How to Get Away with Murder Information

How to Get Away with Murder is an American serial legal drama series that premiered on ABC on September 25, 2014. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, produced by Shonda Rhimes and distributed by ABC Studios. Viola Davis stars as a law professor at a prestigious Philadelphia university who, with her students, becomes entwined in a murder plot. The series airs in the slot after Scandal on Thursdays at 10:00 p.m.

Plot

How to Get Away with Murder follows the personal and professional life of Annalise Keating, a criminal law professor at the fictional Middleton University in Philadelphia, one of the most prestigious Law Schools in America. A criminal defense lawyer, Annalise selects a group of her best students from her university class to work at her firm. They are Connor Walsh, Michaela Pratt, Asher Millstone, Laurel Castillo and Wes Gibbins. In her personal life, Annalise lives with her husband, Sam Keating; but she also has a secret relationship with Nate Lahey, a local Philadelphia detective.

Cast and characters

The show features an ensemble cast along with guest stars and recurring characters.

Main cast

• Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, J.D.: A high-profile defense attorney.
• Billy Brown as Detective Nate Lahey: Annalise's lover who tries to prove Sam's involvement in the Lila Stangard murder.
• Alfred Enoch as Wes Gibbins: A student recently accepted off the wait list who later has a relationship with Rebecca.
• Jack Falahee as Connor Walsh: A ruthless and somewhat narcissistic law student.
• Katie Findlay as Rebecca Sutter: Wes' mysterious neighbor who becomes a suspect in the murder of Lila Stangard.
• Aja Naomi King as Michaela Pratt: An ambitious student who wants to be successful like Annalise.
• Matt McGorry as Asher Millstone: One of Annalise's students who comes from a privileged background.
• Karla Souza as Laurel Castillo: An idealistic student who later has a relationship with Frank.
• Charlie Weber as Frank Delfino: An employee of Annalise's firm who is not a lawyer but handles special duties requiring discretion.
• Liza Weil as Bonnie Winterbottom, J.D.: An associate attorney in Annalise's firm.

Recurring cast

• Tom Verica as Sam Keating: Annalise's husband who has an affair with Lila.
• Megan West as Lila Stangard: A murdered sorority girl who was having an affair with Sam.
• Conrad Ricamora as Oliver Hampton: An I.T. specialist with whom Connor has a casual sex relationship.
• Alysia Reiner as D.A. Wendy Parks: A prosecutor who goes up against Annalise.
• Lenny Platt as Griffin O'Reilly: A star quarterback and boyfriend of the murdered Lila Stangard.
• Marcia Gay Harden as TBA

Production

Development

On August 19, 2013, ABC bought the original concept from Shondaland Productions, produced by Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. The script for the pilot episode was written by Grey"?s Anatomy supervising producer Peter Nowalk. ABC ordered the pilot on December 19, 2013. The pilot episode was filmed in Los Angeles, California, at the University of Southern California, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, at Bryn Mawr College; and in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, at Ursinus College. It was directed by Michael Offer. On May 8, 2014, ABC picked up the pilot to series for the 2014-15 television season. At the Television Critics Association Press Tour in July 2014, it was announced that How to Get Away with Murder will be a limited series with only 15 or 16 episodes per season. On October 9, 2014 ABC picked up the series for a full season of 15 episodes. The smaller size of episode count stems from the deal for the series star Davis.

Casting

As of January 21, 2014, Matt McGorry was the first to be announced as a regular cast member, playing a law student.

Throughout February and March 2014, other roles were announced as cast: Aja Naomi King, Jack Falahee, Alfred Enoch and Karla Souza as law students; Katie Findlay as a drug-dealing student; Charlie Weber as a law associate to Professor Keating; Billy Brown as Professor Keating's extra-marital love interest; veteran actor Tom Verica as Professor Keating's husband; Liza Weil as one of the professor"?s two associates.

On February 25, 2014, it was announced that Shonda Rhimes had cast Viola Davis in the show's leading role of Professor Annalise Keating.

On November 4, 2014, it was announced that Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden was cast in the second half of the first season for a secret recurring role.

Broadcast

How to Get Away with Murder airs on Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. ABC pushed Grey"?s Anatomy and Scandal to 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., creating an all-night block of Shonda Rhimes-produced dramas airing on Thursdays, a rarity in American television. It was announced July 14, 2014 that the series would debut September 25, 2014.

In Canada, the series airs with sim-subbing of advertising in same timeslot on CTV, though it airs three hours earlier before the original ABC timeslot in the Atlantic Time Zone on CTV Atlantic in the Maritime Provinces. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it premiered on October 22 on Universal Channel, and will be carried on Seven Network in Australia beginning sometime in 2015.

Episodes

See List of How to Get Away with Murder episodes for more information

Reception

Critical reception

The series started with generally positive reviews from critics with most reviewers praising Viola Davis' performance. On Rotten Tomatoes, How to Get Away with Murder has a rating of 86% based on 57 reviews. Metacritic gave the show a rating of 68 out of 100 based on 30 reviews.

Television ratings

The series pilot on September 25 set a record for DVR playback viewers with 6 million, surpassing the January 27, 2014 record of 5.6 million set by the pilot of The Blacklist.

The pilot was favorably received by critics, specifically praising Viola Davis' performance. The series premiere had more than 14 million viewers on live broadcast, and over 20 million with DVR.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref
2015	41st People's Choice Awards	Favorite New TV Drama	How To Get Away with Murder
		Favorite Actress In A New TV Series	Viola Davis