Kerry Washington is expecting baby number two! How will this affect production on Scandal season 6?

Update (May 2): Scandal‘s episode order has been trimmed for season 6. TV Line announced that the series will shorten its season, but no word on whether production or the premiere date will be pushed back in order to run the series at midseason.

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Original story (May 2): Congratulations, Kerry Washington! The actress is expecting her second child with husband Nnamdi Asomugha and it has the network buzzing about how to tackle production on season 6. This is not the first time Scandal pushed a schedule to accommodate Kerry Washington’s pregnancy. In season 3 the episode order was cut from the standard 22 episode season order, and saw only 18 episodes produced. TV Line reports today that Washington’s second pregnancy in the show’s history may push the premiere of the show to mid-season.

With Washington’s second child arriving at the top of the sixth season, or close to, a shorter season order may not be a huge issue in terms of production. With the writers still on their brief hiatus, there is plenty of time for ABC to coordinate a new timeline well ahead of the series’ return. Could we see a push for the series to return mid-season?

If you take a look at any of the major network calendars you will notice the standard premiere in September end in May cycle is slowly dying. Newer shows, including the newly inducted TGIT staple How to Get Away With Murder, are working well within the constraints of shorter episode orders. The new standard may seem like nice gift to audiences on the surface — easier binging ability, more time for other shows — but it is a double-edged sword.

Networks now have more space in their primetime calendars, but are less willing to take risks on shows that do not fall into the category of “guaranteed success.” Just look at ABC’s midseason reshuffling on The Muppets revival. More content is not always easy to find when a show like Scandal becomes a guaranteed win week after week (not to mention its ability to perform well against Thursday Night Football).

What will the TGIT calendar look like when Fall 2016 roll around? We’ll know more when ABC announces their fall schedule in two weeks time, but for now, Grey’s Anatomy and How to Get Away With Murder are the only sure things. The Catch, another Shondaland production, may not be up for a second season at all, let alone be ready to fill a 22 or even 18 episode order should Scandal see a push to January.

The option to make Olivia Pope pregnant is not off the table, but after her abortion, the unaddressed fallout from her being kidnapped, and most recently her committing an act of murder, we are not rooting for a pregnancy in her narrative just yet.

With only two episodes remaining in Scandal season 5, will you be able to hold out if Scandal pushes the release back a few months?

Scandal season 5, episode 20, “Trump Card,” airs Thursday, May 5 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC.