By Maria Myka (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Jul 19, 2014 07:10 AM EDT

Scandal will be back for its fourth season this fall, and creator, Shonda Rhimes, has offered information about the hit series, specifically about Harrison's fate and the influence of Papa Pope on the story's characters.

Speaking to TV Guide, Rhimes declared that "It's safe to assume that Harrison has met his end." This becomes especially clear when Columbus Short, who plays the role of Harrison, is said not to return for the next season.

Short was reportedly fired from the show after allegedly intimidating a man and his wife at a restaurant. He shared, "They fired me by sending me a snap chat message. It was fast and it came quick. I almost missed the message because it came so quick."

But with Harrison gone and Olivia and Jake jetting off somewhere to leave their troubles, Rhimes shared that there will be a bit of a time-jump in the series, although she told The Hollywood Reporter, "I don't like the phrase time jump. We come back in a different place. I guess it's a time jump; it's not that big." To TV Guide, she added, "When we leave, she's on a plane headed to God knows where. When we come back into the season, we find ourselves in a surprising place both time-wise and location-wise."

THR delved more on the end of Harrison's character, with Rhimes saying, "His absence will be explained definitively. What you think happened to his character happened to his character."

And the people most impacted by his death? According to Rhimes, it will be Olivia. She said.

Rhimes also warned viewers of a few surprises during the season four premiere, one of which is that it will be more centered on Abby. "One of the things that we did specifically when we created the show is slowly deploy people's stories. It was purposeful. Season four is Abby's season. That was by design. A lot of what we know about Abby happens this season. A lot of what we discover about her and see her back story will happen as we tell Abby's story."

But with Abby's story aside, there is another question hanging: With "Scandal" being a political drama and Fitz being re-elected into his second term, does it mean that the end of his term in office mean the end of the series?

Rhimes responded by saying that "It would be interesting. But I've given myself a parameter of what that is, and whether or not that means we end up deciding to stretch or shrink his presidency based on that remains to be seen."

Scandal will return for its fourth season on September 25 during its usual time slot.

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