Shonda Rimes owns Thursday nights. ABC marketed Thursday’s new lineup as #TGIT, airing Rhimes’ three shows, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and newcomer “How to Get Away with Murder.” The grouping paid off.
The Season 11 premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy” opened the night at 8:00 p.m. with 9.8 million viewers and a 3.0 rating in the desirable 18-49 demographic. The Season 4 premiere of “Scandal,” starting at 9:00 p.m., garnered 11.9 million viewers and a 3.8 rating. But the big surprise was “How to Get Away with Murder,” starring Viola Davis as a law professor. The freshman drama captured an outstanding 14 million viewers and the same in-demo rating as “Scandal.”
Rhimes’ new show — written and created by Pete Nowalk — is up 33 percent from last year’s “Scandal” season opener, then in the 10:00 p.m. time slot. According to reports, Sept. 25 was ABC’s biggest Thursday night in five years. All hail Shondaland.
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