How to Get Away with Murder

How To Get Away With Murder
Genre	Legal drama Mystery Thriller
Created by	Peter Nowalk
Starring	Viola Davis Billy Brown Alfred Enoch Jack Falahee Katie Findlay Matt McGorry Aja Naomi King Karla Souza Charlie Weber Liza Weil Conrad Ricamora
Theme music composer	Photek
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	30 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Shonda Rhimes Betsy Beers Bill D'Elia Peter Nowalk
Producer(s)	Michael Foley (co-executive producer) Scott Collins Tracy Bellomo
Cinematography	Michael Price Jeff Jur
Editor(s)	David Greenspan Philip Carr Neel Julia Grove Matthew Ramsey
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	43 minutes (approx.)
Production company(s)	ABC Studios ShondaLand NoWalk Entertainment
Distributor	Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	720p (HDTV)
Audio format	5.1 surround sound
Original release	September 25, 2014 (2014-09-25) – present (present)
External links
Official website

How to Get Away with Murder (abbreviated as HTGAWM) is an American drama television 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. The series airs on ABC as part of a night of programming all under Rhimes's Shondaland production company.

Viola Davis stars as a law professor at a prestigious Philadelphia university who, with five of her students, becomes entwined in a murder plot. The show features an ensemble cast with Davis as Annalise Keating, and Alfred Enoch, Jack Falahee, Aja Naomi King, Matt McGorry and Karla Souza as her students, Charlie Weber and Liza Weil as her assistants, Katie Findlay as her former client, and Billy Brown as a police detective and Annalise's lover.

For her portrayal, Viola Davis has received critical acclaim; she became the first African-American woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, also winning two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance in a Drama Series, and the Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Davis has received nominations from the Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Television Series, the Critics' Choice Awards for Best Actress in a Drama Series, and the Television Critics Association at the TCA Awards for Individual Achievement in Drama. Other cast members have also received recognition for their performances, with Alfred Enoch and Aja Naomi King being nominated by the NAACP as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Image Awards.

The show was named Television Program of the Year by the American Film Institute and won Outstanding Drama Series at the Image Awards and GLAAD Awards.

Plot

Annalise Keating is a prominent criminal defense attorney and a law professor at Middleton University in Philadelphia. She selects five students to intern at her firm: Wes Gibbins, Connor Walsh, Michaela Pratt, Asher Millstone, and Laurel Castillo. They work with Annalise's employees, Frank Delfino and Bonnie Winterbottom, an associate lawyer. As Season 1 introduces occasional clients for Keating, it explores two related murders through both flashback and flashforward sequences: Lila Stangard, mistress of Annalise's husband Sam Keating and a student at Middleton; and then Sam Keating at the hands of Annalise's interns.

The first nine episodes alternate between the present-day timeline in medias res, depicting Wes, Connor, Michaela, and Laurel covering up Sam's murder by disposing of his body, and the flashbacks detailing the course of events leading up to Sam's death: Annalise becomes involved in the Lila Stangard investigation at Wes' urging, leading her to discover Sam's affair and creating suspicion that he killed Lila. The final six episodes explore Annalise's attempt to help her interns cover up Sam's murder and legally implicate Sam in Lila's death, and flashbacks to Lila's final moments before her murder.

Cast and characters

Main

• Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, Esq. (born Anna Mae Hartness): A high-profile defense attorney who teaches a class at Middleton University.
• Billy Brown as Detective Nate Lahey: Annalise's lover who tries to prove Sam's involvement in the Lila Stangard murder and the main suspect in Sam's murder.
• Alfred Enoch as Wesley "Wes" Gibbins (born Christophe Edmond): A student recently accepted off the wait list who later has a relationship with Rebecca. Wes and Annalise have a past connection that is only known by Annalise and Eve.
• Jack Falahee as Connor Walsh: A law student seen as ruthless and somewhat narcissistic by his peers.
• Katie Findlay as Rebecca Sutter (regular, season 1; guest, season 2): Wes' mysterious neighbor and later girlfriend 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, Esq.: An associate attorney in Annalise's firm.
• Conrad Ricamora as Oliver Hampton (recurring, seasons 1-2; regular, season 3): An I.T. specialist with whom Connor is in a romantic relationship.

Recurring

• Adam Arkin as Wallace Mahoney, a businessman and Wes' father.
• Sarah Burns as A.D.A. Emily Sinclair: The prosecutor in the case of the Hapstall siblings.
• Matt Cohen as Levi Wescott: Rebecca's foster brother.
• Arjun Gupta as Kan: A Legal Aid lawyer and Laurel's boyfriend.
• Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Hannah Keating: Sam Keating's sister and sister-in-law to Annalise; she is also a psychologist.
• Famke Janssen as Eve Rothlo: A lawyer specializing in death row cases and Annalise's former lover.
• Elliot Knight as Aiden Walker: Michaela's fiancé.
• Amy Okuda as Catherine Hapstall: Annalise's client who is accused of murdering her adoptive parents.
• April Parker Jones as Detective Claire Bryce: A police officer investigating the disappearance of Sam Keating.
• Lenny Platt as Griffin O'Reilly: A star quarterback and boyfriend of the murdered Lila Stangard.
• John Posey as William Millstone: Asher's father.
• Alysia Reiner as D.A. Wendy Parks: A prosecutor who goes up against Annalise.
• Kendrick Sampson as Caleb Hapstall: Annalise's client who is accused of murdering his adoptive parents.
• Kelsey Scott as Rose Edmond, Wes's mother.
• Cicely Tyson as Ophelia Hartness, Annalise's mother.
• Tom Verica as Professor Sam Keating: Annalise's husband, who had an affair with murdered student Lila Stangard, and was later killed.
• Megan West as Lila Stangard: A sorority girl who was having an affair with Sam Keating at the time of her murder.
• Lynn Whitfield as Mary Walker: Future mother-in-law to Michaela.
• Jefferson White as Philip Jessup: Caleb and Catherine's cousin and half-brother.

Episodes

Main article: List of How to Get Away with Murder episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		Nielsen ratings
			First aired	Last aired	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
	1	15	September 25, 2014 (2014-09-25)	February 26, 2015 (2015-02-26)	30	11.40
	2	15	September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)	March 17, 2016 (2016-03-17)	TBA	TBA

Production

Development

Viola Davis portrays the lead role.

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. The smaller size of episode count stems from the deal for the series star Davis. On October 9, 2014, ABC picked up the series for a full season of 15 episodes. On May 7, 2015, the show was renewed for a second season which began airing in the fall as part of the 2015–16 television season.

The series' third season renewal was announced on March 3, 2016.

Casting

File:Howtogetawaywithmurdecast.jpg

Cast members, from left to right: Charlie Weber (Frank Delfino), Liza Weil (Bonnie Winterbottom), Billy Brown (Nate Lahey), Matt McGorry (Asher Millstone), Aja Naomi King (Michaela Pratt), Viola Davis (Annalise Keating), Katie Findlay (Rebecca Sutter), Alfred Enoch (Wes Gibbins), Karla Souza (Laurel Castillo), and Jack Falahee (Connor Walsh)

On 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 and producer Tom Verica as Professor Keating's husband; and 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. On December 15, 2014, it was announced that Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Cicely Tyson would appear in an episode in the second half of the season.

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 on 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 Sri Lanka, the show airs on Sony Channel (Asia) 12 hours after ABC and on Star World Premiere HD

Reception

Television ratings

Season	Timeslot (EST)	Number of Episodes	Premiere		Finale		TV Season	Overall rank	18–49 rank	Overall viewership
			Date	Viewers (millions)	Date	Viewers (millions)
1	Thursdays 10:00 pm	15	September 25, 2014 (2014-09-25)	14.12	February 26, 2015 (2015-02-26)	8.99	2014–15	#30	#12	11.40
2		15	September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)	8.38	March 17, 2016 (2016-03-17)	5.29	2015–16	#32	#9	10.26

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 series premiere had more than 14 million viewers on live broadcast, and over 20 million with DVR.

Critical reception

How to Get Away with Murder has received critical acclaim, with most praising Viola Davis' performance. On Rotten Tomatoes, season one has a rating of 86%, based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "How to Get Away with Murder isn't conceptually original, but it delivers thrills with melodramatic twists and a captivating lead." Metacritic gave season one of the show a score of 68 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Season two also received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 100%, based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5 out of 10.

Accolades

How to Get Away with Murder has been honored with acknowledgements from the People's Choice Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Golden Globe Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, the Critics' Choice Television Awards, and the Primetime Emmy Awards as well as the Television Critics Association and the American Film Institute. Particularly - Viola Davis, Alfred Enoch, and Aja Naomi King have received praise for their performances.

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
2014	American Film Institute Awards	Television Program of the Year		Won
	TV Guide Award	Favorite New Show		Nominated
2015	BET Awards	Best Actress	Viola Davis	Nominated
	5th Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Viola Davis	Nominated
		Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series	Cicely Tyson	Nominated
	EWwy Award	Best Drama Series		Nominated
	GALECA Award	TV Drama of the Year		Nominated
		TV Performance of the Year - Actress	Viola Davis	Nominated
	26th GLAAD Media Awards	Outstanding Drama Series		Won
	72nd Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama	Viola Davis	Nominated
	46th NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Drama Series		Won
		Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series	Viola Davis	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Aja Naomi King	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Alfred Enoch	Nominated
		Outstanding Writer for a Drama Series	Erika Green Swafford ("Let’s Get to Scooping")	Won
	OFTA Television Award	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Viola Davis	Nominated
	41st People's Choice Awards	Favorite New TV Drama		Nominated
		Favorite Actress In A New TV Series	Viola Davis	Won
	67th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Viola Davis	Won
		Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Cicely Tyson	Nominated
	21st Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Viola Davis	Won
	31st TCA Awards	Individual Achievement in Drama	Viola Davis	Nominated
2016	31st Artios Awards	Casting, Television Pilot: Drama	Linda Lowy, Diane Heery, Jason Loftus, Jamie Castro	Nominated
	6th Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Viola Davis	Nominated
	73rd Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama	Viola Davis	Nominated
	47th NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Drama Series		Nominated
		Entertainer of the Year	Viola Davis	Nominated
		Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series	Viola Davis	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Cicely Tyson	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Alfred Enoch	Nominated
		Outstanding Writer for a Drama Series	Erika Green Swafford, Doug Stockstill ("Mama's Here Now")	Nominated
	42nd People's Choice Awards	Favorite Network TV Drama		Nominated
		Favorite Dramatic TV Actress	Viola Davis	Nominated
	22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Viola Davis	Won
	27th GLAAD Media Awards	Outstanding Drama Series		Nominated

Critics' top ten lists

2015
No. 10 TV Line

DVD releases

The Complete First Season
Set Details			Special Features
15 Episodes English, French and Spanish subtitles			First Year Law: Behind the Scenes 'Bye Felicia' Music Video Deleted Scenes Bloopers
Release Dates
Region 1			Region 2
August 4, 2015			November 16, 2015

External links

• Official website
• How to Get Away with Murder at IMDb