For six seasons to-date and a seventh set for next year, Kerry Washington has brought creator Shonda Rhimes' character Olivia Pope to life in the political drama 'Scandal', airing on ABC. Bringing in some big numbers when it comes to demographics, the show has been a colossal success for the network and a true staple in the week of millions of viewers across the globe.

Shonda Rhimes' long-running series 'Scandal' is coming to an endShonda Rhimes' long-running series 'Scandal' is coming to an end

Earlier this month however, it was revealed that the show's seventh season would be its last. Olivia Pope's story was coming to an end quicker than some had expected, just months after Rhimes had revealed she had to scrap an entire storyline about a Russian election hacking drama, simply because of its real-life relevance following the recent US Presidential Election.

Speaking to reporters earlier this wee, ABC chief Channing Dungey said (according to EW): "To be honest, I had conversations with Shonda [Rhimes] where she has had, for a while, a sense of how she wanted the story to end.

"We sat and we talked and she said, 'Look, I really feel like season 7 is where I want to wrap up this story because I always prefer to end a show where you're feeling on top as opposed to letting things fizzle out.' I do think that audiences, especially fans and Gladiators, who are as loyal to 'Scandal' as they've been, are going to want the story to end in the way that Shonda intended to. That was a decision she felt really good about and we support wholeheartedly."

Knowing that this was a decision reached by the big bosses along with the show's creator has got to be hugely satisfying for fans who want a proper ending the series deserves, rather than one that has to be rushed due to some dramatic axing or a similar situation.

With Rhimes already promising the fans that nothing is going to be "left on the table", she concluded in a statement: "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."

More: Shonda Rhimes Struggles Writing 'Scandal' In Current Real-Life Political Climate

'Scandal' season 6 continues on ABC in the US and on Sky Living in the UK.