Kerry Washington, Khandi Alexander

Treme's Khandi Alexander has been tapped to play Olivia Pope's (Kerry Washington) mother on Scandal, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Alexander will play the recurring role of Maya Lewis in flashbacks starting this Thursday. As revealed during last week's episode, Maya apparently died on a civilian airliner that was shot down by Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) before he was President.

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Alexander, who played LaDonna Batiste-Williams on the HBO drama Treme, is also known for her roles on CSI: Miami and ER.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.