ABC confirms 'Scandal' will end after upcoming season

Major things have happened in recent episodes, setting Gladiators up for this week's season finale, as well as a crazy final season. With Olivia and Fitz back together, Mellie set to take over the Oval Office from her ex-husband and the return of Olivia's villainous mother, Shondaland isn't skimping on the drama just because the show is nearing its end.

The announcement shouldn't come as much of a surprise for die-hard Gladiator fans. "Scandal" creator Shonda Rhimes has always said the show wouldn't last as long as her other hit show "Grey's Anatomy," which is nearing its 14th season.

“Deciding how to end a show is easy.” Rhimes said, via press release. “ Deciding when to finish is quite simple when the end date is years away. But actually going through with it?  Actually standing up to say: ‘This is it?’ Not so much."

"So, next year we are going all out," she continued. "Leaving nothing on the table. Creating this world in celebration. We are going to handle the end the way we like to handle the important things in our ‘Scandal’ family: all together, white hats on, gladiators running full speed over a cliff.”

The first season of "Scandal" aired in 2012. The drama, which stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, marked the first time an African-American woman appeared as the lead in a drama series in more than three decades.