Scandal Season 4 Return Date Revealed, When Will New 2015 Episodes Air?

ABC's Scandal is in the midst of Season 4 and continues to be an anchor for Shonda Rhimes' dominance of the Thursday night lineup on the network. The 2015 return date for the series has been revealed, so read on to find out when fans can expect new adventures for Olivia Pope and Associates.

Scandal returns on Wednesday, January 29 at 9 p.m. Eastern.

The midseason finale ended with a shocker when Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) got kidnapped and whisked away from Washington, D.C. yet again. So what will her on-again, off-again lover, President Fitz, do to get her back?

The "Mega Buzz" column at TV Guide has some answers from actor Tony Goldwyn.

"Scandal scoop, please! I can't believe Olivia is gone again! - Beth
You and me both! Even though Liv obviously didn't leave by choice this time, don't be surprised by the profundity of Fitz's desperation as he debates whether to go to war with West Angola to save her. 'It will potentially destroy Fitz again,' Tony Goldwyn tells us. 'How much more can a man take? This will really test him. The stakes are unbelievably high and I can say that it will be scary.'"

Washington spoke to EW.com on the day of the midseason finale table read and said she was glad she does not have to wait to find out what happens the same way the viewers do.

"If audiences are going to have to wait a while for the next episode, I'm grateful we don't have to," she said. "We'll get it next week. I'm dying to know what happens next! It's pretty intense. I wonder if Olivia's going to be in a hole of some sort."

But could Olivia herself be killed? Would Shonda Rhimes really do that? "She's in pretty extraordinary danger," Washington said. "Game of Thrones has changed the game. Maybe I've been really misbehaved. Maybe Shonda is mad at me. It did make me feel like, 'Do I need to talk to Shonda?'"

Goldwyn said Olivia's disappearance could bring Jake and Fitz together. "My guess is that Fitz will really team up with Jake to save Olivia," Goldwyn says. "I think he and Jake would really enlist each other's help. As much as he's got his issues with Jake, Jake's his best ally in doing that."

Will you be watching when Scandal returns? Let us know in the comments section.