It's a banner evening for TV lovers. Several old favorites return tonight and -- and -- AETN showcases the local filmmakers of the future.
Let's take a look at the lone newcomer debuting over the next three days.
How to Get Away With Murder premieres at 9 p.m. today on ABC. It's the latest from uber producer/writer Shonda Rhimes and completes the transformation of Thursday night into TV's Shondaland.
ABC is touting the lineup as TGIT -- "Thank God It's Thursday" -- thanks to Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and the new How to Get Away With Murder.
Although Rhimes didn't actually create this latest drama (that nod goes to Peter Nowalk of Shondaland Productions), the series has Rhimes' signature executive producer fingerprints all over it. It's further evidence that Rhimes has the formula for cranking out top dramas featuring strong women.
In How to Get Away With Murder, two-time Tony winner Viola Davis (King Hedley II, Fences) joins the growing roster of A-list film actors who've found a home on the small screen.
Davis was an Oscar nominee for Doubt and The Help and now takes a turn at playing Annalise Keating, a brilliant, passionate, creative and charismatic criminal law professor at (fictitious) Middleton Law School in Philadelphia. Keating makes Professor Charles Kingsfield (John Houseman) from The Paper Chase (kids, ask your grandparents) look like a wimp.
Unlike the imperious Kingsfield, Keating is also everything you don't expect in a law professor -- sexy, glamorous, seductive, unpredictable and dangerous.
ABC tells us, "As fearless in the courtroom as she is in the classroom, Annalise is a defense attorney who represents the most hardened criminals -- people who've committed everything from fraud to arson and murder. Annalise seems like she has it all -- a successful career and a loving husband, Sam -- but soon she will be forced to confront secrets about her life she never saw coming."
That ought to pique your interest.
In the series, Keating takes her most promising students to mentor and work at her law firm. Little do they realize that shortly they will have to apply what they learn in class to real life.
The students: Born leader but naive Wes Gibbins (Alfred Enoch); sly heartbreaker Connor Walsh (Jack Falahee); ambitious overachiever Michaela Pratt (Aja Naomi King); entitled, privileged Asher Millstone (Matt McGorry); and quiet idealist Laurel Castillo (Karla Souza).
Other characters are the tough, pierced, haunted local bartender Rebecca Sutter (Katie Findlay), and the tough, respected Philadelphia police detective Nate Lahey (Billy Brown).
In addition to her top students, Keating also has two dedicated associates: Frank Delfino (Charlie Weber, 90210) and Bonnie Winterbottom (Gilmore Girls' Liza Weil). Working for Keating may be the opportunity of a lifetime, but they find that it does come with sacrifices.
There you have it. Welcome to Shondaland.
NEW AND RETURNING
Here's the lineup for the next three days. The one new show is in bold.
Today:
7 p.m. -- Bones (Fox); Grey's Anatomy (ABC).
8 p.m. -- Scandal (ABC).
9 p.m. -- Parenthood (NBC); How to Get Away With Murder (ABC).
Friday:
7 p.m. -- The Amazing Race (CBS); Shark Tank (ABC).
8 p.m. -- Hawaii Five-0 (CBS); Dateline (NBC).
9 p.m. -- 20/20 (ABC); Blue Bloods (CBS).
Saturday:
48 Hours (CBS).
AETN SHOWCASE
Is the next Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino or Spike Lee waiting in the wings in Arkansas? You be the judge as AETN's Student Selects: A Young Filmmakers Showcase 2014 airs at 7 p.m. today.
The two-hour annual event features the talent and creativity of the state's young filmmakers, from kindergarten through high school.
How it works: Through school programs, the students submit films and videos for possible broadcast on AETN and for streaming on aetn.org. The best are chosen and we see the results.
In addition, graduating seniors may compete for Thea Foundation scholarships in screenwriting, directing, cinematography and editing.
"Some of today's biggest filmmakers got their start making student films," AETN Director of Production Carole Adornetto says. "This year's amazing works from aspiring Arkansas filmmakers capture undeniable talent at its astonishing and very exciting beginnings."
If you can't make the initial airing, the 16 films will repeat in four, 30-minute segments as part of the AETN Arts Fridays block beginning this Friday at 6:30 p.m.
A complete list of film credits and information about submission guidelines is available at aetn.org/studentselects.
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Weekend on 09/25/2014