Shonda Rhimes’ “How to Get Away With Murder” top scripted show on Thursday nights

The third episode of Shonda Rhimes’ new breakout hit How to Get Away with Murder continued ABC’s dominance on Thursday nights.

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

The third episode of Shonda Rhimes’ new breakout hit How to Get Away with Murder continued ABC’s dominance on Thursday nights.

The show, on the heels of its record-breaking premiere episode, followed strong showings by Rhimes’ fellow series Grey’s Anatomy (which received 2.4 rating in the coveted 18–49 demographic) and Scandal (3.0 rating) during the evening.

But it was the newest show of the trio that garnered the most viewers, with 10.7 million people tuning into watch the drama starring Viola Davis, generating a 3.1 rating according to Hollywood Reporter. In fact, those numbers made How to Get Away with Murder the highest rated scripted show on Thursday nights across all networks.

ABC, racing to capitalize on the show’s breakout success, announced Thursday afternoon that it would receive a full season pickup consisting of 15 episodes. A clause in Viola Davis’ contract limits the number of episodes per season, since the lead actress in the series also works in film. The same day, the network also announced that it would order a full season of 22 episodes of fellow freshman series Black-ish, a comedy starring Laurence Fishburne and Anthony Anderson.

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