Shonda Rhimes has said that she had a specific ending time for “Grey’s Anatomy”, but the show took over and now she says she can’t end it while she’s still interested in the characters she created.

“I knew the end of Grey’s Anatomy, and then we kept going, so that I finally just had to write that and move past it,” Rhimes said. “Who knows, at this point, how long that show’s going to go? It’s going to go as long as I feel interested in what happens to those characters.”

That’s not the case with “Scandal”, unfortunately enough for fans. Though she says she can’t reveal the specifics, she does have an ending in mind for the show.

“It is very political,” Rhimes says. “The political landscape on the outside, in the real world, will change — possibly before “Scandal” is over. But I feel like there is a finite amount of Scandal to be told. So I know what the end of Scandal will be, and I feel really good about that. And I can see where the end point is. And I don’t think I’m going to change that. … I know how long I think it will be. But we’ll see.”

“Scandal”–which is in its third season–just added a new cast member, much to the appreciation of fans. Khandi Alexander, of “CSI: Miami”, “Treme”, and “Newsradio” debuted her role on the show last night as Maya Lewis, mother of Kerry Washington’s character Olivia. From the very beginning, the show has gained positive reviews from African-American women who say they are happy to see a lead character of color on television. Several commenters took to NPR’s site following the interview with Rhimes to say how much they appreciate this new point of view.

“Scandal resonated with me and many of my African American female friends from the very beginning because Olivia Pope is not a character we’ve ever seen before but that many black professional Women (on a much less dramatic level of course) can identify with. I’m glad the popularity of the show has expanded beyond our initial viewership and hope that it leads to more shows like it where females of all colors are lead characters in programs that buck the myopic view television has had of us for so long. The thought that Ms. Rimes can see where Scandal ends is something I don’t even want to think about but I’ll enjoy every crazy twist and turn until it does,” wrote Nicole S.