7. Abby Whelan (Scandal)
She's the fiery redhead on Kerry Washington/Shonda Rhimes smash hit Scandal, a political thriller and crisis management drama all rolled into one, but it's surprising how little love there is for the brave and brazen, sassy and snarky Abby Whelan. Abby is definitely one of the characters with the most untapped potential for exploring backgrounds - she's definitely a key player in the team and in terms of romantic entanglements, her and David Rosen's on-off relationship is juicy as hell. However she's often relegated to a minor role in the show - new girl Quinn and boss of the business Olivia are stronger, more central characters in the team and therefore the show. It' s a shame really that she's left in the background but an unavoidable one when surrounded by other strong characters.