Scandal's Hiring A Netflix Star? Why Stop With Portia de Rossi?

As production ramps up on the big fall shows, casting news has been trickling out, most of it boring. But here's one pairing of star and series that actually managed to intrigue even a grizzled old veteran like me: Portia de Rossi is coming to Scandal for an arc in Season 4. We still don't know what she's going to be doing, but that just means that (a) we can decide precisely what the show should have her do, and (b) make up guest-starring opportunities for some of her fellow Netflix stars. If you have a pipeline to Shonda Rhimes, please tell her all these ideas are free for her to use.

Portia de Rossi

Netflix show she stars in: Arrested Development.

Proposed Scandal storyline: As an operative for the super-secret black-ops agency B613, Jake had nothing to fear from any person or power on earth...except his ex-wife Fiona (de Rossi)!!!

Or maybe... With Olivia out of the picture, the White House needs a new crisis manager, and Mellie finds herself very intrigued by a presentation from Olivia's greatest yet somehow heretofore unseen rival: Bridget Galloway (de Rossi)!

Baron Vaughn

Netflix show he stars in: The upcoming Grace & Frankie.

Proposed Scandal storyline: After being swept into office following his personal tragedy, Fitz finds that, in his second term, he faces very little opposition to his legislative agenda -- with the notable exception of firebrand Colorado Congressman Vincent McLean (Vaughn)!

Or maybe... Marie Wallace may have married Eli and remade herself at Maya Pope for the sake of her cover identity, but what neither Olivia nor Eli know is that Marie also had a second family in New York, and her son Owen (Vaughn) followed her into the family business: international terrorism!

Famke Janssen

Netflix show she stars in: Hemlock Grove.

Proposed Scandal storyline: Olivia thinks she's out of the crisis management business upon her departure from D.C. Then Liv sees a news report on Renate Visser (Janssen), the embattled mayor of Rotterdam accused of having spent her late teens working in Amsterdam's Red Light District, and offers her services -- pro bono, of course!

Or maybe... Mellie thinks Fitz's problems with fidelity are behind him...until she throws a state dinner for the stunning Danish Prime Minister (Janssen)!

Vincent D'Onofrio

Netflix show he stars in: The upcoming Marvel's Daredevil.

Proposed Scandal storyline: Abby thought she was free of her old life, victimized by her abusive ex-husband. But appearing on TV as the spokeswoman for a presidential campaign brought her to the attention of his brother Jeremiah (D'Onofrio), and he's come to D.C. for revenge.

Or maybe... David Rosen's office gets a shot in the arm with the addition of a new investigator: former NYPD Detective Robert Goren (D'Onofrio)!

Alison Brie

Netflix show she stars in: A voice in the upcoming animated series Bojack Horseman.

Proposed Scandal storyline: Quinn may think she's pretty hot shit at B613, until she meets new recruit Stephanie Crowne (Brie), a bright-eyed brunette who's just as bloodthirsty as Quinn -- and much younger, to boot!

Or maybe... Martine Dutton (Brie) is the ambitious Chief of Staff to Bill Grantlee (John Larroquette), the Senate Majority Leader, who's facing a tough re-election campaign. He thinks he'll be able to swing voters and raise lots of out-of-state cash if he finally comes out of the closet -- but when a dubious Martine comes to OPA to research the question, which of them will turn out to be right???

Michael Kelly

Netflix show he stars in: House Of Cards.

Proposed Scandal storyline: Mellie may have lost one old love when Andrew Nichols spurned her in order to remain on Fitz's ticket. Sam Briggs (Kelly), the new head of her Secret Service detail, has no patience for her attempts to countermand his efforts to preserve her safety...and she happens to find his exasperation very attractive!

Or maybe... Some extremely incriminating evidence regarding the death of Daniel Douglas Langston finds its way to Ted Winchester (Kelly), the newly confirmed DA for Washington, D.C.

Samira Wiley

Netflix show she stars in: Orange Is The New Black.

Proposed Scandal storyline: Katrina Bryce (Wiley) is the Deputy Director of a multi-million-dollar breast cancer charity -- and she needs OPA to help her prove that funds have been misappropriated to anti-choice causes and that the organization's CEO must be deposed!

Or maybe... Olivia knew that abandoning her business and leaving D.C. would force her to try on a new kind of life. But she doesn't know exactly how much freedom for experimentation she's granted herself until she lands in St. Croix and takes an immediate interest in Sandrine Beauchamp (Wiley), the sexy concierge at her hotel...!