'Scandal' season 7 news, spoilers: Olivia Pope's death imminent?

A screenshot of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) from the political drama "Scandal." Instagram/scandalabc

It is official: The seventh and final season of "Scandal" is finally underway. The show's creator Shonda Rhimes and cast members recently reunited for their first table read.

On Wednesday, July 19, Rhimes, 47, shared a group video on Instagram featuring Kerry Washington, Bellamy Young, Darby Stanchfield, Tony Goldwyn, Katie Lowes, Jeff Perry and Guillermo Diaz. In the caption, the show's creator said she cannot wait to show everyone what the seventh and final season of "Scandal" has in store for them.

A post shared by Shonda Rhimes (@shondarhimes) on

While plot details remain pretty scarce, the final season of "Scandal" may feature Olivia Pope's (Washington) death as hinted by TVLine's blind item.

The said character would purportedly be killed in the season 7 premiere. Soon thereafter, the series would hop two months back. The following episodes would then feature the events that have been chronicled, paving the way for the character's death all while dropping hints about the suspect.

On top of that, "Scandal" season 7 will continue the story of Olivia's crisis management firm called Olivia Pope & Associates and its staff.

In the meantime, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey explained the decision to wrap up the popular political thriller television series, revealing that it originated from the show's creator herself. Interestingly, Rhimes has constantly envisioned "Scandal" as a show that does not have a long lifespan.

"I do think that audiences, especially fans and Gladiators, who are as loyal to 'Scandal' as they have been, are going to want the story to end in the way that Shonda intended to," The Hollywood Reporter quoted Dungey as saying before members of the media back in May. "That was a decision she felt really good about, and we support wholeheartedly."

"Scandal" season 7 is scheduled to premiere in the fall on ABC and will only consist of 18 episodes.

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