ABC executives decided to cut "Scandal" season 3 from 22 episodes to 18, and it may have been due to their lead actress expecting her first child.
According to The Wrap, the network declined to confirm the reason behind the decision, but Kerry Washington's rumored pregnancy might be the cause. (Have you noticed Olivia has been wearing more jackets lately?)
The midseason finale will air on Thursday, Dec. 12 as the show is set for a hiatus until 2014. Washington is reportedly pregnant with husband NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha, though the couple has not confirmed the baby rumors.
Show writers have no plans on writing in Washington's pregnancy into the show's plot, according to Life & Style.
Washington has kept quiet about her personal life since a very public break up in 2005. In an interview with Glamour, the actress explained why she decided to keep her love life under wraps since then.
"I learned through experience that it doesn't work for me to talk about my personal life," Washington told the magazine. "I've had earlier times in my career when I did talk about it. I was on the cover of a bridal magazine [InStyle Weddings, in 2005, when Washington was engaged to actor David Moscow]. But I couldn't just turn around and say, 'I only want to talk about the good stuff, but not the bad stuff.' So I just thought, OK, no more."
"I don't want to sound smug about it...but the point is to do what's best for me," Washington added. "I have girlfriends in this business who talk about their personal lives, and it works for them, and I love it. But not for me."
You can catch new episodes of "Scandal" on ABC Thursday nights at 10 p.m.
What do you think about "Scandal" season 3 so far? Leave us a comment below.
