AOL TV has learned that Shonda Rhimes' newest ABC series, 'Scandal,' will share a lot more than a creator in common with the network's medical soaps 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Private Practice.'

Many of the guest stars booked to appear in the first season of 'Scandal,' which is scheduled to debut in early 2012, have also roamed the halls of Seattle Grace. Kate Burton and Jeff Perry, otherwise known as Ellis and Thatcher Grey, will both play Washington D.C. higher-ups in the new series, which stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, a PR crisis management consultant who specializes in ushering politicians and other celebs through very public scandals.

Burton will recur as the Vice President starting in episode 5, while Perry plays the White House Chief of Staff. JoBeth Williams, who played Addison's mom on 'Private Practice,' will appear as a major client during the series' third episode.

Here we are: Fall TV premiere week.

There are some exciting shows slated for fall, including 'Person of Interest' (CBS' Michael Emerson-Jim Caviezel procedural with a twist), 'Up All Night' (NBC's relatable new comedy starring Will Arnett, Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph), 'Pan Am' (ABC's swinging '60s drama set in the world of mile-high espionage), 'Secret Circle' ('The Vampire Diaries' boss Kevin Williamson's answer to witches) and 'Terra Nova' (Fox's ambitious time-travel dinosaur drama, pictured), just to name a few.

But some of the most buzzed-about shows are being held for January 2012 and beyond, and we're not the only ones taking note.

We gathered a group of esteemed critics to pick their favorite new dramas and comedies -- check out all our videos here -- and the conversation changed completely when we opened the selection up to include midseason offerings as well.

So, as much as people are probably over this common fill-in-the-blank statement, I'm saying it: This year, midseason is definitely the new fall. Check it out ...

We've seen the network's new fall pilots, and while they're not for review -- things often change drastically before the shows are set to premiere -- we do want to share our first reactions with you.

This is designed to get you excited for some new shows ... and to warn you to curb your enthusiasm for others. Just keep in mind that we'll have full reviews of the final pilots closer to airdate, in the fall or midseason. For now, here are our snap judgments of all of ABC's new shows for the 2011-2012 TV season.

There are 12 shows total -- the good ('Good Christian Belles'), the bad ('Charlie's Angels') and the ugly men dressed as women (cross-dressing comedy 'Work It') -- and plenty of varying opinions from Mo Ryan, Maggie Furlong, Jean Bentley, Chris Harnick, Kim Potts and Alexis Moore.

Here's how we're breaking these down:
Watch It - awesome show, can't wait for more
Skip It - it's either horrible or just totally not their thing
DVR It - there's potential, will give it a second chance

It's a new day at ABC, with 13 new shows set to fill the fall and midseason lineup.

Get your first look at the new shows including the 'Charlie's Angels' reboot, fairytale-themed 'Once Upon a Time,' Christina Ricci's first series regular role with 'Pan Am' and Tim Allen's return to sitcoms, 'Last Man Standing.'

Be on the lookout for veteran TV faces such as Teri Polo, Krysten Ritter, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Emily Van Camp and more.

ABC did not release trailers for highly-anticipated shows 'Good Christian Belles' and 'Missing.'

For more information on ABC's new fall schedule, including which night your favorite show will air, check out our post here.

Watch the videos after the jump.

Just as Tiger Woods hunkered down for a press conference at Augusta, Ga, for the 2010 Masters Golf Tournament, which runs Thursday through Sunday on ESPN and CBS, 'E! True Hollywood Story' announced Monday that it will devote an upcoming episode to the scandal and fallout involving the golf star.

According to Broadcasting & Cable, the hour-long episode will reveal how rumors of Woods' indiscretions existed well before they were made public, and will also include an interview with one of Woods' high school girlfriends. The show will also key in on the golf prodigy's career, his relationship with his father, his rise and then scandalized -- though most likely temporary -- slip from stardom.

The John Edwards scandal just gets better – or worse, depending on your perspective – by the minute. His former campaign aid Andrew Young appeared on 'Oprah Winfrey' (weekdays, syndicated) to talk about the scandal, as well as his book 'The Politician.'

Oprah Winfrey did not cut him any slack. "A lot of people would take a fall for people, but this, to me, was bigger than that," she said. "It wasn't just about taking a fall for John Edwards, it was about literally deceiving every American who was going to vote for him."

Young was definitely in an interesting situation. Where does his job leave off and his sense of moral duty to the country -- and Elizabeth Edwards -- begin?

Watch the video after the jump.

More of our best of the decade coverage, which started earlier today. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about the decade's biggest TV scandals.

Who doesn't like a little drama? We love it here at TV Squad. Of course, its usually the scripted kind that we obsess over, not the real-life variety. But it was hard to escape all of the behind-the-scenes scandals going on during the Aughts.

The backstage drama often spilled out onto the tube, in talk show interviews, reality series, and with the 24-hour news networks looking to fill time and boost their ratings. Needless to say, we had little trouble picking our top TV scandals of the '00s.

'Working Girl', one of my favourite '80s movies, was on TV the other day, and I sat down to watch Melanie Griffith battle her way to the top of the Manhattan corporate ladder for the umpteenth time. I was mildly and pleasantly surprised when Alec Baldwin turned up on screen - but not just Alec Baldwin - young, gorgeous, whole-future-ahead-of-him Alec Baldwin. Dear Lord, that man attractive when he was younger. I was too young to think about it at the time - I was 11 when 'Working Girl' came out. I only had eyes for My Little Ponys. So I end up drooling over what a man used to look like knowing full well he has aged into something else entirely (see also William Petersen.)

You knew that after a weekend of blackmail scandal news and tabloid stories, David Letterman wasn't going to open his show on Monday just telling jokes about Chicago losing the Olympics. In fact, he started off the proceedings with a bang, asking the audience, "Did your weekend just fly by?"

Then he proceeded telling some pretty funny jokes about the scandal; he spent the weekend "raking my hate mail," that it was "chilly outside the house and chilly inside the house," and that the next phase is to go on Oprah and sob. He even acknowledged his odd comedic predicament by trailing off on jokes about Bill Clinton, Mark Sanford and Eliot Spitzer, realizing that he's not in the position to poke fun at those folks.

But then, after the break, he sincerely apologized to his staff for putting them through this mess, and said he had a lot of work to do to repair things with his wife, Regina Lasko. It was at that moment (video below) that I realized that Dave needs to stop talking about this mess... immediately:

Ambre Lake has found out about Daisy's chit-chat with TMZ. Outside a Los Angeles club, the herion-chic groupie revealed that she an Bret had slept together. And now, Ambre is talking back via her MySpace blog. You've got to love that MySpace, right?

The Rock of Love 2 winner sets the record straight by asserting that she and Bret are still together. In fact, if they weren't, we would hear about it from her mouth and not Daisy's. Ambre says that Daisy has no involvement in their relationship. She also maintains that she bears no ill will toward Daisy.