Finale Preview 2013

Scandal (ABC)
Maybe we just miss The West Wing, but Shonda Rhimes' gritty, fast-paced political thriller has us hooked — and it keeps getting better. As fixer Olivia Pope, Kerry Washington commands the screen but also lets viewers see Olivia's vulnerability. Plus: Her surrounding ensemble is great, particularly Guillermo Diaz's quiet badass and Jeff Perry's raging White House bulldog. Best of all, aside from Olivia's forbidden romance — you know, with the president — this show is more concerned with the fate of the nation than with who's boinking who in Exam Room 3.