Bow your head in respect, because How to Get Away with Murder is Shonda Rhymes's latest gift to humankind. If you don't know who Shonda Rhymes is, you can leave promptly.
For those of you familiar with Shonda's work, you know that she loves wild plot twists, cliffhangers, strong female leads, and sex lots and lots of sex. Shonda's shows get away with all the sex on network television because they air after 9:00pm. HTGAWM airs at 10, so you know there's gonna be lots of steamy scenes. Also, high five to ABC for putting this directly after Scandal's timeslot. Scandal's audience couldn't say no to this program so hello more viewers!
The series premiere drew about 14 million viewers and rated 3.8 among the 18-49 demographic. The Live+7 rating landed at 6.1, showing DVRs across America have Murder queued up to be watched before the next episode. Over 7 million more people watched it after seven days of playback, which is HUGE. The second episode saw a small drop, bringing in a 3.2 in the demographic and moving up to a 5.5 after a week. Episode three brought in 10.8 million viewers with a 3.1 rating. The latest episode garnered 9.79 million viewers, pulling in a 2.8 in the demographic. The Live+7 ratings haven't been released for the last two episodes, but I expect them to be quite large. Let's remember what I said earlier- most people in the 18-49 demographic lead busy lives (or like to go to bed early), so DVR is where it's at. Also not included, as far as I know, is the amount of views online. Insert argument here about how stupid and outdated ratings are these days.
I tried to find some information about whether the show has been trending on Twitter during airtime and the internet lead me to this TIME article, which expresses the show's internet presence. Interestingly enough, there hasn't been any promoted hashtag, so fans have been split on the social networking sites. Some (around 100,000) used #HowToGetAwayWithMurder while others (50,000) shortened it to #HTGAWM.
Enough logistics and numbers, let's talk about the actual show and why I love it.
First reason: the characters. We've got diversity people! White dudes, white chicks, black dudes, black chicks, gay dudes, straight dudes, biracial couples. Thus far- no lesbians, but Shonda's probably planning something wild for us.
Second reason: it's bold. The storytelling technique is unlike anything I've ever watched (although I do believe other shows have tried to do it). It is completely nonlinear. We go back to go forward and have flashes of the present. It's jumbled and confusing, but one of my favorite things is being able to connect the dots. The "ah-ha" moments where you point at the screen and your jaw drops in shock are the best. It's also a pat on the back in that I'm like "oh yeah, I caught that connection, high five!". Also this nonlinear stuff encourages cliffhangers and there are few things I love more than being abandoned at the end of an episode yearning for more to bite into.
Third reason: SO MANY OITNB FRIENDS. And by so many, I mean two. This reason is stupid, but it makes me grin. Matt McGorry, who plays the ever-so-wonderful Officer Bennett on Orange is the New Black is one of the supporting characters. I love him and seeing him play the stereotypical douche makes my heart flutter. Also making an appearance is Alysia Reiner who was (is?) Natalie Figueroa on OITNB, but showed up as a District Attorney in Murder's fourth episode. IMDB says she was in the premiere as well, but I don't remember that. My guess is she doesn't return, mainly because those are the only two episodes listed on her IMDB page, whereas Viola Davis has 15 episodes listed.
And finally,
Number four: my friends watch it and last week it became a co-viewing extravaganza. Spending time watching tv with friends is my happy place.
So now, my life is consumed by television Wednesday & Thursdays from 10-11pm. Please do not bother me and please ignore all screaming/gasps/weird faces&raised eyebrows.
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