Interracial love on TV is the new normal
At one point, Olivia Pope (Washington) mentions the Sally Hemings-Thomas Jefferson nature of their relationship. President Fitzgerald “Fitz” Grant (Goldwyn) is stung by the comment, and later remarks, “You’re playing the race card because I’m in love with you? Come on! Don’t belittle us.” Interestingly enough, I didn’t give much thought at all to the interracial aspect of their pairing until Olivia brought it up.
I suppose the subject cannot be ignored completely, nor should it be; however, the choice of Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes to make their racial disparity more of a non-issue than a huge brouhaha may be the biggest watershed moment of all.
Orange is the New Black is another example of show that proves times are changing for the better. Not only does the Netflix prison dramedy contain a diverse range of romantic entanglements—from a Latina prisoner’s dalliance with her white guard to a a plethora of same-sex encounters that nimbly defy racial divides—but the series also depicts an interracial family with appropriately subtle nuance and grace.