‘Scandal’ Season 5 Cast: Portia de Ross a Series Regular, Liz Chief of Staff | TVLine 

The following Q&A contains major spoilers about tonight’s

finale, so, if you live on the West Coast or if the episode’s still sitting on your DVR, hit the nearest exit. Everyone else, you may pass go…

finale, Elizabeth “Lizzie Bear” North threw Mellie and Cyrus under the bus, and, for doing so, was handed the ultimate reward: Cyrus’ Chief of Staff post.

Her portrayer, Portia de Rossi, also has reason to celebrate — she’s entering the ABC drama’s just-greenlit Season 5 as a full-fledged series regular.

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In an exclusive interview with TVLine, the actress justifies her character’s brazen power play, reveals the surprising way she found out about the season-ending twist and shares how she went about breaking the news to real-life wife (and self-proclaimed

It’s so exciting to finally talk about the finale because I haven’t been able to tell anybody anything.

TVLINE | How long have you known that Liz would be the new Chief of Staff?

Not long. We got the [first] draft [of the finale script] and it wasn’t in there. I think it was in the second or third [batch] of revisions. So it was only three days before I shot it that I knew what was going to happen. And it’s funny because when the rest of the cast read it they came up to me one-by-one and were like, “Oh my God, this is so incredible for you!” I was in the makeup [room] with Darby [Stanchfield] and she turned my chair around and said, “I have to look you in the eyes to talk about this with you. How great does it feel that you’re the new Chief of Staff?”

TVLINE | So you didn’t know until you read it in the script? No one told you beforehand?

No. I found out when the new [script] pages were emailed to me.

I was so excited, but I didn’t want to ruin it for Ellen — especially since it was the season finale. So I printed out the pages and I was holding them and I said to her, “Can I

to tell her. I just told her [the Chief of Staff] thing. She was happy for me, but she was also mad that she didn’t find out like everyone else. She really does get angry [about spoilers]. It’s really quite sweet. But I had to tell somebody. And I don’t trust anybody else.”

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TVLINE | And how long have you known that you would be a series regular in Season 5?

I’ve known about the series-regular thing for many months. I actually knew about it a long time before the cast knew about it; it was an internal secret.

She was tired of getting kicked around. She was sick of being Mellie’s dog, someone who fetches whatever she wants. It was payback time for Lizzie Bear. She had enough, so she made a big bold power move.

TVLINE | But Mellie didn’t really know what she was doing when she gave Rowan those names…

Yeah, it’s actually quite sad how it all blew up in her face. But all she really cared about was getting into the Senate and her own career.

Good question. Was this a long con? It’s not clear. But she kind of ends the season where she started. My very first scene was in Cyrus’ office. And I always looked at Cyrus and thought, “I want to play

] So it’s so crazy for me as an actress to be able to go into the next season in that role. I don’t know where Cyrus is going or how long I’m going to stay there but for right now it’s pretty exciting.

TVLINE | What was it like shooting the scene where you walk into Cyrus’ office with your stuff?

It was a wonderful moment. Jeff [Perry] was so brilliant in that scene. It was such an incredible moment between the two of us. It was so fun.

TVLINE | Are you excited to be heading into next season as a regular?

I’ve been here for the entire season, so, honestly, I already feel like I’m part of the family. It would’ve been very sad for me

to come back. And to come back with a guarantee of a few more episodes than [I was in this season] is really fantastic. It’s just a great ensemble cast. And we’re all really excited about the show —

. I came on as a fan, but all the actors are just as excited as when they first started the show. And I love Shonda Rhimes. I

TVLINE | It’s kind of amazing how grateful and humble the cast remains after all these years. You don’t see that often in this business.

. I’ve been on a lot of shows. People get a little jaded or complacent. There’s something so magical about

. I have to say, Kerry Washington really sets the tone for the rest of us. She is so enthusiastic and happy and grateful and humble. She is a class act. She shows everyone else how it’s done. I have to give the credit to her. This is an anomaly, as far as people genuinely supporting each other and being excited for what we’re making. We’re all so thrilled for each other, we all like each other. There’s no competitiveness. There’s no drama. We save the drama for

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YESSSSS! I loved everything her character did in the episode. I figured when she appeared as the only non-regular on the panel fearured in the podcast this week that she was being promoted. Thank you Shonda!

Sickening, awful ending! Done with this show. Ridiculous.

Why not wait until the other shoe drops in the fall?

Why? Mellie got what she wanted a political career. Cyrus can be Mellie’s chief of staff in the Senate. It is going to be Mellie/Cyrus versus Fitz/Olivia/Lizzie. Fireworks are coming. YAY!

There was so much that I loved about that finale, but Lizzie was truly one of the best parts about it. So glad she’ll be back full time next year, even though she basically already was in season 4, just not officially!

Lizzie is so shady. I knew as soon as she spoke that she was setting Mellie up for a fall. And Cyrus rolled the dice one time too many.

I love when favorite actors of mine are employed!

Portia has been basically the only true positive during this past season. Glad for her. Definitely a smart move to keep her on.

Well, what does that mean for the next season of Arrested Development? :-/

They are all so busy. We just have to hope they all get in the same room at the same time at some point

Attention Gladiators! Looks like Elizabeth North is here to stay. ABC has now confirmed that Portia de Rossi has been promoted to series regular for season 5. Her character, Elizabeth North, is now the new White House Chief of Staff after Cyrus Beene got the boot:

Excellent news, she is great, she was great in Ally McBeal, Arrested Development and even the short-lived Better off Ted, I’m happy to see her finally catch a decent break and get a steady gig.

Having said that, this constant need every Shondaland actor seems to have to sing Shonda Rhimes praises starts to feel forced. I know I am probably way too cynical about this and for that I am sorry and I am also aware that she could be just this great of a boss but at this point it feels much more like this neverending “I love Shonda / Shonda is the best boss / We are one big happy family / Shonda knows best” line is more of a job requirement than a sincere declaration. No actor talks as much about their boss as a Shondaland actor does and only to praise her to high heaven. Too much…and considering the non-disclosure agreements she reportedly makes everyone sign she employs not to mention the mysterious and surprisingly nasty ‘killoffs’ of fan favourite actors (Chyler Leigh, Patrick Dempsey) who were rumoured to be at odds with her, all suggest that though she may be indeed the best boss in the world, in reality she may just love to hear that she is and since she is surrounded by actors who work for her and are painfully aware of what happens to actors who don’t please her (ego), she can probably hear “best boss ever” all the time.

Full disclosure, I love all three of her shows, I think she is a very talented writer and I admire how she created wonderful opportunities for women and women of color. I simply think she may have let her ego get the better of her. Sheer speculation so I do apologize, still, this is the observation I made.

You’re 100% on the mark. I used to work at ABC and Shonda is known for being a total bitch on wheels. She’s not nice. She’s not liked. She’s very much like Jackson’s mom on Grey’s.

Maybe it might be because it’s pretty well-known what happened with Katherine Heigl (I still think she’s a great actress even though many people hate her and she’s in my top 10 list of favourite Shondaland characters). She’s like a cautionary tale for every Shondaland actor.

Love the role of Lizzie, and love Portia’ portrayal. SUHWEET twist for her. And oh holy hell, how it sets up all kinds of intrigue, drama, and other stuff for early next season. I was almost gone. I’m 100% back in now.

The only thing that I’m surprised about is how long it took her to make Portia a regular. I love her character and she’s a great actress. But, does anyone else think that it has anything to do with how much Ellen promotes Scandal? It seems like every week someone from Scandal is on Ellen and Ellen talks about the show almost daily. It’s Scandal this and Scandal that. I mean if I didn’t watch the show already – I would just to see what Ellen was talking about.

This interview was filled with so much sweetness it gave me diabetes.

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