‘black-ish’ and ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ Get Full Season Orders

Like any parents, Andre “Dre” (Anthony Anderson) and Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) Johnson want to give their children the best. But their offspring’s childhood is turning out to be much different than theirs. They now realize at least two things: there is a price to pay for giving their children more than what they ever had, and these loving parents are totally unprepared for the fallout.

Dre considers himself the family patriarch and when he looks at his life – he sees a beautiful wife and four kids living happily in their colonial home in the ‘burbs. But when he looks a little closer — have the trappings of success brought too much assimilation for this black family? The world he sees has a much different lens than the one he would like his family to look through.

He may disagree with some of the liberal viewpoints of his bi-racial wife, Rainbow, an anesthesiologist. But they are in agreement that they want to successfully raise their family in a better situation than what they had. Much to her husband’s wonderment, she believes their children can exist in a colorless society. She takes pride in that her husband will break down barriers by becoming the first black senior VP of his ad firm. She is also looking forward to the salary increase that will follow.

Dre’s father, affectionately referred to as “Pops” (Laurence Fishburne), has an affinity for velour tracksuits and going to the racetrack. He can be quite the curmudgeon and takes every opportunity to offer his opinion on family issues. But when Pops offers his usually curt and spot-on old school wisdom, it is difficult to disagree with him.

Dre’s son Andre Jr. asks to be called “Andy,” and then announces that like his schoolmates, he wants a bar mitzvah for his 13th birthday — and their family isn’t Jewish. When the boy says he wants to play for his school’s field hockey team instead of basketball, Dre has to wonder: would he rather Andre play basketball because it is a black-ish sport? Or could it be Dre wants his namesake to like the sport he prefers?

Zoey, 15, has everything going for her. She’s pretty, popular and super smart. However, she is dripping in privilege and unearned entitlement. Zoey’s idea of success is rooted in material things, rather than hard work. The definition of accomplishment for Zoey? To have 100,000 Instagram followers.

Rounding out the family are six-year-old twins, Diane and Jack. Diane is gifted and talented. She thinks she has all the answers but has yet to develop a filter to put them through. Although she is one minute older than Jack, she likes to think she is smarter than her twin brother by ten thousand minutes. Young Jack is more of the sensitive type and idolizes his dad. He is quick to give his father a compliment, even if it does come out a little awkward.

Dre is sincere about honoring his family’s past, while also embracing its future. As he defines what the American dream means to his family in a multi-cultural world, one idea keeps surfacing. It appears that in this melting pot called America, we are all a little um, black-ish.

Annalise Keating (Academy-Award Nominee Viola Davis) is everything you hope your Criminal Law professor will be – brilliant, passionate, creative and charismatic. She’s also everything you don’t expect – sexy, glamorous, unpredictable and dangerous. As fearless in the courtroom as she is in the classroom, Annalise is a defense attorney who represents the most hardened, violent criminals – people who’ve committed everything from fraud to arson to murder – and she’ll do almost anything to win their freedom. On the surface, Annalise seems like she has it all – a successful career and loving husband, Sam (Tom Verica) – but her relationship with a local Philadelphia detective, Nate (Billy Brown), will force her to confront secrets about her life she never saw coming.

Each year, Annalise selects a group of the smartest, most promising students to come work at her law firm. The students vying for this coveted position include Wes Gibbins (Alfred Enoch), a wide-eyed, likable boy-next-door recently accepted off the waitlist; Michaela Pratt (Aja Naomi King), a confident, ambitious overachiever born knowing how to “lean in;” Connor Walsh (Jack Falahee), a sly, sophisticated heartbreaker used to getting any prize he lays his eyes on; Laurel Castillo (Karla Souza), a quiet, sensitive idealist who’s easy to underestimate and Asher Millstone (Matt McGorry), an entitled know-it-all born into a world of Ivy League educations and country club memberships. The students all work under two of Annalise’s dedicated associates: Frank Delfino (Charlie Weber), a local Philly boy done good, and Bonnie Winterbottom (Liza Weil), a sweet, observant team-player with a hidden edge.

Early in the first season, Wes will become entangled with his mysterious neighbor, Rebecca (Katie Findlay), after she becomes the main suspect in the murder of a beautiful university coed. Annalise’s involvement with Rebecca’s case will challenge her students’ values, convictions, and dreams, as she teaches them the dark truth about the law and our justice system. It’s worth it though. Working for Annalise is the opportunity of a lifetime, one that can change the course of our students’ lives forever, which is exactly what happens when they find themselves involved in a murder plot that will rock the entire university.