​ABC’s “Scandal” drew a massive 10.5 million total viewers for it’s third-season finale Thursday night, earning a 3.4 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, and posting viewership numbers that jumped 13 percent overall from last week.

The show was so popular that it beat the combined adults 18-49 viewership of NBC’s “Parks and Rec” and “Parenthood.” Overall, this season of “Scandal” was up 40 percent in viewership versus the last, according to ABC.

And Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington, and company have social media in large part to thank for those numbers.

We’ve already told you how Twitter basically saved “Scandal” from cancellation after a lackluster first season.

The cast and crew have continued their care and feeding of the Twitterverse, being sure to tweet during the finale and thank the viewers for watching. In fact, Rhimes and the cast often tweet during live broadcasts, giving fans an incentive to tune in to the initial airing, rather than time-shift or switch to a streaming platform.

Facebook and other platforms have been kind to “Scandal,” too. Washington’s Facebook page has grown a whopping 466 percent in 2014, reaching 2.7 million likes.

The huge popularity of “Scandal” has also lifted network stablemate “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” which has played up “Scandal Thursdays” throughout the course of the season. Kimmel even came back in to the studio this week—despite the fact that the show is in reruns—to do a “Behind the Scandalabra” sketch with Rhimes. The result? “Kimmel” hit a series high on Thursday night, topping both other broadcast networks.

Read More: Deadline, Lost Remote

Brief Take: If there’s one show that demonstrates how best to use social media to your advantage, it’s “Scandal.”

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