Fans of “Scandal” have eagerly waited for the release date of Season 6 and now it’s here: Jan. 19. The show’s lead star, Kerry Washington, tweeted about writer Shonda Rhimes’ hit ABC show Wednesday.

“Are you ready?! @ScandalABC is back January 19, 2017!” Washington, 39, wrote. She shared the message on Instagram, too, where it was liked more than 65,000 times by her 3.4 million followers.

There will be a major change in Season 6. “The balance of power is about to shift,” the poster says.

The last time viewers saw Washington’s character, Olivia Pope, in Season 5, she tried to help Mellie Grant, played by Bellamy Young, win the presidential election against Francisco Vargas, played by Ricardo Chavira. The outcome of the election will determine how much power Olivia holds in Washington D.C.

Washington plays such a strong character that people hoped she could change the results of the real 2016 residential election after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton Nov. 8.

“OLIVIA POPE is trending. But Olivia Pope is not real,” the actress wrote Nov. 9. “What’s real is the need for love today. LOVE yourself. Take CARE of you & your loved 1s” The post was liked more than 14,000 times by her 4.38 million Twitter followers.

“Almost HALF of eligible voters in this country did not vote,” Washington, who publicly supported the former Democratic nominee, wrote the next day. “WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! THIS. MUST. CHANGE.”

“Scandal” and the election aren’t the only things on Washington’s plate. She collaborated with purse designer Tory Burch to help end domestic violence. The idea behind the campaign is to free women through financial empowerment. A “very important purple” will be auctioned off every day through Saturday.

Season 6 of “Scandal” will debut Thursday, Jan. 19 at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella

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