Gladiators, suit up: The “Scandal” rewatch podcast, “Unpacking the Toolbox,” is set to return with new episodes on April 11.
“Unpacking the Toolbox” is hosted by former “Scandal” stars Katie Lowes (who played Quinn) and Guillermo Diaz (who played Huck) — their IRL friendship was forged on set, and fans nicknamed their twisted on-screen partnership Huckleberry Quinn.
Part of the iHeartPodcasts network, the Shondaland Audio series “Unpacking the Toolbox” —a reference to Huck’s torture kit — hit pause during the SAG-AFTRA strike, having covered the first two seasons of Shonda Rhimes’ ABC drama, which ran for seven seasons from 2012 through 2018.
“Scandal” revolved around Kerry Washington’s Olivia Pope, a D.C. fixer who also happened to be having an affair with the very married President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn). The series was a slow burn for ABC, ratings-wise, but midway through its second season, its delightfully batshit plotting and wild weekly cliffhangers caught on with audiences, as did the cast’s live-tweeting of the episodes. It was the birth of OMG TV. The success of “Scandal” changed television, as every broadcast network came to the long overdue realization that BIPOC actors could lead popular series.
During the actors strike, “Unpacking the Toolbox” produced several “Unpack the Industry” bonus episodes, which rolled out during the fall. In them, Lowes, Diaz and Shondaland executive producer Betsy Beers interviewed makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera, costume designer Lyn Paolo, the show’s composer Chad Fischer and casting director Linda Lowy.
The podcast’s new season will kick off with the Season 3 premiere of “Scandal,” titled with one of the Olivia’s famous catchphrases, “It’s Handled.” And upcoming guests on “Unpacking the Toolbox” include Washington, Goldwyn, Tom Verica, Melora Hardin, Scott Foley, Bellamy Young, Kate Burton, Dan Bucatinsky, Jeff Perry, Debbie Allen and Paul Adelstein.
