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February 16, 2023 46 mins

Katie and Guillermo dive into the second episode of Scandal while sharing some dirty little secrets of their own: Guillermo has a piece of the Scandal set in his home and Katie was terrified of having an on-screen fling with Gideon Wallace, played by Brendan Hines. It’s an episode that breaks down continuity errors, G’s special fan encounters, and… champion figure skater Oksana Baiul.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Unpacking the toolboxes of production of Shondo Land Audio. In
partnership with I Heart Radio, Katie, the SNL did a

(00:32):
parody of Olivia Pope. Cecily Strong played Quinn and who
played Hawk. I don't I don't remember this. He's one
of he's a great actor. I can't remember his name,
but he was so good it was unfucking believable, Like
I was losing my mind. That's the first time we
were like, oh, We're like like this is crazy, Like
we're on SNL. No, this is nit. Guys, like this

(00:54):
is like a cultural phenomenon. If you get parodied on SNL,
you've made it, folks, you have made it or your
or your life is over because you're like, you know, weener,
the guy that showed his weener to the world or whatever,
the political guy. We literally did an episode of scandal
on the weener thing like sending Dick pis. We had
like a guy that had to get fixed for sending,

(01:16):
tweeting and sending out too many tests. Yes, yes, yes,
there's so much to talk. I'm honestly giddy, like I
feel I love it very I love you very much.
I love you too, Katie. Okay, Garo Diaz and I
are just going through paperwork right now because you have,

(01:38):
like a I have a fucking book. I wrote down
your book. Okay, we're so fucking pumped, to be completely honest.
So guys, here we have episode one O two. It's
titled Dirty Little Secrets. We all have some of those,
don't we have. It first aired on April twelve, two twelve.
That's a long ass time ago. It was written by

(01:59):
the AUSO Heather Mitchell, and directed by Rocks and Dawson.
Remember Rocks, and she was one of my first obviously
one of the first directors. Yes, and I think she
was our producing director of that season, but we'll get
into that later. She was, yeah, yeah, And this episode
is guest starring Mimi Kennedy as Sharon Marquette, John gets
Patrick Keating, and Megan Gallagher is Stacy Keating. I'm gonna

(02:20):
take you through the synopsis of the episode of Scandal
pace because we need to get into this episode and
we cannot be bothered with all these logistics. But I
just want to say it really quickly in Scandal past speed,
so that you know what the hell was going on
in the episode. So the synopsis is Olivia must protect
a new client who's under investigation by the U. S
Attorney's Office. Quinn runs into trouble with the Mandatanna when
a charming reporter, Gideon Wallace approaches Quinn of the hospital
trying to get information. Meanwhile, at the White House, President

(02:41):
Grant is just nominated his first Supreme Court justice, a
man who has cross pads with Olivia's most recent client.
Oh my god, Katie, that was way too fast. I
feel like I feel like it might be a little
too fast for the listeners. Like I get it, you know,
we're so used to as scandal place. But I'm gonna
do it. I'm gonna try to just, you know, slow
it up a little bit for for the listeners. Okay,
let me let me let me hear you. Olivia must

(03:02):
protect a new client and your investigation by the US
Attorneys Office. Quinn was as a trouble with a Mandy
Tanner with the charming report Gideon Wallace approaches Quinn at
the hospital trying to get information. Meanwhile, at the White House,
President Grant has just dominated his first Supreme Court justice,
a man who has cross passed with Olivia's most recent client.
Damn it. We can't stop scandal pacing? What is wrong
with us? Every job I did after Scandal, they were like,

(03:22):
can you please just take your time, like slow it down?
We are ruined as actors. Thank you so much, Sean Rhimes,
But like, yes, first of all, we must know, Garmo,
that was really fucking fast. And I always won the
award as the fastest scandal pace speaker on the cast,
and you just gave me a run for my money.
That was pretty fast. Huh. It was really fast. And

(03:43):
also we have to give such applaud to Hawk because
not only did you master scandal pace, but you would
normally have to speak at scandal pace whilst saying absolute
hacking jargon like QR facial recognition software. Yes, stuff, I
had no idea what it meant or what it was.

(04:03):
I you know, Houck is is this type savvy like
character obviously everyone knows but me. Garmo Diaz is like, um,
where do I go on my phone to turn on
the light? Like I'm worse? I think even for this podcast.
Someone sent you a link for us to like open
up our first meeting on this podcast, and you're all

(04:24):
texting me like can you like text me that link.
I don't know if I can get it on my
computer or my phone. And I'm like, Guillermo, I sure did,
I sure did. I was like, Katie, thank you so much.
All right, So that's what happened in the episode. But
like sitting down and rewatching episode two gave me such
fucking vibes because it's just so classic early Scandal. It's

(04:49):
a case of the week. The case is Sharon Marquette,
who's played by Mimi Kennedy, and she's like, I'm d
c's finest madam, is what she says. She's based sly
running a whorehouse for like all these politicians where they
get their fancy as hookers. And it's the first episode,

(05:09):
you know, once we got picked up. Wait, by the way,
how long was this between shooting the pilot and when
did we start this? Do you remember? I was going
to ask you that because one of the one of
the things that like stuck out for me in this
episode was Carrie's wig. I was like, oh, we got
some money. Now. They're like, okay, we want to order
like seven episodes or six because we had done the pilot.

(05:31):
But I was like that, wiy got spruced up. It
looked like she went through the Emerald City makeover that
Judy Garland goes through, and all of a sudden, she
got this like fancy, like curly like up Like you know,
everyone is listening. When you shoot a pilot, it's like
they don't give you. I mean, they give you money,
but it's not like if it's series and it goes
to series, they're gonna like commit a little bit more. So,

(05:53):
yeah's wig and when she comes on this show, we
have to have like a whole conversation about wigs because
I know she made a lot of character choice is
based on whether her hair was curly or straight. But
I think that we see a major upgrade in this episode. Yes,
in the first couple of minutes of this episode, we're
already listening to Stevie Wonder. It's already like don't down't down, down, down,

(06:15):
let down. And you and Abby are in the Madam's apartment,
you know, Steven played by Henry and Cusick is out
on the street on the phone with Olivia, and David
Rosen drives by and we're on a ticking time clock
where like, you guys gotta totally take over whatever is
in her apartment before the cops get there. Yeah, yes,
and it just seems so cool. Record scratch to Quinn

(06:40):
standing waiting for the elevator to come up like a
freaking loser. She's like, what the hell is going on? Well,
Quinn is also the audience, right, Quinn is the one
that's like, Okay, what's what's going down here? Like, film
me in, and no one's like really filling her in,
and they're just like you gotta learn, like you gotta
just watch and learn. In this episode, Olivia is pissed

(07:03):
because she has found out that her dude, her love
of her life, Fitzgerald Grant the Third, is fucking Amanda Tanner.
And now she's pissed, and now Amanda try to kill
herself and now here we are where she's like, oh,
Amanda Tanner, I'm going to get this bitch to be
my client. Okay. A couple other things about this episode
that need to be mentioned that are in uh some

(07:26):
notes G and I take notes people. G takes them
on paper. I take them on the notes. In section
of my Phone. He played a hacker and he can't
do anything technologically savvy, okay. David Rosen calls Olivia by
her whole name, Olivia Caroline Pope. Do you remember where
Caroline came from? Okay? I texted Carrie yesterday and I said,

(07:52):
do you remember where Caroline comes from? And she's like
not no. But I remember being on it and everyone
being like, oh my gosh, like it's so lovely that
her middle name is Caroline, because that's I want to
say Shonda's middle name, but I could be do you
not remember this at all? I don't remember this at all. Wait,
I'm texting I'm going to text you right now and

(08:14):
I'm gonna ask her. I really feel like it was
a special nod to something. This is also I remember
in this in that scene where he says her middle
name is the first time he goes to sort of
poker and Huck steps up and he's I do not
touch her. And it's the first time you see Huck
be sort of like um, You're like, oh, that's like

(08:35):
Olivia's like protective, like pit bull, like he's like her protector.
And I love that moment because he was like, I
will snap your neck. Mother. It was really that's when
you realize that, like, these aren't just lawyers. Quinn walks
in an episode one and says, so you're all lawyers,
and you're like, no, lawyers are for losers, like we're fixers,

(08:56):
were crisis managers. It's a whole package of different kinds
of people. And I always thought in episode two when
David Rosen goes to touch Olivia and you're like, do
not touch her, You're like, holy shit, these people are. Yeah,
they're like a whole mixed bag of crazy. Yeah, they
have scary baggage. This is also the episode where we

(09:17):
meet Morris, Yes, who we've got to have on this podcast.
I love him so much. Morris is the White House
security guard at the security gate that checks people in,
and he's so lovely and so wonderful and again, such
a secret sauce to this show because our guest stars
are co stars, are people with one line are just

(09:40):
fucking killing it. We meet Morris, and then right with Morris,
Olivia Pope is not getting checked into the White House
right like, they're not letting her in in this episode
I can't remember why do you remember? Why that Cyrus
thinks that Olivia is not on the President's side anymore,
so he's like he revokes her her past to the
White House. That's right. And so then we meet Billy

(10:01):
Chambers who's in line right behind Olivia, and he's like, oh,
hold on, let me just call the front gate and
let you in, and she's like, thanks so much. Billy.
Did Billy know at that time that he was going
to be the Billy Chambers He couldn't have, right, No,
none of us, well, none of us knew, right, like
all the crazy stuff that we do on the show,
none of us knew to like the table read. In

(10:23):
this episode where we're dealing with the Madam. Abby's all
pissed because Steven. She finds out Steven's sleeping or has
slept with hors and paid prostitutes in the Madam's book. Yeah,
as one of her clients exactly. And when you guys
have those scenes where you're going through I don't think
Huck is there, but it's Harrison Wright and it's Steven

(10:43):
and they're talking about what sunny day is, what hard
works are, like speaking Greek and then um the world
around the world. So like for those of you, I
was laughing, and Abby Darby does such an amazing job
of being uncomfortable and asking like, well, what's hardwood floors,

(11:03):
like in her snarky ass way, and who what's the answer.
The answer is so brilliant. It's it's when there's nothing
to match, the carpets don't match the drapes or something
like that, it just means that she's bald, right well, yeah,
like she's yeah, she got that Brazilian wax. She's but
like full full throttle, full full full. That's terrifying. Okay.

(11:28):
Then she's like, okay, fine, sunny day and they're like,
you don't have to wear a raincoat? Yeah, which is guys,
I'm so lame. I'm sitting on my bed. I'm like
hysterical laughing. Can you imagine being a writer in the
writer's room coming up with this bullshit? I do not.
This is what I love about Scandal, especially these this
early these early scitles. Of why it gives me like
just such it makes me giddy is that the show

(11:51):
is fucking funny. And then I also love in this episode,
um that Olivia Pope says all cylinders people, let's go yes?
Is that the first time we hear her say that?
I think it might be. By the way, listeners, we're
dealing with only forty two minutes of television. This is
the second round of forty two minutes, and we're already

(12:11):
giving you such hashtags, such T shirts, such sayings, I
mean all cylinders people, let's go who says that? And
also speaking of T shirts, Katie and I are wearing
I think this was our first like merch that we
got gifted from Shonda and the producers. Right, it's like
a long sleeve black, really nice shirt that says scandal

(12:33):
on the front where like your you know, your chest
pocket would be where your booby and then on the
back it says do you want to be a gladiator
in a suit? Right? Or does it say I can't
stand up? Do you turn around? All week? It says, oh, yeah,
do you want to be a gladiator in a suit?
Which is so awesome. So this shirt, bravo to GEARMONI

(12:56):
because this shirt is ten years old or some and
we are wearing it. Yes, yes, well, And I was
telling Katie I cannot dry this shirt because if I
dry it, it's gonna be like you know, it's it's
not going to go over my belly. Garo and I.
Over the course of this podcast, we have a lot
of vintage pieces that will be coming out. They might
be clothing, they might be gifts, they might be shipped

(13:18):
we stole from the Scandal set. They might be clothing
I stole from the Scandal set. But this shirt is
so special and I would never wear it in public
because it is way too fucking tight. Totally totally. You
know what's funny. I wore I had to go to
the grocery store to get detergent, and I have the
shirt on and I was in an aisle looking for
you know, looking for it, which one I was going

(13:39):
to pick, and a guy was like kept staring at me,
and I was like, oh crap, and he was like,
I loved you on Scandal and I was like, oh god,
I'm wearing this Scandle shirt. I was like, how how cheesy? No, no,
it's sweet. And everyone listening, so you know, I get recognized,
but I really look like everyone else, Like I really
think I'm like a pretty average age in size and height,

(14:01):
in in brown hair, brown eyes, Like you got to
really know, I can I don't Garmo fucking Diaz. Cannot
go anywhere like anywhere, I mean, traveling around with you.
I don't know how Mikey does it. I don't know
because you stick out like a sore thumb, like you're
just so special. You don't look like anyone else. You

(14:23):
have a vibe about you, You have a look. And
the greatest treat about that is that a lot of
times when Gammo gets recognized for Scandal, he also gets
recognized for Half Baked, and people are just passing you weed.
People want to get me hot everywhere I go up.
We were in Israel and people were like, you want
to get high? Everywhere you got people want to get

(14:44):
you high. We were at the White House correspondent dinner.
What everyone's trying to get you high? Like everyone just
wants to say to their group of friends, I got
stoned with Gammo Diaz from Half Baked, or I got
stoned with Hawk or like whatever, You're just cool. You know.
Very early in my career, Katie, I learned that you
have to be kind to your fans. So I can't

(15:05):
say no, you know, so I'm I just you know,
I have to kindly access I will give you that memory.
I will give you that memory. Please, it's not it's
it's okay, it's not too much off my back. Um,
what else did you love about this episode. One of
the things that I loved about about this episode, Katie
that's stuck out also was the sets. It's the first

(15:27):
I mean, you you see the sets of course in
the pilot, but this was the first time that you
see the recreated actual set where we shot the pilot
and an actual location in downtown at l A in
this in this old old building where those panels that
those window panels that we have on our show, those cracked,
flawed window panels were all real and are amazing. You know,

(15:51):
Scandal team that works on the sets at the stages
where we shot the show recreated that place like perfectly
and it looks so freaking good in this episode. That
is such a great point And what blessing did they
give us because the real one downtown, the real o
p A, the hallway was actually insanely long, and when

(16:13):
they recreated it on the stages, it was like still long,
but half the length. Because Quinn is constantly walking up
and down the hallway getting people coffee. Like I don't
think you had to deal with this, And I hate
wearing high heels and my feet are an issue at
all times. And those pencil skirts that kept like twisting
am I spanks. Every time I took a step, my

(16:34):
pencil skirt would just like rotate. I spent eighty hours
a week complaining about my feet, which Carrie Washington never did.
And she's wearing like literally six inch every single high
end fashionable shoe. And I think I was in Jessica
Simpson like low price shoe because I you know, when
we did fittings, I would say like Quinn doesn't have
what Olivia Pope has, like I shouldn't be in product

(16:56):
and all this ship. But anyway, they made the hallway
half the length when they recreated it, and I remember
being like, oh, thank you God, because this will just
log me like less steps where my feet and my
pencil skirt are just just ridiculous, like my feet were
hurting so badly. Do you also remember, Katie, the window

(17:18):
panels that I mentioned a little bit ago. We would
where we would have to put up people's photos. I
think you know this, Katie, but I when we wrapped
the series, I asked Mary Howard, who was one of
our producers. I asked her, Hey, is there any way
I can get one of those window panels, and they
sent me. They delivered one to my house, and it's
with the iron around it. Katie, it weighs like a tongue.

(17:40):
You didn't know that. No where is it in your house.
It's in the right at the entrance of the house,
like on the wall right there. It's like one of
my favorite things that I have in my house. And
I was like, thank god I asked for this. I'm
seethingly jealous. They literally took one of those things and
delivered it to my house. Guillermo, that makes me like

(18:03):
sleep better at night knowing that you have one of
the window panes. Yes, and our o P A conference
table desk is the main conference room table at Shondalin
Offices in Hollywood. Wait, I didn't know that, Yep. I
was there once before. COVID and I walked past the
big conference room and it's the op a conference table

(18:25):
that you and I boned on where we would hide
all our sides on the chairs and then we scooched
them into the table and we boned on that table.
We should did. We'll be right back, guys. Okay, Quinn

(18:46):
has one job. You all are working on the Madam case.
You're all trying to her not give up her list
to David Rosen of all the people in DC who
are sleeping with prostitutes. I simultaneous, I'm doing this b
story where I'm never supposed to let Amanda Tanner out
of my sight because we know that Gidey and Wallace,

(19:06):
who's a reporter from the Sun, has been sniffing around
and Olivia Pope doesn't want that getting out. So I'm
just supposed to be watching this girl. And Quinn's like,
I don't want to watch this girl. And then Olivia
is like, don't let her out of your site and
I'm like, right, don't let her out of your site.
Don't let her an I say, don't let her, say
don't let her out of my sight. She's gone. How
the hell did you get out there that quickly? And

(19:27):
also is that allowed? Don't you have to be discharged?
And then I go to your office and I say,
I'm going to barf. How do I find something that's
gone missing? And You're like, go check her house and
I'm like, oh house, check her house, and it's already
you know what's so lovely? Also going back, it's already

(19:49):
like I can see what the writers were seeing about
Huck taking Quinn under his wing, like you can already see,
like I always go to you. Abby is just like
so meant Quinn. It's insane and great and lovely and
I love it and like Harrison just doesn't have time
because he's just like Mr Man about town and you're

(20:10):
really the only person. Yeah, that's the left that we'll
talk to her, Katie. Do you remember that we used
to talk while we were filming the show, like how
did how did the writers know? And how does Shanda
know our relationships? Because you and I started to get
really close and then we'd be like, are there microphones
like in our trailers? Like and then we'd see it

(20:31):
in the scripts reflected in the scripts, right, we were
like always they know they have got to have bugged
the makeup so onsets. Makeup trailers is where a lot
of ship talking gets done. And that's mostly because you're
there at five o'clock in the morning. You know, your
makeup and hair people are the ones that are closest
to your face at all times, like when you're on

(20:53):
your period, when you've had a rough night, when you're
like so, the makeup trailer just sort of becomes this place,
and I always like, this ship has got to be
bugged because we would talk about we would like have
relationships forming and like trust things happening, and then we
would see them a hundred percent reflected in scripts down
the road. Ye. Also, what we would do in the
trailer I was going to say was we were really

(21:14):
studious and we were drill lines. Well, we had to write.
We had to because we had to. We had to
scandal pace our dialogue, which I don't know if people
know we should say that it first started because the
scripts were so long, right, and there were so many
words that I think it was Shonda that said, you
guys have to talk fast to get all this stuff out,
and that's I think where it started. But then we all,

(21:36):
I think discovered little by little that the faster you
you speak, I mean, you know, the intention and the
we're still acting under the fast pace. But every time
it made that scene better, every single time, even beyond scandal.
Sometimes I'm on sets, I'm like, y'all got to speed
that ship up. And not only did we have to
have scandal pace, but we had to be word perfect.

(21:58):
This wasn't a show that you were like, hey, you know,
throwing an improv like that didn't happen on Scandal, which,
by the way, Gammadiaz brilliant improv actor from Dave Chappelle's
show God No, but yeah, I think we had to
drill lines. Yeah. In fact, when I watched these episodes back,
the amount of material Carrie Washington had, Oh my god. Yeah.

(22:18):
Most hour long scripts, I want to say, are like
fifty to sixty pages. Some of our scripts were eighty
nine fucking pages. That's really long. Crazy to think that
would fit in forty two minutes and shoot in nine days.
We would we would cut up and have fun and
laugh and do all that stuff on set, but most
of the time, I feel like we'd be like, let's

(22:40):
run lines, let's run lines. It was NonStop that we
were like, yo, let's run that scene, Let's run lines,
because we just wanted to get it right. We couldn't.
There was no room for, you know, to mess up.
And we were like that on each other. I mean,
I felt like we were all not goody two shoes,
but we all really believed in the show and wanted
to do a good job, and so everyone didn't want
to be the person in the scene to funk it up.

(23:04):
Because a lot of the o p A scenes are
like those theater scenes where you're in an ensemble you're
holding like tossing a volleyball up between all of your lines,
and if you're the dick that sucks up the take
because you go up and you forget the line, it
just made the take not usable for everybody else, And
like no one wanted to be that person. So it

(23:25):
was like we were all, can we run? Can we run?
Coming run? And I don't want to be the one
that like drops the ball. We have that whole monologue
where Olivia and I dropped my jaw down to the ground,
which I feel like it is really a poor acting
choice on my and Olivia says, slip your number in
the door. She's going to call you and it is
your job to get her to be our client. And
I'm like, oh ship, And so I put the number down,

(23:45):
and she does call because Olivia's a genius and she
knows what's going to happen. And so Amanda Tanner and
I meet, I think, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial,
and we get a glimpse into Quinn's past, which is
Lindsay Dwyer and I say, Quinn says something like I
was in trouble once. A lot of people wanted to
I was in trouble. I was alone, and it was awful.
Now you think we're getting a glimpse into Quinn Perkin's past,

(24:09):
But at that point the writer's room did not know
what Quinn's passed was. I always forget that they did
it right. Nobody knew where that was going to go.
They didn't know. Oh my god, they didn't know. So
what I think is interesting is that things were already
being built. But I also sometimes wonder if I had

(24:31):
played it differently, Like I played it as truth, like
Quinn does have this thing, this like secret, But I
could have played it as like I'm tricking her, like
I'm making it up right just to get it to
be a client. Yeah, because Olivia told me too, And
I always am like, wow, had I been playing that
with things have been different? Who knows. Hey, speaking of

(24:53):
the that scene at the Lincoln Memorial, we should talk
about how that we We shot the show in California,
in l A at some stages, at stake our stages.
But the c G I, what is it the green screen?
What is it considered c G I, the you know,
the backgrounds. I think so because when you see when
you see uh, the Lincoln Memorial and other you know,

(25:15):
historical sites in d C, like that's all green screen.
And and the team that did that were so freaking
talented too, because I remember remember people would come up
to us all the time and be like, you guys,
shoot the show in d C. People still think that now, yeah,
and we'd be like, no, it's green screen. They'd be
like what, because it's good. It's really it was really
really good, Like they did an amazing job. Yeah. We

(25:36):
would always be outside in parks all over l A
and then they would have this like massive green screen
that they would then superimpose, like you're saying, the gentleman
is in Memorial, Memorial, whatever the mall, and we would
be dressed in coats, sweating balls in California where it

(25:57):
never gets cold except for today. And Lynn Paulow we're
going to have her on too. She's an amazing costume designer.
Lynn Pallo. She I think just set the world. I
don't know if that was her choice or Shawn's choice
that it was just forever fall. I think it's like
forever fall, which means we're always in peak coats a scarf.
Olivia is obviously like in the most incredible gloves you've

(26:17):
ever seen in your entire life that go up to
her elbow. But most a lot of times we would
be in like a hundred and ten degrees in a
wool code having to act. I mean, the chief thing
that was going on in my pencil shirts. I deserve
all the acting awards people, And I wasn't freaking flannels, remember,
flannels and then a leather jacket on top of that,

(26:40):
and boots later on down the road. It used to
be like a war of like Lynn would be like, well,
we can't, we need to have different flannels on quinnin
hot That's right, that's right. We started dressing started dressing
us very much alike you were in in in freaking
black leather boots and leather jackets and flannels and yeah
you love that though, right I can't. Yeah, it was

(27:01):
so sexy. We'll get there. That's how the should I talk? Yes,
we'll get there. I did too, Okay, how Sharon Marquette
gets off is Olivia staring at the board, which, by
the way, that's what we call that glass wall that
we put up the cases and all the people's pictures.
We called it like who's at the board. So Olivia
is staring at the board, at the board, and she
has this brilliant idea. Let's call all these douchebags. Let's

(27:27):
call all these dudes to the table and say like, look, guys,
this is all going to come out in your life
is screwed. Unless we all pool together our resources, we're
all trifling. Bill Withers comes on, call me Mr Pitiful.
Best song ever. I love the soundtrack of this entire show,
especially this episode. And Harrison goes around and he's like,

(27:49):
hey Wooden Floors, Hey you, hey, sunny Coat whatever. That
music montage scene is the best. And and Harrison Man
harr Wison is the dude like, I'm like in love
with him. He's so love Columbus Short is so freaking
cool and good and sexy and sexy, and and he's

(28:11):
flipping his phone and he's walking the walk and he's
solving the cases and he's out there and they're playing
fucking awesome music and he's just makes it look effortless,
so so good, so good love Columbus. So they all
come in and they get Sharon Marquette off praise b
We cut two fits wasted in the Oval, and he's

(28:32):
on the seal and he's in a scene with Cyrus
and he tells Cyrus like, I love Olivia Pope. We're
not talking about this tomorrow, but I'm in love with
Olivia Pope. I mean he's whipped, he got whipped. He's
so whipped. And at those in those beginning times, like
especially episode two, this early on in the in the series,

(28:52):
I just feel like it was such separate shows. Like
we never went over there. They never came over to us.
We only saw them at table reads. Yeah there, we remember,
I mean moving forward, you know, closer to other seasons,
we'd have our characters have eventually sometimes go to the
White House. But it was such a big deal for us,
right we'd be like, oh my god, we're gonna be

(29:13):
at the White House. I can't believe I'm acting with
bellamre with with Jeff or Tony. Yeah, because we never
we never you know, encountered them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It
was two separate worlds, completely, two separate worlds, and ours
and ours was better. Oh like anyway, I'm just saying
yeah and cuter, I think before we were really going

(29:35):
over there, and maybe even before we really started to
have storylines intermingle Tony came over and we would he
directed an episode or two, and he'd always like hate
love directing O P A. Because he would be like,
what the fun, Like you guys, you gotta focus, stop singing,
stop dancing, like Columbus Short is the best dancer ever.

(29:58):
He liked choreographed. Whitney spears like a world tour she
had like a million years ago, Like he's an amazing mover,
and if like it's even you can even see it
in this episode when he like anytime he solves a case,
the way he walks, the way he handles his props,
his phones, it's like fucking cool. And I just think
when Tony came over, he was in shock at like

(30:18):
not that we're unprofessional, we're just better, but I remember
that he was like he felt like he was like
a substitute teacher who was like you know, and the
kids were just out of control, like you could not
get us to stop talking. But you were the best, Katie.
You were. I remember you. We'd be like talking and
then they'd be like okay, rolling, but you still be
talking about and then like close to actually be like, Olivia,

(30:39):
I need to go to that. You were so good
at going from like you know what I mean, from
reality to like, Quinn, you were so good at it.
I'm so honored you were so so good at it. Okay,
So we talked about the Lincoln memorial part, and then
the end of the episode is that Gideon walks in
and Amanda Tanna is there and she's now become our client,

(30:59):
and she's like, you don't have a story, and he's like, well,
I wasn't sure, but now that I've just walked in
here and aman Tanna is here and you're here, now
I do what a freaking turd? Right? I was like,
you're a little turd. Like he's so annoying in this episode.
I was like a little bitch, like what is wrong?
Who's this? Is that your best friend? Did she just

(31:20):
try to kill herself? Oh? Wow? Or whatever? The hell?
When he walks in and he's saying, Quinn like, oh yeah, yeah, Well,
you know what's funny. When I first met Gideon, who's
an amazing actor, he's he's doing this is what he needed.
He's an amazing actor. And by the way, do you
know who he's married to Gideon Wallace, who is played
by Brendan Hines. During the pandemic, married Tatiana mass Lani,

(31:46):
who played who is the leading Orphan Black. She won
the Emmy for Orphan Black. Do you know I swear
that I was going to say the Russian ice skater.
I'm not even kidding, Oksana Bayou. I was thinking Oksana,
but I was like, that motherfucker married the Russian skater.
I'm so dumb. Wait, No, Gideon did not marry Axana

(32:14):
by that's the stupidest thing. Oh God, I hope this
podcast comes out and we just start that rumor. Boy,
I hope she's okay. Well, she's okay, she's okay, but wait,
he married this lovely woman. He married Tatiana Muslani. No,
she's like literally one of the greatest actions of our time.

(32:35):
I know exactly who that is outstanding and they're both Canadian,
and I think there's like living this phenomenal life. Bless Gideon,
like I mean, bless Brendon hyd and bless that is
a rap on, I'm kidding. We will be back with
more after the break. Benito Unpacking the toolbox. Wait, how

(33:04):
do you say unpacking the tool box in Spanish. I
don't know, that's hard. I don't know something like that. Yeah, welcome,
welcome back, y'all. I remember coming to the Prospect offices
to read episode two when we had heard we were
picked up, and Sean is sitting down next to me

(33:26):
and being like, that's going to be your love interest,
like right there, Brendan Hines, and I remember being like, huh,
oh my god. It's not that he's so handsome and
like a great actor. I just was like not ready
to like have a love interest. I wasn't like comfortable yet.
I felt like, oh god, fuck, that's what Quinn's gonna

(33:46):
be doing. Oh no, I think your first one of
your first thoughts, which was for all of us, because
when I first found out that Huck was going to
have a love interest, was like, am I going to
have have my shirt off? Do I have to stop eating?
Do I need to work out? What the fuck are
they gonna have a shirt? Because it's scandals, so you
knew they were going to end up screwing right show people.

(34:08):
Fucking was on the table. I mean not cable, not
cable sex, not cable sex, but yeah, ten PM sex,
which is more than Grays at nine pm, and we
had all seen Grays. We knew we were going to
be pushing the envelope a little more than that. Yes,
So it wasn't that it was like, oh no, Brendan Hynes.
It was more like, oh no, wait, shit, I'm gonna
have a love interest. I'm gonna have to have to

(34:29):
be doing stuff like I didn't have a lot of
experience with that. But anyway, Gideon Wallace the tur Yes,
he's Turkish in the episode, and that he just is
like trying to uncover the case and it might be annoying. Yeah.
And also a little piece of information about Brendan Hynes
is that he did Lock and Key with Darby. He's

(34:49):
in that show with Darby. Yeah. Yeah, Well get on
board because Brendan Hines and Gideon Wallace are a big
part of season one. There's a lot going on, and
we're going to be talking a lot about Brennan Hinz
and x Bayule and the rest of this season. The
Scandal Rewatch podcast Unpagging the Toolbox. Fun facts about the episode,

(35:12):
This is funny. We talked about the Stevie wonder of
it all and the songs which I feel like are perfect.
The episode was referenced in Jeopardy That's right, yeah, and
this I love. There's a small continuity error people. You know,
some of those Twitter fans are going to be like, oh,

(35:33):
I know that, My god. The continuity error is Patrick
Keating is the president's first Supreme Court justice nominee during
his presidency. But in season two, episode eight, Happy Birthday
as a President, we learned that as part of the
Defiance conspiracy deal, Verna Thornton was to receive a seat
on the Supreme Court, being fits his first Supreme Court
justice nominee in his term. We need to get someone

(35:56):
on this show because I think most writer's room have
not a dramatr but like a researcher, isn't there someone
in the room whose straight? But at some point that
stuff has to kind of go out the window and
there's got to be creative like light what is it
called creative license or whatever it's called, to just be
like you know what, like, yeah, that was that. But listen,

(36:20):
there's five freaking episodes like give us a break. Listen.
I'm a huge Golden Girls fan, and in some episodes,
Blanche has you know, one daughter and then the other
one she's got two daughters and one of them is
named this, and then the names change and I'm like,
who cares. It's a great show, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah,
stuff is continuity. Stuff is all screwed up on that show,

(36:43):
and I think I'm on great shows. Yeah. For example,
my first screen test was for Guiding Light, which is
like one or I don't think it's not anymore, but
it was like the longest running soap opera, and I
was coming on to test to just be someone else
who already existed in that role. Like that's how much

(37:04):
people don't give a ship. Oh yeah, that's where it started.
You're right. They were like, you're auditioning to play like
like Abby, like if I was going in and just
like you're just replacing Abby. She played the role for
twenty years and now she wants to retire or we
can't make ends meet in her contract or whatever, so
will you just come on and be this person? And
you're like wait what, like no care? Yeah, but the

(37:27):
audience somehow accepts it, right, Like they don't make a
big deal about it, and people just just accepted because
it's you know, the show is still really great. Guiding
Like was an amazing show. You know what, I didn't
get that part. And guess who did Who This amazing
actress named Mellie Melissa Fumero, who was one of the
lead girls on Brooklyn nine nine and right now she's

(37:50):
on that show Blockbuster, and she's a wonderful working actress.
And we went to nd YU together and at the
time I was so bummed. I was like, I can't
believe she's replacing Aubrey or whatever. The character's name was,
a guying light and she like right out of the gate,
got like a four year contract on a soap opera
and like made money. God. I used to tell myself like, oh, whatever,

(38:11):
you don't want to be pigeonholed into being a soap
opera actor because then that's all you'll ever be. Well, guys,
that's not true, because Melissa Favara is doing great. But
at the time, that's like it means so much writing
you're like, oh god, this would have meant the world.
But look at you now, look at you now played
Quinn on Scandal. Thank you? Oh my god. I just

(38:32):
heard back from the Queen herself, Shonda Rhymes, and I wrote, again,
why was Caroline Olivia Pope's middle name no presh doing
the podcast now three heart emojis, Oh no, and then
I added, is that your middle name or something? That's
what I remember. I remember being on set and someone

(38:52):
saying that this is Shonda's middle name. I am like, literally,
I'm making ship up that none of that is true.
She wrote, Nope, it just came out of my head
one day in writing the show. Wow, you heard it
here first, folks. Also, just so, just so everyone knows,
I do not have Shonda Rhyme's phone number. Go on, Katie,

(39:14):
go on, continue, I'm gonna give it to you. Please don't,
please don't. I don't want to send her something by
mistake and be like, oh my god. No. But I'm
going to bring it to all of you, all of
you listeners. I am going to bring you the good stuff.
I will reserve it and not text her anymore unless
it's unless it's def coon for all cylinders people, let's go,

(39:38):
but no, out of her brilliant head, Olivia Caroline Pope,
can we just sing the song we used to sing
whenever Olivia Pope O p A was handling a case. Pope, Pope,
Pope it out, uh, that's folks on and byu y'all.

(40:07):
Brendan Haynes, congratulations, May may your love last forever. But
before we go, like real quick, we got to read
some tweets at the time. You all know, all you
super fans, all you o G gladiators that are listening,
you know that Twitter was the backbone and party. Every
single Thursday night, ten pm East Coast time, Mountain time,

(40:30):
Pacific time, whatever fucking time. Twitter was going off, and
Gee and I thought it would be really funny if
we could go back and find any tweets because it's
such a time capsule. We have three here that I
they're not that great, but they're gonna get great. They're
gonna get great. These tweets at the time are okay,

(40:54):
But I know this, this segment will pay off in
later episode. This is just the big inning. This is
when people are just starting to get there, like Twitter,
feet wet so all the way. In April twelfth of
two thousand twelve, Miss Cassia, who is at Savon Black,
quotes I'm a gladiator in a suit. I don't know
if it was her, but on Twitter and some fan

(41:16):
on Twitter hashtag the first Gladiator as being like that's
the name of fans who watched Scandal, which stuck and
still sticks to this day. Like I have people come
up and they're like, no, no no, you don't get it,
Like I'm a gladiator, Like I'm a gladiator, and I'm like,
I believe you. I believe you. They're like, no, I'm
like an O G gladiator. Like from the beginning, from
day one, I'm like, I believe you're a gladiator. I

(41:38):
need to get my groceries. I believe you are gladiator.
And then from that we change it to like gladiator
in pajamas, Gladiator in whatever, Gladiator in doctor Close, Gladie.
Like people would change it for whatever they needed. Bonnie
Smith at Bond Bond Faboo on April twelve, twelve wrote,

(42:00):
Thursday night prime time is the place to watch strong,
intelligent women kicking ass and taking names freedom major pain
forty four. She retweeted Scandal, ABC, do you think Amanda
Town is telling the truth about her affair with the president? Uh?
Hashtag scandal. The president is a liar. He's a liar.
That's what she wrote. The President is a liar. He

(42:22):
is a freaking liar. Like it's in this episode there's
so many references to to, you know, the Monica Lewinsky
Bill Clinton scandal as well. And Cyrus has a line
to the President in this episode Dirty Little Secrets, and
he says, don't don't Clinton talk to me or something
like that, and I thought I caught that yesterday when
I was rewatching it. I've watched this episode like twelve times. Um,

(42:45):
but I was like, oh, that's such a great line.
These tweets will get crazier and crazier. They have to
be like the nastiest, like crazy tweets ever. Right. I
spent a whole night on Twitter in one of the
episodes talk think about my ass, And I went to
work and I told Oliver Bockelberg, are amazing. DP. We

(43:06):
were doing some episode where there was a mansion and
they did a wide angle shot to show this is
what I tell myself. Did a wide angle shot to
show the mansion and my my the back of Quinn
is what walked us into the shot. And this was
insane what was shown on national television. And I spent
the entire episode just reading tweets about my butt. No yeah,

(43:32):
and like pent of them were complimentary and I'll take
it honey, I will take it. But but look, we're
just getting started on the Scandal rewatch podcast. I'm Packing
the Toolbox. This is we're just starting the unpacking at
the Toolbox. So like things are going to get crazy.
The series keeps getting more insane, intense, wild, so will

(43:55):
this podcast. We're gonna about different shirts or no shirts
for some of the podcasts. I'm down. I love early
o g Scandal though, like I just am both psyched
to be on this ride with everybody listening and with you, Garmo.
I love you so much. But I'm so happy to

(44:16):
be watching these early episodes. They have such a fucking
place in my heart. We're literally reliving this experience right
like it's pretty We're pretty lucky. This is awesome. I'm
super excited. And again, this is just the beginning, y'all.
This is just episode two of Unpacking the Toolbox. And
next week come back listen to us talk about season

(44:37):
one episode three. Yes, y'all, please come back. The episode
is called hell Hath No Fury And if you want
to hear me and Katie like a tug shit and
cut up and crack up where we're crying, come back
and listen to the next episode. Yes, and listen and
tell your friends I'm talking to you. All you gladiators

(45:00):
out there o G. Gladiators and suits, Gladiators and doctor pants,
Gladiators and sweatpants, Gladiators with wine glasses, Gladiators on spin bikes,
Gladiators with popcorn. Whatever gladiator you find yourself to be,
current or in the past. Come be part of the
Scandal fam and tune in next week. Thank you so

(45:20):
much for listening. I love you guard Hi guys, Thank
you guys for joining us on Unpacking the Toolbox. If
you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, share with your friends, rate,
or leave us a review. Scandal is executive produced by
Sandy Bailey, alex Alcha, Lauren Holman, Tyler Klang, and Gabrielle Collins.

(45:41):
Our producer and editor is Vince to Johnny, with music
by Chad Fisher. Scandal is a production of ABC Signature,
and you can follow along by rewatching Scandal on Hulu.
Unpacking the Toolbox is a production of Shondalan Audio in
partnership with I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from shondaland Audio,
visit the I Heart Radio app or anywhere you subscrip
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Hosts And Creators

Guillermo Díaz

Guillermo Díaz

Katie Lowes

Katie Lowes

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