Earlier this month executive producer David Zabel compared his show “Betrayal”—which focuses on an affair between a married woman and married man—to fellow ABC show Scandal. The political drama deals largely with the affair between Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn). Zabel said, according to TVLine.com, that if fans were able to accept the main female character in Scandal as a cheater, they may be able to do the same with his main character Sara (Hannah Ware).
However, “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes recently told the website that making infidelity “acceptable” wasn’t the drama’s goal.
“We weren’t setting out to make adultery OK,” Rhimes said referring to Zabel’s comparison. “To me it’s not about adultery or not adultery. We’re telling the story of these two characters who very specifically have this kind of relationship.”
Rhimes also mentions, the show gives the viewers a chance to judge for themselves. She said “So while there are times when you’re like, ‘Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) and Liv are wonderful and I want them to be together,’ there are also times you think, ‘Fitz is scum and he shouldn’t be cheating on his wife.
“And there are times you think, ‘Olivia should go off and find herself somebody who’s single.’”
While one can understand the comparison Zabel is trying to make, the stories of “Betrayal” and “Scandal” are a tad different. The “Betrayal” story seems to stem from—and pretty much center on—the infidelity of one man and one woman in their marriages. While Scandal heavily uses the story of Fitz and Olivia, the main story focuses on the “scandalous” political dealings in the show and which major player is trying to bring down another major player.
"Scandal" returns to the small screen Oct. 3, 10/9c. “Betrayal” premieres on Sept 29, 10/9c.
