Is ‘Scandal’ season 5, episode 18 new tonight on ABC? The schedule ahead

Gladiators, prepare to take a deep breath: You’re going to be waiting a little while to see the next new episode of “Scandal” coming on ABC. There is no new installment airing on Thursday night, which means that you are stuck waiting until next week to see the aftermath of Olivia’s big move on Andrew in “Till Death Do Us Part.”

As for the reasoning behind the delay, it really is as simple as the network wanting to still have some episodes to air in May (the finale is set for May 12), and also the decision to air two back-to-back episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy” tonight. That is a show that still has so many episodes left to go this season that they really do need to double up on things to make sure that the story actually ends before the May sweeps does.

While we don’t know too much about the finale just yet, here’s one other welcome teaser: “Trump Card” is the title for the penultimate episode airing on May 5. That’s an interesting name mostly because of Donald Trump’s Presidential election, which in some ways has been mirrored by Hollis Doyle on the show.

One of the things that is perhaps the most interesting about “Scandal” this season is that for some reason, the show is not airing a full 22-episode season. Instead, we’re wrapping with 21. This was something first announced by executive producer Tom Verica all the way back in the fall, but it has been somewhat easier to forget about as we get into the season’s run.

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