Three weeks ago, the premiere of How To Get Away With Murder aired at 10/9c on ABC. The series racked in 20.3 million viewers, including both people who watched live and those who set their DVR – a new record for any television program. And, if we’re being completely honest – the show rocks. It’s riveting, it has a very talented cast, and the amount of work that goes into creating a show like this is clearly evident. Here’s five reasons why we think this should be your new addiction.
5) Shonda Rhimes is an executive producer
The incredibly gifted story teller Shonda Rhimes is an executive producer on this show, and some of her past Grey’s Anatomy writers are hard at work writing scripts and storylines for her new show. If you’ve loved Grey’s or Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder should naturally be your next step.
4) The fresh-faced cast
Harry Potter fans will recognize Alfred Enoch as Dean Thomas, all grown up and looking good. He plays Wes Gibbens, a nervous yet endearing law student. Jack Falahee, who has appeared in The Carrie Diaries and Twisted, plays Connor Walsh, a smart, competitive student who will do anything and everything to be top of the class. Aja Naomi King plays Michaela Pratt, who is constantly competing with Connor to impress their professor. Matt McGorry, known for his role as Officer Bennett on Orange is the New Black, plays Asher Millstone, who came off as arrogant and passionate in the first episode. Karla Souza plays Laurel Castillo, a shy student who entered law school to help defend the less fortunate.
3) Viola Davis
Davis stuns as Annalise Keating, a passionate, scary law professor who is as dangerous as she is intelligent. Davis’ performance in the first episode alone made me anxious for the rest of the season (enough with this weekly episode stuff – give me the whole season and give it to me now). Her performance alone is enough to hook fans, and her unpredictability keeps the plot moving along in an incredible way.
2) As strange as it sounds, you learn stuff!
Mixed in with all the drama is legitimate knowledge of the law. When presented with a defense case, each student must come up with a list of ways to argue that the defendant is guilty – and if someone says your idea before you, you have to come up with another way. This leads to extreme creativity within the law students, and you learn their thought processes along the way. It’s riveting.
1) The plot
So many things happened in the first episode. So many things. We had competitions between law students, a missing girl, a murder, adultery and tension between the students, all within an hour. The plot, though complicated with its flash-backs and flash-forwards, moves along at a steady rate, and any questions you have along the way ultimately get answered.