ABC’s ‘Scandal’ season 4: Harrison not being recast after Columbus Short exit

For those wondering whether or not the newest rumors were true regarding the Harrison character on “Scandal,” here is your super-quick answer: They are not. Despite whatever you may hearing right now across the internet, there are no plans in the works to replace Columbus Short after his exit on the show.

These rumors started with some fake press releases being passed around claiming that an actor named Eric West had been tapped to play the Harrison role, and this was picked up by many outlets out there. The truth is that it is easy to be fooled by this stuff these days. You expect things like press releases or IMDb to be accurate, but some people find great joy in watching the media fall on their faces. Now, many outlets are having to pick themselves off of the ground.

Show creator Shonda Rhimes confirmed that Harrison would not be recast in a post on Twitter, and was not exactly pleased that the story was ever run in the first place. While Rhimes has been known to kill characters off from time to time, recasting someone after three seasons did feel like a bridge too far. There are already enough other brilliant people out there that you can bring into Olivia Pope & Associates that it is not that needed for you to just give someone else a new role.

As for just what this means in the long-term, we certainly feel like things aren’t looking good for Harrison’s future on the show, unless he is written out by him just leaving Pope’s firm and going somewhere else. We’ll have to wait until late September / early October to find out.

For now, share your reactions below to this casting, and click here to get some further updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter. Also, head over here to read more rumors regarding the new season of the show.

Photo: ABC