The promotional campaign behind "How to Get Away with Murder" is wicked. The red and black posters of Viola Davis attract the eye at first glance. Having Davis, the Viola Davis, starring in a network television show with traces of the horror genre invites curiosity in itself. The pilot of "How to Get Away with Murder" is an ambitious and slightly epic first episode of a series that will probably be a huge commercial hit.
"How to Get Away with Murder" has a different feel than I originally had envisioned. It's closer to a CW teen show than to a primetime network procedural. With promising lead character, merits of Davis in mind, and the timeslot partnership with "Scandal" I was not expecting the show to lean more towards the teenage audience, but it does, and in doing that, the show cleverly entertains with little else on its mind.
But that's okay thanks to the heightened levels of stature and talent Davis brings to the table. Davis is fierce and fabulous as the brilliant lawyer/professor at the middle of the show. She's sexy, bitchy, harsh, cold, slick, compassionate, and wounded. For the rest of her career, Davis will probably not find a role more fun to play or a more fun for her audience to watch.
From a social standpoint, "How to Get Away with Murder" is an incredibly liberal show, but it does not live or die in its political stance. There is not a white, heterosexual male character that's emphasized in the pilot. (Refreshing!) "How to Get Away with Murder" does not intentionally remind us of that explicitly, which is why its so easy to respect the show. The fall season should provide a great run for this little vehicle, and if its able to gain momentum in the coming months, this could be a new cult favorite.
Grade: B