SCANDAL: the scandalous casting

Honestly,this time I don't even know where to start.I wasn't watching the show until it became surprisingly popular,with a devoted fan base who,apparently,had the strength to save it from cancellation.And they have my admiration and respect for their passion but unfortunately,the show is awful.

Shonda Rimes is a very intelligent and talented tv professional who had a mega hit a few years back,the "Grey's Anatomy".It was a decent drama,with very interesting acting ensemble and some major surprise comebacks like Patrick Dempsey.
The cast worked well together,there was a blend of characters,the couples were well matched,some actors were excellent,like Isaiah Washington and James Pickens jr.As it lasts so long,it inevitably became a bit boring but still,casting decisions were very smart and functional.Even though I never liked Ellen Pompeo,she was well chosen for the role and she did with conviction and seriousness.Casting directors Linda Lowy, John Brace,Will Stewart and Sean Ojai did a very good job.

The spin off, "Private Practice",was never so successful but it had one of the best cast seen on mainstream shows.Brilliant tv actors and actresses made even the most unbearable plots watchable.Amy Brenneman,Tim Daly,Brian Benben and the lovely Kate Walsh,there were no  mistakes in that cast.Casting directors Linda Lowy and Will Stewart managed to create an exceptional ensemble.

So naturally,when I heard about "Scandal",I supposed that Shonda Rhimes and her team chose their actors carefully and smartly again.
But hell no,the cast of "Scandal" is really really awful with one brilliant performance and that is Tony Goldwyn as President.

I have rarely seen so much consistently dreadful acting on a prime time show,there is not one member of that cast who is even tolerable.It seems as they have some secret pact about hysterical performances with exaggerated facial expressions on one side of the spectrum or stony faces on the other.There is not a hint of conviction in them,there is passion, but passion with a lack of talent is simply overbearing.

Every one of the cast seems completely alone,I don't know who are they acting with or for.Their ensemble work is a bloody mess.The only bearable collaborations are the scenes with the poor Tony Goldwyn and the insufferable Kerry Washington.His talent and strength seems sufficient to pull both of them in some separate universe where Scandal doesn't exist.He is brilliant and only thanks to his devotion,Olivia Pope might seem real for a moment.

I really wanted to like Kerry Washington,I gave her the benefit of the doubt since I always found her to be a bit overrated.But after this,I must say she is not only overrated,she is definitely just a hype.

Shonda Rhimes got very lucky because for some reason the public seems to like the show.But it seems that they all got a bit infatuated with themselves and their successes and treated this casting with lack of respect and seriousness they showed in their previous work I don't know how did Linda Lowy and Will Stewart manage to do such an inexplicably amateurish cast after their previous work with Rhimes, but they did.

Television production today has far better acting ensembles than most of the movies and producers should be happy that so many excellent actors are willing to work on tv. Among great and not so great shows,we can all agree that most of them had brilliant casts.

But "Scandal",with all its ratings and devoted fans,is definitely not one of them.