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Shonda Rhimes says the Washington she's created for the political drama Scandal is a dark, amoral one — and "a little Shakespearean," in the way it's a place where big themes play out among powerful people who aren't afraid to make bold moves.

"In the world of the show, [our] America sees Washington as this fairytale-beautiful place, and everybody who works there is really helping keep that illusion alive," the series creator tells Morning Edition's Renee Montagne.

"But they're all very much aware that with that peeled away, they're just monsters set adrift in a world where there are no rules."

Rhimes says the casting of star Kerry Washington was a choice driven by some very specific ideas about the character. And yes, those ideas included some of the racial cluelessness Olivia Pope might encounter, as someone singular and powerful enough to often be the only black person in a room — even a modern-day room.

"There were certain things about that job ... there were ways in which she [might] be treated that I thought were very specific to the black experience," Rhimes says. "We did an episode where she walks into the room, and the client immediately assumes that Abby — the tall, white redhead she works with — is Olivia Pope."

"That's a thing that's happened to me," Rhimes says.

The End Is In Sight (Not That She's Telling How Far Out)

Unlike the long-running medical drama Grey's Anatomy, another of Rhimes' hit shows, Scandal is a project with a clear expiration date. In Rhimes' head, anyway.

"I knew the end of Grey's Anatomy, and then we kept going, so that I finally just had to write that and move past it," Rhimes says. "Who knows, at this point, how long that show's going to go? It's going to go as long as I feel interested in what happens to those characters."

Not so Scandal — most likely. Currently in its third season, it's a "different kind of show."

"It is very political," Rhimes says. "The political landscape on the outside, in the real world, will change — possibly before Scandal is over."

"But I feel like there is a finite amount of Scandal to be told," she continues. "So I know what the end of Scandal will be, and I feel really good about that. And I can see where the end point is. And I don't think I'm going to change that. ... I know how long I think it will be. But we'll see."

This past weekend's Saturday Night Live was the most-watched episode of the season, but viewers may have been looking for something other than laughs. Saturday's show followed weeks of criticism over SNL's painfully obvious lack of diversity.

Al-Qaida's North African affiliate said Wednesday it is responsible for the kidnapping and killing of two French journalists in Mali over the weekend.

A website used by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said that Radio France Internationale's senior correspondent Ghislaine Dupont and a production technician for the network, Claude Verlon, were killed in response to France's "new crusade."

Sahara Media, a website used by the jihadists, said the killings were an answer to the "'daily crimes' committed by French and Malian forces in northern Mali," where France launched a military operation in January to flush out the Islamic extremists, The Associated Press says.

"The organization considers that this is the least of the price which (French) President Francois Hollande and his people will pay for their new crusade," the statement reads.

However, AP reports:

"A Mali intelligence official involved in the case said investigators believe the kidnapping was the work of a lower-level jihadist trying to return to the good graces of the al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb after being accused of stealing money. The militant is believed to have been reporting to Abdelkarim al-Targui, a prominent Malian in the al-Qaida branch, the official said."

Does a citizen of any country, not just the good ole U.S. of A., have an obligation to support its national teams? For goodness sake, it's just a game, not Horatius at the Bridge standing between us and national defeat.

The fact is, too, that because the U.S. is so powerful, our team is usually the favorite, and, hey, it's natural to root for the underdog. Somehow I don't think it makes you a traitor if, say, you take a liking to somebody like itsy-bitsy Lithuania when it battles our juggernaut of NBA all-stars in international basketball competition. After all it's not the Nationalism Broadcasting Company that brings us the Olympics.

Click on the audio link above to hear Deford's take on this issue.