‘Scandal,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ And ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ Premiere Schedule Change Explained By ABC President Channing Dungey

ABC president Channing Dungey recently opened up about the changes in the schedule for “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder.”

Last week, it was announced that instead of Jan. 19, all three shows will air on ABC on Jan. 26 to give way to Donald Trump’s pre-inauguration special. While speaking with TV Line, Dungey admitted that it was a very tough call for the network to have Shonda Rhimes’ three shows bumped to the following week. “It was a very hard call. Nobody else had been waiting for it bigger than me,” she said.

Dungey added that ABC News was already having talks about possibly leading into Inauguration Day with a Thursday special. After all, the news department also wants to grab the opportunity to release the best story for the viewers. Despite the changes in schedule for “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” the three shows will still have 24, 16 and 13 episodes, respectively.

Meanwhile, unlike “Grey’s Anatomy” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” which will both be returning to ABC for their 10th episode, “Scandal” Season 6 will be premiering on Jan. 26. In “Survival of the Fittest,” a new president will be named. In the finale for Season 4, Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) went up against Governor Vargas (Ricardo Chavira) for the position. Despite Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) helping Mellie with her campaign, the official synopsis for episode 1 revealed that the results of the election will shock everyone.

Also in Season 6, a new vice president will be announced. Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry) partnered with Governor Vargas. Mellie was paired with Jake Ballard (Scott Foley). According to speculations, an unlikely partnership could form in the White House.