ABC is the first of the Big Four networks to announce full season orders for its new fall series. Drama How to Get Away with Murder, from Shonda Rhimes and starring Viola Davis, and comedy Black-ish starring Anthony Anderson and Laurence Fishburne, will both live to see full seasons this year. Murder will wrap up its first season with a grand total of 15 episodes, while Black-ish will play out over the course of a more typical 22 episodes. (Murder‘s debut season was always envisioned to have a shorter run; this allots movie star Davis to work on other projects if she so chooses.)
The pickups are no shocker. Murder was the fall’s #1 rated new series drawing 14 million viewers and a 3.8 rating among the coveted adults 18-49 demo. Black-ish debuted with 10.8 million viewers and a 3.3 rating and continues to attract Modern Family viewers in its plum post MF timeslot.
In the case of Shonda’s new show, it didn’t take any time to get completely invested. Viola Davis fully embraces her outside-the-lines criminal lawyer character Annalise Keating from the get-go, and her rag-tag students embroiled in a mysterious murder give way to tantalizing flashbacks and fun storytelling. Black-ish, on the other hand, took some time to accept but by the end of episode 2 it was easy to acknowledge its honest and rather unapologetic nature.
Murder airs Thursdays at 10pm, and Black-ish airs Wednesdays at 9:30pm.
Still no word on the fate of ABC’s other new comedies Manhattan Love Story and Selfie, but if ratings are any indication neither of them will be lasting that long.