Scandal’s Kerry Washington Pregnant: How Past Shows ‘Handled’ It, Which Ways Work for Olivia
![[PHOTOS] Kerry Washington Pregnant -- How TV Shows Hide Pregnancy](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1-kerry-washington-pregnant-january-jones-mad-men.jpg?w=514&h=359&crop=1)
![[PHOTOS] Kerry Washington Pregnant -- How TV Shows Hide Pregnancy](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2-kerry-washington-pregnant-anatomy-capshaw.jpg?w=336&h=268&crop=1)
![[PHOTOS] Kerry Washington Pregnant -- How TV Shows Hide Pregnancy](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/3-kerry-washington-pregnant-parks-and-recreation.jpg?w=336&h=268&crop=1)
![[PHOTOS] Kerry Washington Pregnant -- How TV Shows Hide Pregnancy](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/4-kerry-washington-pregnant-bones-brennan.jpg?w=336&h=268&crop=1)
![[PHOTOS] Kerry Washington Pregnant -- How TV Shows Hide Pregnancy](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/5-kerry-washington-pregnant-ana-ortiz-ugly-betty.jpg?w=336&h=268&crop=1)
Kerry Washington is reportedly expecting her first baby, according to People.com, a happy development that may (or may not) have Scandal-ous repercussions for the actress’ TV alter-ego, Washington, DC fixer Olivia Pope.
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While it’s probably too early for Shonda Rhimes & Co. to decide how (and whether) Washington’s pregnancy will affect any upcoming story arcs, we thought it’d be interesting to examine how other modern TV shows have handled their leading ladies’ baby bumps — and whether said strategies might work on Scandal.
Click through the gallery below for an octet of ideas, then hit the comments and tell us which template you’d like Scandal to follow!
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Cover it up!
I agree. Olivia is too smart to let herself get pregnant.
Birth control is not 100% effective.
It is when Olivia Pope takes it. #BADASS
99.9% is pretty freaking close.
Agreed. I just don’t think the show could be as fast paced and surprising if they write her pregnancy into the story.
As long as its handled/written well and as long as it doesn’t mean less Scandal, that’s what I’m voting for!!! Oh and of course a healthy and happy baby for Ms. Washington!!! Congratulations!
Congrats to Kerry Washington! They could always do what Hart of Dixie is doing, just never show her stomach on screen and use a double if they have to…
Oh yes. An Olitz baby ! Bring it to me! Bring it to me now!
No. While I do love Fitz and Olivia, having a baby would weigh her down. Scandal doesn’t seem like she show were the main character could have a baby, it doesn’t fit with Olivia or the show.
I completely agree. It would be disastrous for Olivia to get pregnant. This show is not conducive to babies. Even though Cyrus and James have a baby, it does not interfere with the story line. Adoption + baby sitters + less screen time for James = minimal baby time. Usually there’s barely a mention.
I’m all in favor of the plan that brings John Barrowman back (depending on how many episodes he’ll be in of Arrow).
I could see Olivia getting shot and being hospital bound for a couple of episode and get John Barrowman to run Pope and Assoc
I think this is the easiest. I’m all for big tote bags for a while, but depending on how filming falls, it might make sense to have Olivia running the show from a hospital bed for a while (it’s the only way that her fashion choices could accommodate a baby).
Maybe they could entice Henry Ian Cusick to come back and help things out too? John Barrowman would also be good, though.
John Barrowman’s character was killed on Arrow wasn’t he?
Yes but I don’t believe they found his body. And he is slated to return for some episodes this season so apparently he was not actually dead.
So was Sarah.
Yes please! More Barrowman, I say!
I LOVED the way Desperate Housewives handled Marcia Cross’ pregnancy. She was written out of about a half-dozen season 3 episodes, and returned for the finale after her maternity leave “pregnant”…only to find out in the final moments that she was faking it.
Go for the most Scandalous option: WRITE IT IN! I would love to see how Shonda handles a Who The Daddy story.
I sincerely hope Shonda will not stoop that low.
On Grey’s or PP, I would’ve expected nothing less. But I just don’t see Shonda doing this with Scandal, I just don’t.
Cover it up with purses, furniture, and whatever else the director can think of. I’m not ready for Olivia Pope to be a mother, it would take away from her being a fixer. Plus I don’t feel like watching “who’s the daddy”.
When Mariska Hargitay was pregnant on Law & Order SVU they shot her from the waist up when she started to show. That seems like the most sensible way to handle Washington’s pregnancy.
I will say right now: if Shonda write some cheap babydaddy shenanigans (Fitz vs Jake) into the story arc, I am done. If she stoops that low, the series is done.
Marcia Cross was actually pregnant during Season 3 of DH and they covered it up with objects until she left for a couple of episodes. Then in Season 4 the fake pregnancy happened on the show and Marcia Cross was no longer pregnant. Just thought I’d point that out.
How annoying. So you could have done the fake pregnancy storyline when she was Actually pregnant… but you didn’t. Wow.
I think that’s happened a few times on shows. The actress gets pregnant and they cover it up only for the writers to make the character pregnant a season or two later. So the actress basically goes from being real pregnant to fake pregnant in a two year span.
Yeah, definitely do not write it into the storyline. Cover that sucker up to the best of your ability. Have Huck or Quinn conveniently standing in front of Olivia at all times. Have her sitting down in every single meeting. Or doing press conferences in front of huge podiums. No babies on Scandal.
as interesting as it would be to write in it. President’s love child and all. I just wouldn’t believe Olivia Pope having an unplanned/unexpected pregnancy. Plus Shonda seemed to ignore most of Grey’s Anatomy pregnancies, so i’m sure she’ll ignore this one but even that is hard with Olivia Pope’s fashion sense.
That would be really bad if the pregnancy was written in the show. Well the pregnancy itself could be ok, but what to do with a baby next ?
Or… they show the pregnancy, and then the baby dies… problem solved.
Congratulations to Kerry and her husband!
write it in an screw with mellys head. she has a baby with fitz, olitz would have a baby. that will be awesome.
You may have included what happened to Lily during Alyson Hannigan’s first pregnancy, but you forgot to include Lily avoiding Barney after hearing a really dirty joke from him.
Does no one else think that it’s sort of irresponsible for everyone to be speculating on Kerry Washington’s pregnancy? It seems like no one from her camp (or husband’s) has actually confirmed it–everyone is citing People or US Weekly, which both cite a source “close” to Ms. Washington. I’m not saying that she isn’t pregnant, but shouldn’t we all wait to speculate until she actually decides to share the news (if she ever does)?
Wow! With all sources acting as if it is a fact, I assumed she had confirmed it.
Congrads!!!
I say a mixture of jackets and storytelling can hide it. I don’t see her getting huge so it shouldn’t be a huge problem. The bigger issue is her leaving after having the baby.
I say we have her disappear for a few episodes and it turns out her dad threw her in the hole. :)
Thanks to Hunter Tylo’s landmark case (firing from MP before she filmed because she was pregnant), shows started to get creative in working around an actresses’ pregnancy. On MP, Heather Locklear was never show as pregnant even though she was far along. Since KW is the lead, it’s going to be tough to have entire episodes without her. It really depends on how far along they are with the season. Could be a great mystery, having her kidnapped or missing. Oh, and that’s great news for KW, she is a class act.
Heather Locklear was also pregnant on Melrose Place season 5, they began filming early n order to Heather could filme her scenes before she gave birth her daughter. 90210’s Jenny Garth was pregnant too and her belly was very big at the beginning of season 8. Kelly was shot by delinquents and had to rest in a hospital. Charisma Carpenter was pregnant in season 4 of Angel, the writers created a storyline about a crazy demon goddess who also created a human by one soulless vampire (Darla) and our vampire with a soul. Sadly that storyline ruined Cordelia’s character and she ask to leave the show in the next and final season.
Shonda could manage their actresses pregnancies but I still remember the sad storyline about Amelia’s pregnancy on Private Practice season 5. I hope that situation never happens on Olivia’s character
Who cares! Write Olivia pope out from a couple of episodes and make rowan either kill her off or at least throw her in the hole. I’m tired of her behaviour this season any way!!
Congrats to the new mom and dad-to-be :) But I hope they do NOT write in the pregnancy, I don’t see it fitting into the storyline.
I think Daddy Pope should kidnap Liv for some episodes under the pretense of protecting her from herself, so to speak. Then have Fitz & Jake have to work together to find her while Abby & Harrison battle out on who’s running Pope & Assoc. Plenty of drama there. And maybe they can film several scenes with Liv months in advances, like on soaps, and edit them in specific EPs later.
That ideas sounds like a winner!
Congrats to Kerry and her husband Nnamdi. I hope they don’t write it into the show. It would make for bad story telling right now. I am not interested in a WTD story, I believe they are 6 episodes ahead so they will probably be done shooting the season before she really starts showing. She’s supposedly due in late Spring.
Writing in a pregnancy and making it believable is tricky. For me, Bones jumped the shark and lost me as a viewer when they made the lead couple get together so fast after so many years of UST thanks to the pregnancy.
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On NCIS LA, Daniela Ruah’s pregnancy is smartly not being written into the show because the ship-tease they have between her character and Deeks is not ready for any such drama.
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For more believable couples in a realistic stage of their relationship, it is much easier to write in a pregnancy. On Alias, for example. If Stana Katic got pregnant and they had to write one in on Castle, that’d work.
So what you are saying is that you were not really a fan of Bones? Because while okay maybe they could have written the story a little different, that lead couple had been beating around the bush for years and they were headed that way anyway.
I was a fan, I watched every episode till the end of that season. But I wanted to see the actual romance bloom, blossom and grow from first kiss to having them start a family organically, not just have them sleep together in a rush and for Bones to announce it the next episode. It felt very anti-climactic and false and I thought a disservice to the characters.
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So when I did not enjoy the story, I quit watching the show. There is no “fandom contract” saying I have to keep watching come hell or high water.