'Scandal' season 6 spoilers: fan-dedicated aftershow to stream on PEN

The long wait for the premiere episode of "Scandal" season 6 will finally be over this week, but fans of the critically acclaimed political thriller are still eager to learn more details about the show.

The series will make its highly anticipated comeback on ABC's Thursday lineup. But fans will be in for another treat with the launch of the "Scandal Superfan Recap: Gladiators Don't Run" aftershow on Time Inc.'s People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN) free streaming service.

The aftershow, which PEN referred to as a "recap show" since it is not officially connected with ABC and showrunner Shonda Rhimes, will begin an hour after ABC has aired the "Scandal" season 6 episode at 9 p.m. every week. It will be hosted by CNN legal analyst and self-confessed fan Laura Coates. She will be joined by other avid "Scandal" fans, as well as several editorial staff from the press.

"We wanted to do a show that lets them be a participant," Time Inc. Style and Entertainment Group executive producer JJ Miller said in an interview with Variety. He also added that the current political tone of "Scandal" is now "very relevant" with the time. "It's in the zeitgeist," Miller added.

The fans' reaction is also expected to be featured in the aftershow each week.

Meanwhile, the episodes of "Scandal" season 6 will reportedly feature a lot of flashbacks according to executive producer Shonda Rhimes. "It's not really about crazy things happening to the characters, it's about where they come to after all this time ... It's very different from any other season we've had, so I can't really judge it against what we've done before or what we may do," Rhimes stated in an interview with Vulture.

The premiere episode will be called "Survival of the Fittest," which will deal with the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election between former First Lady Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) and Francisco Vargas (Ricardo Chavira).