Shonda Rhimes is a busy, busy woman - from still taking charge of her breakout series Grey's Anatomy to wrapping up production on recently ended spin-off Private Practice, she's busy crafting new inventive ideas for our televisual pleasure and while some of them sputter and are axed (sorry Off The Map), Rhimes' successes are always justified as one of the smartest, most dedicated and progressive writers of the past decade. Scandal, however, is the jewel in her crown - a small series upon its inception and initial airing, it quickly grew into a must-see political drama series that gave us incredible scenarios, brilliant lead characters and an involving narrative that made even the most political-phobic such as myself sit up and take notice. It also gave us the first black lead heroine in decades in the form of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), a crisis consultant BAMF, a cultural achievement that deserves recognition (if only for wondering why there aren't more women of colour as leads out there). Even while it's garnering celebrity fans and a much larger fanbase than before, not a lot of people are watching Scandal (even over here in my native UK where season one has just finished airing) and that's a shame. So, to try and entice you into catching up on every episode of this show so far, here are my top five reasons why you really should be watching 'Scandal'...