The series and its star, Viola Davis, are leaving behind history: In 2015, Davis became the first African American to win an Emmy for best lead actress in a drama series. In a statement Thursday announcing the show’s end, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke praised Davis for her unforgettable portrayal of a female antihero.
ABC is continuing its Thursday walks through Shondaland. The Alphabet has renewed Grey’s Anatomy for record 16th and 17th seasons, How to Get Away With Murder for a sixth season, and Station 19 for a third outing.
There’s more Shondaland on the way. ABC has picked up new seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder.
Exclusives
ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder returned from its midseason hiatus with just so-so ratings, but the episode received a huge boost through DVR playback. The Feb. 11 episode posted a 3.6 rating among viewers 18-49 with seven-day DVR playback added in, according to Nielsen, double its original 1.8 live-plus-dame-day DVR playback rating.
ABC is firming up its midseason plans. The network has scheduled John Ridley’s American Crime and murder-mystery Secrets and Lies while also firming up the season finale date for breakout How to Get Away With Murder.
The two new fall series with the biggest premiere ratings are the first to get full-season orders. ABC has handed drama How To Get Away With Murder and comedy Black-ish pickups for two and nine more episodes, respectively, bringing their first-season orders to 15 and 22 episodes, respectively.
ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder tops them all with a 3.9. ABC and CBS both have two programs in the top five. Fox has the bottom one with Red Band Society.
The drama added 6 million viewers with three days of time-shifting, making it the top freshman performer in the adults 18-49 demo with the biggest DVR viewership increase in history.
