rhimes revealed.

Washington was ultimately cast as Olivia, a crisis fixer who runs her own crisis management firm called the Olivia Pope & Associates in Washington D.C. This makes the actress the first black woman to lead a primetime drama series in 37 years. She is also the fifth black woman to receive an Emmy nod for best lead actress in a drama.

Lowy added that they also screentested Jill Scott (“Baggage Claim”) and Anika Noni Rose (“Dreamgirls”). She finally decided that Olivia would be Washington when she finally met Rhimes. The role is loosely based on renowned black D.C. crisis management expert Judy Smith, who served as Special Assistant and Deputy Press Secretary in former President George H.W. Bush’s administration.

Moreover, it appears that the role is not the only one Rhimes had to fight for with ABC executives. The showrunner also revealed that then-ABC head Paul Lee asked her to remove the part where Olivia is having an affair with President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn). Rhimes stood by her script and told the network bosses to embrace the storyline or not do the show at all.

Meanwhile, the ABC political drama will celebrate its 100th episode this week. The story of episode 10 will focus on what would have happened had Olivia disagreed to rig the elections for Fitz eight years ago.

The episode titled “The Decision” will show the airplane scene in which Fitz’s campaign team lay out their plan to rig the elections. Aside from refusing to manipulate the elections, Olivia will also be seen in a wedding gown, suggesting that she could have married someone had Fritz lost the elections.

Don’t miss “Scandal” season 6 episode 10 on Thursday (April 13) at 9/8c on ABC. The show also airs in Australia on Seven Network.