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‘Scandal’ Spinoff? It Could Happen, Says ABC President

Decision to keep ”Scandal“ universe alive lies with Shonda Rhimes, says network president Channing Dungey

| May 16, 2017 @ 10:07 AM
Channing Dungey

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ABC is “absolutely” be open to the idea of a “Scandal” spinoff should creator Shonda Rhimes want one, network president Channing Dungey said Tuesday.

But Dungey said the decision whether or not to continue with the “Scandal” universe will ultimately be left up to Rhimes. “For those of you know Shonda, there’s no one who keeps things closer to the vest,” Dungey said. “Besides, maybe, Marvel.”

Dungey’s comments came in a conference call with reporters to discuss her network’s upcoming fall schedule, which will see “Scandal” return for its seventh and final season.

Also Read: ABC Sets Fall Schedule, Orders 'Bachelor,' 'DWTS' Spinoffs

“We are still talking about the total episode count,” Dungey said, adding that she only has a “top-line view” of what the final season will be.

The decision to end the Kerry Washington-led political drama stemmed from conversations with Rhimes, who said that she believed the seventh season to be the best place end the show creatively, a decision backed by the network.

“I always prefer to end the show when you’re creatively on top,” Dungey said. “That was the decision that she felt really good about and we support whole-heartedly.”

Also Read: 'Quantico' Renewed for Season 3 at ABC

Dungey also discussed the decision to revive “American Idol” after having reportedly passed on the show in the in past. “It was less of a pass initially, there were some very early conversations that were floated,” she said. “That was just a very early, kind of preliminary inquiry.”

The exec promised that the new version of “Idol” will see some format changes and will “have a very clear ABC hallmark and brand on it.” However, she declined to offer any details regarding the scheduling of the show come midseason or which talent will be involved.

“From where we sit, we feel like it’s the perfect time to bring the series back,” Dungey said.

Also Read: 'Last Man Standing' Cancellation Sparks Call for ABC Boycott

The exec also pushed back on speculation that the cancellation of Tim Allen’s “Last Man Standing” had anything to do with the star’s politics. “Sadly, a large part of these jobs is managing failure,” Dungey said. “I canceled ‘Last Man Standing’ for the same reasons that I canceled ‘The Real O’Neals,’ ‘The Catch’ and ‘American Crime.'”

Though the show’s Friday night ratings have held steady across the last few seasons, the network decided to move “Once Upon a Time” and its two Marvel series to Fridays this year, and there wasn’t enough justification for “Last Man” to move to another night of the week.

“Once we decided to not continue comedies on Fridays, that was where we landed,” Dungey said.

All 96 Broadcast TV Shows That Have Been Renewed or Canceled This Season (Updating Photos)

  • All the Shows Renewed or Canceled 2017
  • GREY'S ANATOMY ABC
  • speechless ABC
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • Black-ish scriptation ABC
  • annalise keating how to get away with murder viola davis ABC
  • The Middle ABC
  • Scandal ABC
  • jack the ripper time after time ABC
  • designated survivor characters ranked tom kirkman ABC
  • American Housewife ABC
  • Agents of SHIELD ABC
  • once-upon-a-time ABC
  • American Crime ABC
  • real oneals ABC
  • catch ABC
  • Dr. Ken ABC
  • ABC
  • imaginary mary jenna elfman ABC
  • Last Man Standing ABC
  • CBS
  • Blue Bloods CBS
  • bull michael weatherly marissa morgan CBS
  • Criminal Minds CBS
  • CBS CBS
  • kevin can wait cbs CBS
  • life in pieces CBS
  • macgyver cbs CBS
  • Madam Secretary CBS
  • man with a plan matt leblanc CBS
  • Mom CBS
  • ncis wilmer valderrama CBS
  • NCIS Los Angeles CBS
  • NCIS New Orleans CBS
  • Scorpion CBS
  • Elementary
  • The Amazing Race
  • Code Black CBS
  • Superior Donuts CBS
  • CBS
  • the great indoors
  • doubt cbs CBS
  • joel mchale great indoors cbs CBS
  • Bob's Burgers Fox
  • Empire Fox
  • Lethal Weapon Fox
  • Fox
  • The Mick Fox
  • simpsons arnold palmer Fox
  • Star fox series Fox
  • the riddler ed nygma gotham Fox
  • Will Forte Last Man on Earth Fox
  • Brooklyn nine nine Fox
  • New Girl Fox
  • The Exorcist geena davis Fox
  • Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Fox
  • Fox
  • Sleepy Hollow Fox
  • Son of Zorn Fox
  • APB Fox
  • Rosewood Fox
  • Bones Fox
  • Pitch Fox
  • The Good Place NBC
  • The Blacklist James Spader NBC
  • Great News NBC
  • A still from NBC's Blindspot, which Hulu will stream this year NBC
  • NBC
  • Chicago Med, Chicago Pd, Chicago Fire NBC
  • Superstore Season 1 america ferrera NBC
  • This Is Us NBC
  • NBC
  • timeless charles lindbergh lucy rufus ernest hemingway history changes time travel NBC
  • Chicago Justice NBC
  • Emerald City Adria Arjona NBC
  • Blacklist Redemption NBC
  • nbc-grimm-premiere-david-giuntol NBC
  • Powerless vanessa hudgens alan tudyk NBC
  • The 100 CW
  • Arrow The CW
  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend The CW
  • Flash time travel The CW
  • Jane the Virgin The CW
  • DC Legends of Tomorrow The CW
  • Riverdale CW
  • Supergirl Dominators The CW
  • The CW
  • IZOMBIE The CW
  • The Originals The CW
  • reign The CW
  • The CW
  • frequency cw time travel The CW
  • No Tomorrow The CW
1 of 94

This list is being updated as broadcast networks make final decisions

From all the Sondaland dramas to The CW's entire fall lineup, from "Bones" to "Grimm," here's everything that's for sure returning or not returning.

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