Shonda Rhimes' 'Scandal' Gets a Full-Season Order From ABC

"Scandal," Shonda Rhimes' cynical and soapily entertaining political drama about crisis management firm owner Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), her team, her involvement in D.C. dealings and, of course, her thwarted relationship wtih her secret ex-boyfriend the President of the United States (Tony Goldwyn), will be getting a full 22-episode run in its second season.

According to Deadline, ABC gave a back-nine order yesterday to the series, which had been initially slated for 13 episodes at the start of the fall. "Scandal" has been solid in its ratings this round, after initially debuting as a mid-season replacement in April with a first season that only lasted seven episodes.

READ MORE: In 'Scandal,' Doing the Right Thing Means You Have to Do the Wrong Thing First

Rhimes is also the creative force behind the still-running "Grey's Anatomy" and its spin-off "Private Practice," which did not receive a back order, and has been responsible for bringing a significant amount of casting diversity to ABC's scripted line-up.

Episode-long arcs aside, the first season of "Scandal" was based around the story of a White House intern named Amanda Tanner (Liza Weil) who claimed to have had an affair with the president, while the current season tracks the murder of seven people, of which Pope employee Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes) was ccused. The cast includes Columbus Short, Darby Stanchfield, Guillermo Diaz, Josh Malina and Bellamy Young -- Henry Ian Cusick ("Lost") did not return for the second season.