'Scandal' season 6 release date, spoilers news: Premiere moved to midseason 2017, Shonda Rhimes hints brighter days for Olivia

Popular ABC drama series "Scandal" never failed to keep its audience interested with unexpected plot twists, and the show's upcoming season 6 will definitely bring in more exciting episodes sure to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

 Lead character Olivia Pope's (Kerry Washington) nature of work is crisis management for high-profile people, but despite being a revered "fixer," she also had her own share of difficulties in her personal life. Aside from her failed romantic relationships in the past, she also had an abortion in the previous season. Add to that the numerous times her father manipulated and tricked her. However, showrunner Shonda Rhimes teased that clearer skies await Olivia in season 6. "I don't know if you all will notice this — because Olivia beats people to death with chairs and stuff — but I feel like I can see it: There's an optimism that exists in the work now," Rhimes explained. "...on Scandal, we're heading some place that's optimistic."

The storyline for season 6 will likely focus largely on the presidential elections. The plot will pick up on the events after Mellie (Bellamy Young) and Frankie Vargas' (Ricardo Chavira) vice presidential running mates were revealed in the finale.

Earlier this month, TV Line reported that the series will have a trimmed order of episodes for season 6. From its usual 22 episodes, it will now be reduced to 16 due to lead actress Kerry Washington's pregnancy. This is not the first time that the network adjusted the episode order for the actress. In her first pregnancy two years ago while being in the show, ABC also trimmed down the episode order from 22 to 18.

For now, viewers will have to wait until 2017 to see the what's in store for the next season. During ABC's Upfronts presentation, it was confirmed that "Scandal" season 6 was moved to have a midseason premiere.