The fourth season of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

American

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

series ''

How to Get Away with Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal drama thriller television series that premiered on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk and pro ...

'' was ordered on February 10, 2017, by ABC. It began airing on September 28, 2017, with 15 episodes like the previous seasons and concluded on March 15, 2018, as per a deal with

Viola Davis Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...

that the series would be a limited series with only 15 or 16 episodes per season.

Plot

Annalise (Viola Davis) and the Keating Four are still dealing with the aftermath of Wes's (

Alfred Enoch Alfred Lewis Enoch (born 2 December 1988) is a British and Brazilian actor. He is best known for playing Dean Thomas (Harry Potter), Dean Thomas in the fantasy film series Harry Potter (film series), ''Harry Potter'' and List of How to Get Away ...

) death. Annalise works with a therapist, Dr. Isaac Roa, to see through her recovery from alcoholism, and cuts ties with her associates. Connor ( Jack Falahee) declines Oliver's (

Conrad Ricamora Conrad Wayne Ricamora-Jensen (born 17 February 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Oliver Hampton on the ABC television series ''How to Get Away with Murder'' (2014–20). As a stage actor, he is noted for his rol ...

) proposal, Laurel (

Karla Souza Karla Susana Olivares Souza (born 11 December 1985) is a Mexican actress known for her roles as Laurel Castillo on the ABC legal drama series ''How to Get Away with Murder'' and Marina Hayworth on the ABC sitcom ''Home Economics''. She won the ...

) expects Wes's baby, Michaela ( Aja Naomi King) and Asher ( Matt McGorry) team up for internships, and Bonnie (

Liza Weil Liza Weil (born June 5, 1977) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Paris Geller in the WB/ CW comedy-drama series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007) and its Netflix revival series '' Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life' ...

) seeks her professional future. Laurel deduces that her father, Jorge Castillo (

Esai Morales Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (born October 1, 1962) is an American actor. He has had notable roles in the films '' Bad Boys'' with Sean Penn and '' La Bamba'' with Lou Diamond Phillips. His television roles include the PBS 2002 drama series '' Americ ...

), is responsible for Wes's murder and hatches a scheme to steal incriminating evidence with Michaela, Oliver, and a reluctant Frank and Asher. During the data heist, classmate Simon Drake (Behzad Dabu) accidentally shoots himself with Laurel's gun, leading to Asher's arrest, and Laurel goes into premature labor after being accidentally struck by Frank. Though Annalise successfully saves the baby, Jorge takes custody of the child while Laurel is in the hospital.

Cast and characters

Main

Annalise Keating Annalise Keating, Esq. (née Anna-Mae Harkness), is a fictional character in the legal drama thriller series ''How to Get Away with Murder''. The character was created and developed by Peter Nowalk and portrayed by American actress Viola Davi ...

* Billy Brown as Nate Lahey * Jack Falahee as Connor Walsh * Aja Naomi King as Michaela Pratt * Matt McGorry as Asher Millstone *

as Oliver Hampton *

as Laurel Castillo * Charlie Weber as

Frank Delfino Frank J. Delfino (February 13, 1911 – February 19, 1997) was an American actor. Delfino had dwarfism, and most of his roles were related to his small stature. He remains best known for portraying the character of the Hamburglar in the McDonald ...

as Bonnie Winterbottom

Recurring

Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the legal drama ''L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the police drama ''NYPD Blue'', and Matt Santos on the political dr ...

as Isaac Roa *

as Jorge Castillo * Benito Martinez as Todd Denver * Behzad Dabu as Simon Drake * Amirah Vann as Tegan Price *

Nicholas Gonzalez Nicholas Edward Gonzalez is an American actor. He is best known for portraying the roles of Alex Santiago on the Showtime television series '' Resurrection Blvd'', Dr. Ben Douglas in Anacondas (2004) and Dr. Neil Melendez on the ABC television ...

as Dominic *

Lolita Davidovich Lolita Davidovich (born Lolita Davidović; July 15, 1961) is a Canadian film and television actress, best known for portraying Blaze Starr in the 1989 film '' Blaze'', for which she received a Chicago Film Critics Association Award nomination. ...

as Sandrine Castillo *

John Hensley John Carter Hensley (born August 29, 1977) is an American actor, best known for his role as Matt McNamara on '' Nip/Tuck''. Filmography References External links * World Poker Tour Profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Hensley, John 20th-century Am ...

as Ronald Miller *

Glynn Turman Glynn Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. First coming to attention as a child actor in the original 1959 Broadway production of ''A Raisin in the Sun'', Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' ...

as Nate Lahey Sr.

Special guest

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fil ...

Olivia Pope Olivia Carolyn Pope is a fictional character created by Shonda Rhimes for the political drama television series ''Scandal''. This character also played a small role in the series ''How to Get Away with Murder'' on its 4th season produced by Shon ...

Guest

Cicely Tyson Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson (; December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, she is known for her portrayals of complex and strong-willed African American women. She received sev ...

as Ophelia Harkness * Roger Robinson as Mac Harkness * Gwendolyn Mulamba as Celestine Harkness * Julius Tennon as Desmond *

Stephanie Faracy Stephanie Faracy is an American actress. She is known for playing supporting roles in films including '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978), ''Scavenger Hunt'' (1979), ''Blind Date'' (1987), '' The Great Outdoors'' (1988), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Sidewa ...

as Ellen Freeman * L. Scott Caldwell as Jasmine Bromelle *

Marianne Jean-Baptiste Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste (born 26 April 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her role in Mike Leigh's drama film ''Secrets & Lies (film), Secrets & Lies'' (1996), for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the A ...

as Virginia Cross *

Cristine Rose Cristine Rose is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Angela Petrelli on the hit NBC science fiction drama ''Heroes (U.S. TV series), Heroes''. Career She was a regular on the short-lived television series ''Ferris Bueller ...

as Wenona Sansbury * D. W. Moffett as Jeff Walsh * Jim Abele as Ted Walsh * Luna Vélez as Soraya Hargrove *

Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe (born July 5, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Alexandra Eames on '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', a spin-off of ''Law & Order'', and Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series '' Oz''. Early l ...

as Jacqueline Roa *

Oded Fehr Oded Fehr (; born ) is an Israeli American actor based in the United States. He is known for his appearance as Ardeth Bay in the 1999 remake of '' The Mummy'' and its sequel '' The Mummy Returns'', as well as Carlos Olivera in '' Resident Evil: ...

as Chase *

as Wes Gibbins * Cornelius Smith Jr. as Marcus Walker * Tom Irwin as Spivey *

Sharon Lawrence Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence (born June 29, 1961) is an American actress. From 1993 to 1999, she starred as Sylvia Costas in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC drama series, ''NYPD Blue''. The role garnered her three Primetime Emmy Award nomina ...

as Ingrid Egan *

Yolonda Ross Yolonda Ross is an American actress, writer and director. Life and career Ross was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. She began her acting career in New York, appearing in the episodes of television series ''New York Undercover'' and ''Third Wa ...

as Claudia *

Tom Verica Tom Verica (born May 13, 1964) is an American actor, director, and producer, best known for his role as Sam Keating in the ABC drama ''How to Get Away with Murder'' (2014–2020). He also played Jack Pryor in the NBC critically acclaimed drama ...

as Sam Keating *

Melinda Page Hamilton Melinda Page Hamilton (born August 22, 1974) is an American actress, best known for her role as Odessa Burakov in the Lifetime comedy-drama series ''Devious Maids'', and for her leading role in the independent film '' Sleeping Dogs Lie'' (2006) ...

as Claire Telesco *

Rome Flynn Rome Trumain Ceno Flynn (born November 25, 1991) is an American actor, model and musician. He is best known for his portrayal of Zende Forrester Dominguez on the CBS daytime drama ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' for which he won the Daytime Emmy A ...

as Gabriel Maddox

Episodes

Production

Development

''How to Get Away with Murder'' was renewed for a fourth season on February 10, 2017, by ABC. Production began on May 8, 2017, when one of the writers of the show announced on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that the writing staff was in full swing mapping and writing the fourth season. The

table read The read-through, table-read, or table work is a stage of film, television, radio, and theatre production when an organized reading of the screenplay or script is conducted around a table by the actors with speaking parts. In addition to the c ...

occurred on July 14, 2017. Showrunner

Peter Nowalk Peter Nowalk (born September 12, 1978) is an American television writer and producer. He is known as the creator of the legal thriller, '' How to Get Away with Murder''. Early life Nowalk was raised in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, and gradu ...

revealed the title of the season 4 premiere: "I'm Going Away".

Casting

The cast features nine major roles receiving star billing, all of them returning from the previous season.

portrays the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of the series, Professor Annalise Keating, a high-profile defense attorney. Billy Brown portrays

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

Nate Lahey, Annalise's boyfriend. There are four students who work at Annalise's law firm. Jack Falahee portrays Connor Walsh, a ruthless student. Aja Naomi King plays Michaela Pratt, an ambitious student who aims to be as successful as Annalise. Matt McGorry continues portraying Asher Millstone, a student from a privileged background.

portrays Laurel Castillo, an

idealistic Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, spirit, or consciousness; that reality is entir ...

student. Charlie Weber plays Frank Delfino, an employee of Annalise's firm who is not a lawyer but handles special duties requiring discretion.

plays Bonnie Winterbottom, who is an

associate attorney An associate attorney is a lawyer and an employee of a law firm who does not hold an ownership interest as a partner. Types Practicing attorney An associate may be a junior or senior attorney, but normally does not hold an ownership interest in ...

in Annalise's firm.

portrays Oliver Hampton, a hacker who is in a relationship with Connor. In July 2017,

was cast in an unspecified role. He plays Dr. Isaac Roa, Annalise's court-requested therapist. In August, Davis' husband, Julius Tennon, was confirmed to guest star. He plays Desmond, a man who flirts with Annalise during a flight. In September 2017, Natalie Abrams of ''EW.com'' revealed that D. W. Moffett was cast as Connor's father. In January 2018, it was announced that

would recur in the second half of the season. She plays the role of Sandrine Castillo, Laurel's mother.

''Scandal'' crossover

On January 3, 2018, ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

'' star

tweeted a photo to

of herself in a "familiar" setting, that being a courthouse used for the set of ''

''. Fans began to speculate a possible crossover episode being in the works, which was only heightened when Davis tweeted out a photo in response, that being her on the set of Mellie Grant's (

Bellamy Young Bellamy Young (born Amy Maria Young; February 19, 1970) is an American actress, producer and singer best known as Melody "Mellie" Grant on'' Scandal'' (2012–18), for which she won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress ...

) Oval Office. Later that day, the crossover was officially confirmed through a tweet by ''Scandal'' creator

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television producer and screenwriter, and founder of the production company Shondaland. Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Rhimes became known ...

. ''

'' creator

later went on to share in an interview with ''Deadline'':

Reception

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

gave the season a 100% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.9/10 based on 8 reviews. Maureen Lee Lenker of ''EW'' gave the premiere a B letter rating. Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya, writing for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'', rated the premiere a A−, commenting, "It's a strange but ultimately satisfying premiere, standing out from the show's past premieres by going the slow character drama route rather than murder party." Ali Barthwell of ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'' rated the premiere a 4 out of 5 stars, glorifying Viola Davis' performance. Meghan De Maria of ''

Refinery29 Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Sundial Media Group. History Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Ref ...

'' also praised Davis' acting, naming it the "glue that holds the series together".

Ratings

References

External links

* * {{How to Get Away with Murder 2017 American television seasons 2018 American television seasons

Season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album ...