'Scandal' Season 6 Updates; Airing Date Moved; Will Script Revolve Around Kerry Washington's Pregnancy?

The Thursday viewing block is going to be complete again, as the Shonda Rhimes "Scandal" series comes again. Its original premiere was September 22 but due to the pregnancy of the leading lady, Kerry Washington, the creative staff had no choice but to cut down the episode making it to 16 only to reduce her screening time.

Despite the star's pregnancy, "Scandal" Season 6 will not feature Washington's tummy in the scripts. The producers did this already during Washington's first pregnancy. Due to the adjustments, the airing was moved to Jan. 2017.

"Scandal" is an American franchise series highlighting on the real-life story of Judy Smith, a Presidential PR expert. It started in April 2012 and the wide acclamation of its followers paved its way for the five-season run. It became one of the Thursday favourites on ABC, and huge number of viewers got hooked to watching the show. From the time it was shown to the end of the season, the audience ballooned from 7.3 to 10.5 million.

The character of Olivia Pope (Washington) owns a crisis management firm whose team is composed of quite dysfunctional people. Her team employs investigators, computer hackers, lawyers, litigators and other people essential to keeping the sanctity of the official. Olivia's daily grind is to protect the public persona of the key people in the government. The team keeps the secret of the elite politicians of the US government. Olivia and the team work together with the White House' staff daily.

Between the time the show had its 2012 premiere up to season 5's last episode, the audience count went up from 7.3 to 10.5 million. Although the rates did not come from officials of the show, the mere fact that the fans are craving for it is a testament of the show's success.

"Scandal" will take its regulars on January 19, 2017, Thursdays at 9 pm.