Fans don’t have to spend the seventh season of ABC’s Scandal TV show wondering if the series will be cancelled or renewed for season eight. Back in May of 2017, the network confirmed season seven is the final installment. The good news is, the decision to end Scandal was made by creator Shonda Rhimes, who has been working for a while with the endgame in mind. In other words, fans have good reason to expect a TV series finale which provides closure. Since it is ending, why track this season’s ratings? Aside from enjoying that sort of thing, the Scandal TV series’ Nielsen ratings give us a benchmark to which we can compare other ABC TV shows, so stay tuned.

An ABC political thriller drama, Scandal stars Kerry Washington, Darby Stanchfield, Katie Lowes, Guillermo Diaz, Jeff Perry, Tony Goldwyn, Joshua Malina, Bellamy Young, Scott Foley, Portia de Rossi, Cornelius Smith Jr., and Joe Morton. The series centers on former White House Communications Director, Olivia Pope (Washington). Upon exiting that job, Olivia opened a premier crisis management firm, to handle erupting political scandals.

The seventh and final season of Scandal kicks off with Mellie Grant (Young) serving as the first female President of the United States, with Cyrus Beane (Perry) as her VP. Olivia is now both Mellie’s chief of staff and the head of the reinstated top secret government agency, B6-13, where she works closely with Jake Ballard (Foley). Quinn Perkins, who is pregnant, now heads up the crisis management firm, QPA (Quinn Perkins and Associates). Her team includes Abby Whelan (Stanchfield), Huck (Diaz), and Charlie (Newbern). Elsewhere, former President Grant (Goldwyn) is building his Presidential library, and David Rosen (Malina) remains on the job as Attorney General. Meanwhile, expect Rowan Pope (Morton) to still have some tricks up his sleeve.

The ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s likelihood of staying on the air. The higher the ratings (particularly in the 18-49 demo), the better the chances for survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available — typically around 11:30am EST/8:30am PST. Refresh to see the latest.

4/20 update: You can see the latest night’s ratings in context.

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For comparisons: The sixth season of Scandal on ABC averaged a 1.42 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.603 million total viewers (live + same day ratings).

Note: These are the Live + Same Day Ratings which include “live” viewing plus delayed DVR viewing, up until 3am local time that same night. Ratings marked with an “*” are the fast affiliate ratings and will be updated with the Live+SD numbers when they are made available. Typically, networks get paid for C+3 ratings which includes DVR viewing within three days of the original airing when commercials are watched. Those numbers are rarely released to the press.

What do you think? Do you still like the Scandal TV show on ABC? Is this TV series ending at the right time, or should it have been renewed for an eighth season?