If you haven’t heard of it, How to Get Away with Murder is another workplace drama with Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal masterminds Peter Nowalk and Shonda Rhimes behind it. The show is said to be a fantastic one with it’s pilot episode promising to be captivating and gripping to the highest degree.
The show centres around a fictional Ivy League Middleton University where Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) is the teacher of a course called Criminal Law 100, or as she prefers to call it, how to get away with murder. A seemingly unforgiving and strict teacher, she selects five students from the top tier of her class to help her out in her law practices as she is also a prominent criminal defense attorney. The Keating five are envied by their classmates and none of them can stand each other as well, and compete fiercely for the trophy Annalise promises to award the top performer of the class. The show starts with the flashback of a bonfire event where all the students are enjoying a party except for four of the Keating five’s Wes Gibbons (Alfred Enoch, who you may remember as Harry Potter’s Dean Thomas), Michaela Pratt (Naomi King), Laurel Castillo (Karla Souza) and Connor Walsh (Jack Falahee), who are all panicking and trying to figure out how to cover up a murder they just committed. The fifth member is Asher Millstone, and they work closely with Annalise’s employees Frank Delfino and Bonnie Winterbottom. As the show progresses, we learn about the murder of Lila Stangard, a campus student believed to have been killed by either Rebecca, Griffin or Annalise’s own husband Sam. As Annalise takes on defending Rebecca by her favourite student Wes’ request, she discovers things about her husband that pushes her to reveal the many shades of her character.
Oscar nominated Viola Davis delivers a stunning performance as usual. Just as you begin to get bored with the repetitive flashbacks, there are twists and turns that will have you gripping onto your chair. The show struggles to balance the case of each episode with the general plot of the climax regarding Sam’s death. However, the dialogue in the show is marvellous to the point where it will make you wish you could confront people as well as the characters do. The flashbacks and revelations do seem a little dragged on and the mystery soon begins to fade as it builds up on more than it answers, which is something the show’s creators must be wary of to prevent it from turning into another Pretty Little Liars.
Nevertheless, the refreshing and engrossing How to Get Away with Murder is a must watch that has even been renewed for a second season. If nothing else, tune in to catch Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden portray Annalise’s sister-in-law and Oscar nominee Cicely Tyson as Annalise’s mother. You will surely be left with an unforgettable performance, one which is now rare for a TV show. Dealing in betrayal and secrets, this show is a cautionary tale of how little we know about the people we love.