‘Scandal’ Lifespan: Should season 6 be the end, or far from it?
It feels as though it has been a mightily long time since we’ve had much to report when it comes to “Scandal,” and there is certainly a reason for that: We’re on hiatus. Due to Kerry Washington’s pregnancy, the show has delayed the start of season 6 filming, and it will not premiere until at some point in the new year.
The question that we want to ask in this article, as a part of our month-long Lifespan series, is rather different than just discussing when the show will premiere. Instead, it’s whether or not season 6 could actually be the last year for the show as a whole. Think back to a couple of years ago. “Scandal” at that point was pretty much anywhere and everywhere, and it was dominant in the ratings. Now, it’s fallen behind “Grey’s Anatomy” on Thursday nights, and season 5 was down more than 25% from season 4 in the 18-49 demographic.
Yet, at the same time it still had solid numbers for ABC, and we feel like if the show stays around a 2.0 in the demo, it won’t be going anywhere in the near future. Commercially, they have to be happy with both the social impressions and the DVR playback to go along with these numbers.
The larger question when thinking about the future of “Scandal” is creatively, how long something like this show can last. We’re getting near a point where Fitz is out of office as President, and given that him being there has been one of the touchstones for the series, what does it look like without that? Is there any more jeopardy for Fitz and Olivia with him not running the free world? Maybe if Mellie is elected President, you can argue there is some, but the show would have to reinvent itself still in some ways. Much of this could depend on if Shonda Rhimes and the producers want to make “Scandal” into a series about a particular point in time, or a more general idea of Olivia Pope the fixer. If it is the latter, it doesn’t quite matter who is in the Oval Office. We just know that you want to go out on a high, and season 5 was a tad disjointed and the whole Jake / Rowan story doesn’t always work for us as a part of the larger show.
Personally, we do want another two or maybe three seasons, but let us know in the poll below: How long should “Scandal” last?
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