Scandal premiered on April 5, 2012 on ABC and ended on May 17, 2012 with 7 episodes. The season was broadcast on Thursday nights at 10 pm time slot on ABC.
The season introduces the story of Olivia Pope's crisis management firm, Olivia Pope & Associates, and its staff, as well as staff at the White House in Washington, D.C. Season one has eight series regulars.
Season Overview
Everyone has secrets and Olivia Pope has dedicated her life to protecting and defending the public images of the elite by keeping those secrets under wraps. Pope and her team are at the top of their game when it comes to getting the job done for their clients, but it becomes apparent that these "gladiators in suits," who specialize in fixing the lives of other people, have trouble fixing those closest at hand -- their own.
The team tries to help a millionaire's son who has been accused of rape; when Olivia takes on Amanda Tanner as a client, her first request is a meeting with the president.
Olivia Pope and Cyrus get into a heated argument about the Amanda Tanner case; the team helps a dictator who claims his wife and children were kidnapped.
Olivia and her team help defend the pilot of a commercial plane that crashed, killing all onboard; when Amanda Tanner goes missing, Huck must call upon his past to help find her; Fitz asks the vice president for help.
As Gideon investigates Amanda Tanner's past, a series of events from the past reveal the contentious primary race between Fitzgerald Grant and Sally Langston, Olivia's first meeting with Grant on the campaign trail and the formation of the Pope & Associates team.
