One last crisis call
Olivia Pope and her team of gladiators are on the job in the seventh and final season of The Fixer.
There’s no job too big or small for crisis management guru Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) in drama series The Fixer (2012- current). But that doesn’t mean Liv isn’t tired of all the guns being pointed in her face in Washington, threats of abduction and even finding out that her dad Rowan (Joe Morton) was an undercover US agent who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at kidnapping his daughter to save face – which he’s actually arranged a couple of times over the previous six seasons. That’s why season 7 is the curtain call for Liv and the award-winning show. “I spoke to [show creator] Shonda Rhimes,” explains Channing Dungey, the entertainment president of ABC Network, home to The Fixer. “She said, ‘Look, I really feel like season 7 is where I want to wrap up this story, because I always prefer to end a show where you’re feeling on top as opposed to letting things fizzle out.’” And if the rumours are to believed, the Fixer team are going to have their hands full in the final 18 episodes, which have been brought to SA screens hot off their US première dates.
YOU’VE BEEN WARNED
When it comes to writing storylines, few can match Shonda and her production company Shondaland and without tooting their horns, Shonda has warned viewers “to expect all-out action. We’re leaving nothing on the table. We’re going to handle this the way Olivia Pope would: white hats on, gladiators running full speed over a cliff.” While the final season is longer than season 6, it’s still shorter than the 20-plus- episode seasons in the middle. Not that it’s a problem, says Shonda, who adds that her team had to rework some of their planned plots. “I used to know how it ended… and then Donald Trump was elected. We had a destination but I don’t know if that’s our destination anymore.”
SEASON 7 SECRETS
Like other ratings-topping shows, The Fixer keep things tightly under wraps ahead of its première date. “Information is always scarce,” says an insider. “They let you know what they want you to know. If they tell you something, it’s for a reason. It’s like they really are Command [a fictional government rank reserved for the President’s most trusted of experts]. Dig too much and you could find yourself in trouble.” Here’s what has been leaked…
The boss lady Olivia has been made Command. She’s now the most powerful and dangerous person in the capitol, like her disgraced dad Rowan was once upon a time.
Gladiator swap As Command, Olivia has revived the infamous B6-13 team of elite soldiers who aren’t governed by regular law. What that means is that Livvy can do what she wants to who she wants without consequence.
Old faces, new jobs Olivia’s “one true
love” former President
Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) has left town to run his foundation, but he will still be popping in for those midnight “meetings”. Olivia’s new boss is none other than her former rival for Fitz’s heart: his wife and now President Of The United States Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young), who was sworn into office in the season 6 finale in May. As for Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry), well he’s been eyeing the Vice Presidency for six seasons…