Unsolicited Endorsement: ‘How to Get Away with Murder’

Few television shows are as addictive as Shonda Rhimes’ “How to Get Away with Murder.” I watch more shows than I care to admit, but even shorter ones that I love (such as “Bob’s Burgers”) don’t compel me to watch more than one in a row unless I’m really trying to avoid doing something else. But Rhimes’ murder-mystery thriller, available on Netflix, is the type of program where I can watch three episodes in a row, realize it’s 1 a.m. and find myself in an internal conflict as to whether I should keep going.

My girlfriend and I dove into the show during a snow day-turned-weekend earlier this year, and we flew through the first season as we followed lawyer Annalise Keating and a cohort of law students entangled in a murder cover-up. The second season doesn’t let up on the drama, and without ruining anything I can say there’s a new murder mystery, more unexpected and shocking plot twists and endless intrigue.

The characters in “How to Get Away with Murder” are expertly developed and acted, more so than Rhimes’ hit show “Scandal,” which I stay on top of but during which I’m regularly rolling my eyes. There’s no played-out script in “How to Get Away with Murder,” at least not yet, and each episode ends in a salacious cliffhanger.

The show is refreshing, in part, because its lead is a black woman — Viola Davis — who plays a compelling anti-hero not dissimilar to Kerry Washington in “Scandal” (though still considerably different). Rhimes, who is also known for “Grey’s Anatomy,” is one of the few black women busting up the mainstream whitewash of television and film — all the more reason to tune in and get behind her and her diverse cast.