‘Scandal’ Officially Ending After Season 7 Due To Shonda Rhimes’ Request?

Kerry Washington’s hit series, “Scandal,” will be ending after Season 7.

The series, created by executive producer Shonda Rhimes, is still on its sixth season, and the finale episode is set to air sometime this month. Ahead of its release, TV Line reported that the beloved characters of the series will say goodbye to fans after Season 7. Though ABC has yet to make a formal announcement, the official confirmation is expected to be be made at the upfront presentation on Tuesday, May 16. The publication also revealed that it was Rhimes herself who suggested to end “Scandal” after Season 7, and ABC agreed with her.

Read: Why should “Scandal” Season 7 be the last on ABC?

Rhimes previously hinted on the possibility of “Scandal” being canceled much earlier compared to her other ABC hit show, “Grey’s Anatomy.” According to the exec, “Scandal” is heavily serialized and its narratives are high-stakes so they tend to have a shorter shelf life.

Rhimes also previously sat down for an interview with NPR and said that as early as 2013, she already knew when “Scandal” was supposed to end. Talking about the series, Rhimes said, “It is very political. 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. 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.”

Last month, TV Line writer Andy Swift said that “Scandal” should end after Season 7. Swift explained that after over 100 episodes from the series, there’s really nothing else left to explore. For instance, Olivia Pope (Washington) and Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) have already reunited as a couple. The new president of the United States has been named as well. Storylines in relation to mysterious organizations and people, B613 and Peus, have also been addressed.

Additionally, Swift added that Season 6 would’ve been the perfect end for the series, but since ABC has already renewed the show for Season 7, the upcoming installments should be its last. Several fans of the series also sided with Swift and said that Olivia becoming Mellie’s (Bellamy Young) chief of staff is the end of Olivia Pope and Associates (OPA) and “Scandal” as a whole.

Other fans also didn’t like the fact that Olivia and Fitz reunited because this storyline has become stale. Some fans said that “Scandal” became a hit because it was Fitz who was heading the Oval Office. Now that he’s no longer the president of the United States, there’s no reason for the series to continue.

On the other hand, some believe that a “Scandal” spinoff could be a good idea, and it could center on Mellie alone. Others also thought that ABC couldn’t afford to get rid of “Scandal” because of the ratings, but the network already agreed to cancel it after Season 7.