‘How to Get Away with Murder’ season 2 renewal basically confirmed; finale ratings

While it may not be confirmed via press release that “How to Get Away with Murder” is renewed for a second season, this is something that ABC made very clear on Thursday night.

After the two-hour season finale of the show finished airing, a new promo aired that basically included “we’ll see you next season” in it. If the show was going anywhere, it certainly wouldn’t have this message included! Then again, you probably did not need a promo to really tell you that the show would be coming back. The ratings have been great all season, and it has clobbered “Elementary” on CBS week in and week out.

From our vantage point, the only real mystery of interest is what the total episode count for the new season is going to be. The first season was only 15 episodes, with the reason for that seemingly being Viola Davis wanting to still have some time to pursue other projects. With the ratings this show has, the temptation is clearly there to up the ante to 22. However, we don’t really think the show needs that. A shorter season means less filler, and if this helps Davis feel more creatively fulfilled, we’re all for it. Also, it gives the writers a little more time to figure out what they want to do on the next season … and they’ve clearly put themselves into an interesting position at the moment. Remember here that the show killed off Rebecca at the end of the finale, and there is also still a mystery about if or when anyone will learn the truth about Frank.

Most likely, season 2 of “How to Get Away with Murder” will premiere in the fall. We’ll have further news before then.

For now, just be sure to head over here to read our full review of tonight’s episode. Also, you can sign up now in the event you want some further TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)