There's a Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder Crossover in the Works

BeforeScandalbows out later this year, fans are in for the ABC drama's biggest twist yet: a crossover with How to Get Away with Murder.

Deadline confirmed today that there will be a two-hour crossover between the two Shonda Rhimes series later this season.

"At the beginning of the season, my writers and I were planning out Viola [Davis'] entire arc and something in her story organically came up that was very appropriate for Scandal," Pete Nowalk, showrunner on HTGAWM, told Deadline. "When I went to Shonda, she heard it. I said, we don't have to do it, Viola's arc doesn't need this, but it's possible that their stories could cross really organically. She actually pulled up a clip of something from Scandal and their side of the story coalesced perfectly. So it was one of those serendipitous things where we both realized it was good for both characters, and it almost felt like we had been planning it since last season."

Rhimes shared a tease of the crossover script on Instagram, revealing the moment Annalise Keating (Davis) and Scandal'sOlivia Pope (Kerry Washington) meet, something that is sure to cause a frenzy among both Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder fans.

Washington also posted a photo of herself on the set of How to Get Away with Murder on Wednesday apparently in costume as Olivia Pope, and HTGAWM star Viola Davis shared her own pic of herself dressed up as Annalise Keating on the set of Scandal.

Nowalk confirmed that Davis and Washington will share scenes together, and that the two-part crossover, which will air back-to-back across Scandal and HTGAWM, will feature other characters from both shows crossing over within one setting. That means the How to Get Away with Murder kids will either have to pack up and head to Washington D.C., or Olivia and her Gladiators will be taking their show on the road to Philadelphia. The other possibility is, of course, that a third, undisclosed location will be the setting.

This will be the first time any TGIT shows have crossed over, and if it's successful, it certainly opens up the possibility for more. Down the line, will Grey's Anatomy's Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) wind up going to Annalise for help with a malpractice suit? Will Connor (Jack Falahee) get attacked by a bear while working a case and need to get stitches at Grey Sloan Memorial? Anything is possible in Shondaland, so who knows!

Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder both return on Thursday, Jan. 18.