How to Get Away with Murder premiered in 2014 with a simple pitch: a law professor who runs a criminal defense practice, and her students who get pulled into murder investigations. The show ran for seven seasons, and the final episode aired in April 2023. The formula stayed the same across all of it: weekly murders, betrayals, and courtroom drama wrapped in a glossy, fast-paced package.
The show is built around Annalise Keating, played by Viola Davis. She is a brilliant lawyer and a terrible person, a combination the show leans on heavily. Her students — Wes, Connor, Michaela, Laurel, and Asher — orbit around her, and the plot moves through their loyalties, their secrets, and their romantic entanglements.
Trailer, via Still Watching Netflix.
Annalise Keating and the Students
Viola Davis carries the show. Her performance is commanding, and she makes Annalise both terrifying and compelling. The writers give her room to play both sides of the character, and she delivers on every twist. When the show wants a cold, calculating moment, she delivers it. When it wants a vulnerable one, she delivers that too.
The supporting cast is less consistent. Alfred Enoch plays Wes, the quiet and observant student who becomes Annalise’s confidant. Aja Naomi King plays Michaela, the driven prosecutor-in-training. Charlie Weber plays Connor, the charming and selfish boyfriend. Karla Souza plays Laurel, the privileged outsider. Lex Scott Davis plays Asher, the tech-savvy newcomer. Each brings something to their roles, but none gets the same depth as Davis.
The show also features a rotating cast of guest stars, including Laverne Cox, Felicity Huffman, and Sam Jaeger. Their appearances are often the high points of individual episodes, even if their arcs don’t always land.
The Murder Cases
Each season opens with a murder, and the show spends the next twelve episodes unraveling it. The cases range from domestic violence to corporate corruption to political conspiracy. The show excels at setting up mysteries, but it often stumbles on delivering satisfying conclusions.
Some plots are tight and well-executed. Others drag, with twists that feel arbitrary or overwrought. The show relies heavily on flashbacks and unreliable narrators, which can make the pacing uneven. A case that should resolve in three episodes sometimes stretches to six or more.
The courtroom scenes are the show’s strongest asset. The lawyers argue passionately, the witnesses crack under pressure, and the verdicts often hinge on a single piece of evidence. These scenes are tense and well-written, even when the overall plot falters.
Tone and Themes
How to Get Away with Murder is not subtle. It is a procedural drama with soap opera elements, and it wears that label proudly. The show is often melodramatic, with characters making decisions based on personal vendettas rather than legal strategy. This can be frustrating, especially when a case that could have been a sharp commentary on the justice system turns into a love triangle.
The show also deals with serious issues, including sexual assault, racism, and privilege. It handles some of these topics with care, but it often treats them as plot devices rather than central themes. The show is willing to raise difficult questions, but it is less willing to answer them fully.
Season Structure
| Season | Year | Episode Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014–2015 | 22 |
| 2 | 2015–2016 | 22 |
| 3 | 2016–2017 | 22 |
| 4 | 2017–2018 | 22 |
| 5 | 2018–2019 | 22 |
| 6 | 2019–2020 | 22 |
| 7 | 2020–2023 | 22 |
The final season was shorter, ending after the seventh season. The show maintained a consistent format across all seven years, with each season following the same structure of a central murder investigation and a season-long arc involving Annalise’s past.
Final Verdict
How to Get Away with Murder is a guilty pleasure for many viewers. It is glossy, dramatic, and frequently absurd. It is also occasionally brilliant, particularly when it focuses on the courtroom scenes or when Davis is at her best.
The show is not subtle, and it is not always fair to its characters. It asks the audience to believe in a world where the morally corrupt are often the most effective, and it expects viewers to forgive a lot of bad behavior in the name of entertainment. That is a big ask, and it doesn’t always work.
The show’s strengths are its performances and its courtroom drama. Its weaknesses are its inconsistent plotting and its tendency to prioritize melodrama over substance. It is a show that knows what it wants to be, and it mostly delivers on that promise, even when the promise itself is flawed.
How to Get Away with Murder is a show that rewards attention but frustrates it. It is a guilty pleasure that occasionally earns its praise. It is not a masterpiece, but it is consistently entertaining.
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