Fans of "Scandal," ABC's unhinged guilty pleasure soap that moves to 9 p.m. for its fourth season premiere tonight, will likely revel in its new companion series, "How to Get Away With Murder" (10 tonight, WTAE), the season's most enjoyably ludicrous, fast-moving new drama.
When: 10 tonight, ABC.
Executive produced by Shonda Rhimes, who is now in charge of all of ABC's prime time from "Grey's Anatomy" on, and created by former "Scandal" writer Pete Nowalk, "How to Get Away With Murder" serves up a pilot that grabs viewers by their lapels and sprints forward, introducing a wealth of characters and plots. Not interested in one? No worries. Wait 30 seconds and "Murder" will move on to another.
The show begins with a flash-forward: It's Christmas and some law students have gotten themselves involved in a murder and its cover-up, arguing over how to dispose of the murder weapon and the body whose identity is revealed in the pilot's final seconds.
Then the show flashes back four months to the first day at Middleton Law School in the criminal law class of attorney Annalise Keating (Oscar nominee Viola Davis), who, unlike most real-world law professors, teaches what it's like to operate in a courtroom rather than legal theory.
The lecture hall scenes introduce the law students, some of whom will later be involved in that murder: Nice guy Wes (Alfred Enoch, who played Dean Thomas in the "Harry Potter" film series), ambitious Michaela (Aja Naomi King), sly Connor (Jack Falahee), idealistic Laurel (Karla Souza) and ascot-wearing Asher (Matt McGorry, "Orange Is the New Black"). These five get selected by Keating to work with her on a criminal defense case that brings the students into contact with Keating's co-workers — philandering Frank (Charlie Weber) and team player Bonnie (Liza Weil, "Gilmore Girls") — and Keating's professor husband (Tom Verica).
Add to that a plot about a missing student that seems connected to Wes' neighbor and possibly other characters and it's clear that "Murder" is plotted to pull together an enticingly tangled web of intrigue.
As Keating, Ms. Davis mostly conveys an intimidating, superior, generally annoyed tone with all those around her. Keating does show a softer side late in the premiere, but it's unclear if she's sincere or playing on one of her students.
Although Ms. Davis is the show's star, it's the students who make the stronger impression. In part, it's because they play most directly into the murder plot but also because while Keating remains a mystery, the wannabe lawyers come into better focus. Mr. Enoch, as Wes, presents a particularly appealing everyman who's trying his best but gets mistreated at every turn.
"How to Get Away With Murder" is not by any stretch transcendent TV, but it is great, gonzo fun, a breakneck-paced, well-made prime-time soap that, if future episodes are as entertaining as the pilot, may easily become viewers' new TV addiction.
Rob Owen: rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582.
First Published: September 25, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
