In our first issue, we previewed a few hot shows debuting this fall. Now that they’ve premiered, the final verdict is in. Here’s a closer, spotlight look two of the best newcomers; take a look at what’s been happening and what people are saying:
If you are a fan of “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” then you’ll definitely like Shonda Rhimes’ brand new “How to Get Away with Murder.”
To refresh your memory (or perhaps introduce you to the show)“How to Get Away with Murder” takes place at a prestigious law school where professor and defense attorney Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) teaches students in the classroom, but also teaches them outside classroom by having them help her with her murder cases. But her trials are not the only murders four students named Wes, Laurel, and Michaela, and Connor face. Throughout the first two episodes, we see flashes of them trying figure out how to dispose of a body that they drag into the woods.
Wes finds that professor Keating is also hiding secrets of her own when he walks in on her and a man who is not her husband. This leads to her making him her top student and gving him more responsibility than the others in exchange for him keeping her secret. Throughout the show, the list of suspects for the body disposed of in the woods begins to grow. The show continues to flash between present day scenes in the woods and back to what happened before that in the law school classroom.
“Red Band Society” stars Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, who plays a strict but caring pediatric nurse, Nurse Jackson. The show also stars “Brothers and Sisters” actor Dave Annable who plays the steamy Dr. Jack McAndrew.
“Red Band Society” is narrated by a 12-year-old Charlie, who is in coma. He describes the hospital by saying, “You see, living in a hospital is sort of like going to boarding school, you have a lot of rules but a lot of freedom.” In a slightly surreal twist, Charlie befriends each of characters and asks them to help him while they are unconscious during surgery and cardiac episodes.
Not long after the show begins, viewers meet Kara, a cheerleader who is suffering from heart failure and becomes Charlie’s new roommate. Kara is also fighting to get higher on the transplant list after she has already experienced two cardiac episodes. The other characters in the show suffer from a diverse range of conditions.
Emma, for instance, is suffering from an eating disorder and continually schemes to get out of eating her lunch, all the while flirting with two boys who have cancer, Leo and Jordi. Leo has already had his leg amputated and throughout the show helps Jordi face the hardships of battling cancer. There’s also the mysterious Astro, whose disease is not immediately revealed.
These shows are quite different from one another. If you are already a Shonda Rimes fan and love crime dramas, you will certainly like “How to Get Away with Murder.” It’s clear that Shonda Rimes’ talent in script writing does not stop at doctors or scandals in Washington D.C. This show keeps viewers on their toes begging for more.
The show is produced by Pete Nowalk, who revealed to Entertainment Weekly how he threads clues into the storyline: “Some of [the clues] we’ve planted intentionally, a lot of them are subtle Easter eggs of suspicion for the audience, and some of them we didn’t plant and people are still seeing them. I’m hoping people really get into the details and subtleties of the show, and they might even want to watch certain episodes twice or watch those flash-forwards again because they’re all very specific and detailed and full of little clues.”
But if you are looking for a new medical drama, look no further then “Red Band Society.” It can be tearjerker, sure, but also has a great character dynamic between the patients trying to become friends and dealing with obstacles of illness.
People magazine said, “Red Band Society’s humanity lies for the most part in its loose, skeptical humor—the humor of the patients. The kids are underdogs both by fact of being sick and simply by being kids, and they know it.”
“How to Get Away with Murder” and “Red Band Society” are currently running excellent 8.4/10 viewer ratings according to IMDB.com. But it’s not only viewers that have given their seal of approval: critics are lauding these shows, too. Both have fairly good ratings on MetaCritic.com, with “How to Get Away With Murder” in particular receiving the highest possible score, 100, from one professional critic.
“Red Band Society” and “ How to Get Away with Murder” are two shows that just kicked off their freshman season with a bang. Be sure to catch – and catch up if you haven’t been watching – “Red Band Society” Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on FOX and “How to Get Away with Murder” Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.
