Who Is Annalise Keating and What Is the Show About
Annalise Keating is a fictional defense attorney and law professor in the ABC legal drama How to Get Away with Murder, created by Peter Nowalk and produced by Shondaland. The series premiered on September 25, 2014, and ran for six seasons, concluding on May 17, 2020. Viola Davis stars as Annalise, making her the first Black woman to lead a primetime network drama and the first to win a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015. The show follows Annalise's students as they become entangled in murder cover-ups while she handles high-profile criminal cases.
The series is set at the fictional Middleton University in Philadelphia and interweaves flashbacks and flash-forwards to reveal how a group of students, including Wes Gibbins, Connor Walsh, Michaela Pratt, Asher Millstone, and Laurel Castillo, become involved in a central murder conspiracy. The show's narrative structure, which often reveals the outcome of a crime before showing the events leading to it, draws from legal thriller conventions and real-world wrongful conviction cases documented by organizations like the Innocence Project. The series was renewed for a final sixth season after being picked up by Netflix in some international markets, and it remains one of the most streamed legal dramas on platforms including Netflix and Hulu.
Legal Strategies and Real-World Parallels
Defenses Used in the Show
Throughout the series, Annalise and her students employ defenses such as insanity, self-defense, coercion, and prosecutorial misconduct, mirroring real strategies used in American criminal trials. The show frequently references the exclusionary rule, plea bargaining, and the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, concepts central to U.S. criminal procedure as outlined in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The series also highlights how forensic evidence, witness credibility, and jury selection can determine outcomes, reflecting real case studies covered by legal analysts at sources like the American Bar Association.
Real Cases That Inspired Plotlines
While the show is fictional, its writers drew inspiration from real high-profile cases, including those involving wrongful convictions highlighted by the Innocence Project and coverage by The New York Times. The series' depiction of prosecutorial overreach and police coercion echoes real exonerations documented by the National Registry of Exonerations, which tracks over 3,000 known exonerations in the United States since 1989. The show's emphasis on class and racial disparities in the criminal justice system also reflects data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and reporting by outlets like Reuters and The Marshall Project.
Where to Watch and Streaming Data
How to Get Away with Murder is available for streaming on Hulu in the United States and on Netflix in many international territories. The show's distribution rights have shifted over time; after its initial ABC run, Netflix acquired streaming rights in several countries, contributing to its global viewership. According to Nielsen data and streaming reports, the series has consistently ranked among the top legal dramas on streaming platforms, with its final season drawing significant viewership. The show's availability on multiple platforms has helped it maintain a strong audience years after its finale.
The series is produced by Shondaland, the production company founded by Shonda Rhimes, which also produces Grey's Anatomy and Bridgerton for Netflix. How to Get Away with Murder was distributed by ABC Studios, now part of Disney Television Studios, and its episodes are licensed to streaming services worldwide. The show's impact on the legal drama genre is evident in its influence on later series and its role in expanding representation in primetime television, as noted by industry reports from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.