One of TV's long overdue crossovers is finally happening this Thursday when Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) teams up with Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) back to back on "Scandal" and "How to Get Away With Murder." It is exciting news for Shondaland fans but there is a sticky situation the shows have to handle: Liza Weil's dual roles.
Weil has notably appeared in both shows –as Amanda Tanner, a now-deceased White House intern who claimed to have an affair with the president, in "Scandal" and Bonnie Winterbottom, Annalise's dedicated associate, in "How To Get Away With Murder." Many fans have since been wondering how the crossover would deal with the matter. Now, executive producer Pete Nowalk is saying it will not be addressing it at all.
Speaking to Variety recently, Nowalk revealed they will be keeping Bonnie separate. "We just ignored it," he explained. "But what's interesting about Liza is she's such a chameleon — she looks very different and she's such a good actress that she can just transform. So I don't think it will bother anyone."
Bonnie will most certainly be on the "How To Get Away With Murder" crossover episode but she will reportedly not cross paths with any "Scandals" character nor will she be in the "Scandal" episode, according to Entertainment Weekly. That way, there will be no need to address the fact that the attorney shares a face with the murdered White House intern. The rest of Annalise's team, however, are expected to come face to face with Olivia and they will be a little bit "starstruck."
Despite the continuity confusion it brings, the crossover is not the first to make a tricky decision about actors portraying different characters within the same extended universe. "American Horror Story" also ignored that Sarah Paulson's Billie Dean looked just like Paulson's Sally on "Hotel."
The Shondaland crossover will be a two-hour event coming on Thursday, March 1, with "Scandal" airing first at 9 p.m. EST followed by "How To Get Away With Murder" at 10 p.m.
