Every day, I miss Scandal.
Shonda Rhimes perfected the complex blend of classy and certifiably batshit television with that show, and then poured it into one of Olivia Pope’s bathtub-sized wine glasses for us to savor alongside Kerry Washington.
The highest compliment I can give the new NBC drama Line of Fire is that it joins Netflix’s The Diplomat—returning soon!—as the closest series to delivering those Scandal vibes that I’ve so missed. Let’s say, to continue the labored wine metaphor, it’s got a sensationalist Scandal body with Gossip Girl-forward notes on the nose. (I don’t know. I don’t describe wines. I just drink them.)
Line of Fire is a juicy entry in the world of broadcast dramas, which have seen this genre of pulpy family thrillers cede the way to network schedules more overflowing with procedurals than most city precincts have cases.
It has my favorite kind of premise: laughably ridiculous, yet somehow so believable that it’s surprising this plot hasn’t existed on TV before.