Rumors about "Scandal" season 6 being the show's final season continue to swirl around despite lack of official announcement from the ABC network.

Cancellation rumors surrounding the political drama started following the confirmation that the upcoming season will consist of 16 episodes instead of the usual 22. Moreover, its premiere date was moved to next year instead of fall this year.

According to reports, the management had to move the premiere date of season 6 to a later date due to the pregnancy of its lead actress, Kerry Washington. It remains unknown if Washington has finished shooting all episodes for the upcoming season, but the actress confirmed that the people behind the production helped her hide her growing baby bump during the filming.

"Big coats, big bags, hiding behind different body parts of other actors," said Washington in her interview on "The Ellen Show."

Talking about the shortened sixth season, show creator Shonda Rhimes said it's not the first time that the show had less episodes for a season. According to her, season 3 only had 18 episodes too because of Washington's pregnancy with her first child.

Some reports claim that other reasons for the possible cancellation of the series include the show's low ratings, and that a new show titled "Notorious" is already set to take its timeslot. Rhimes is also said to have a pretty busy schedule, making it hard for her to make time for the series.

"Scandal" season 6 is expected to air sometime in 2017.