#Scandal
Live-tweeting phenomenon for Shonda Rhimes’s ABC political thriller starring Kerry Washington.
Quick Facts
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Premiere | April 2012 |
| Peak Years | 2013-2015 |
| Creator | Shonda Rhimes |
| Impact | ”Scandal Thursdays” became event TV |
Origin & Impact
Scandal became social media’s first true “event TV” series, with Thursday night live-tweeting reaching fever pitch in 2013. Kerry Washington’s Olivia Pope, a DC fixer having an affair with the President, drove millions to tweet reactions in real-time. The cast, especially Washington, tweeted alongside fans.
The show’s “Scandal Thursdays” demonstrated how Twitter engagement could boost ratings. Twists generated instant trending topics, and fans created an entire vocabulary around the show. Shonda Rhimes leveraged this into TGIT (Thank God It’s Thursday), building an empire of socially-engaged dramas.
Related Hashtags
- #TGIT
- #Gladiators
- #OliviaPope
- #ShondaLand