“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away with Murder” Premiere Thursday on ABC
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ABC/Todd Wawrychuk(NEW YORK) — ABC kicks off its “Thank God It’s Thursday” prime time promotion tonight with the premiere of three shows from producer Shonda Rhimes — Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and the new series How to Get Away with Murder.
Back-to-back-to-back episodes will begin airing at 8 p.m. Eastern time with Grey’s Anatomy. Chandra Wilson, who stars as Dr. Miranda Bailey, says she understands the hospital drama has pressure as the first show on Thursday.
“This season is really exciting for all three shows, especially because we’ve got that three-show-night block. So as the starter show we’d love to build on that audience and keep our audience going for the whole three hours,” she explained. “So that’s kind of a challenge for each of the shows and all of the cast members to keep that interest and excitement up.”
Viewers will definitely be excited when Grey’s returns for its eleventh season, especially since Wilson’s character, Dr. Bailey, is in a powerful position when the season starts.
“When season ten ended, Bailey found out that the chief [played by James Pickens Jr.] wanted to recommend her to the board seat. That is exciting news because Bailey is the only one of the doctors, aside from [Justin Chambers’] Karev, that didn’t really have a footing in the hospital,” Wilson said. “They didn’t own it, [she] wasn’t in a plane crash and wasn’t on the board. So this really gives her some power,” Wilson added.
Following Grey’s, comes the fourth season of Scandal at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Joe Morton — who won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Olivia Pope’s terrorizing father in Scandal — said he’s excited for Thursday night too.
“The idea of these three shows back-to-back, I’ve never seen that before. I guess I’m anxious to see how the fans will respond to all of that. It should be very exciting,” he said.
Kerry Washington, who stars as the political fixer, said fans should expect a lot this season, especially since a lot went down last season.
“There’s so much about where we left off last season,” says Washington. “Fitz had just won the election. Fitz and Mellie are dealing with the death of her son. Olivia and Jake got on a plane. Olivia’s dad is up to no good, as usual, but she doesn’t know. Olivia’s mom, who knows what’s going on with her…well you guys know, but Olivia doesn’t,” Washington added. “There’s so much going on!”
This season’s best kept secret is what role Portia de Rossi plays on the drama. Jeff Perry — who plays chief of staff Cyrus Beene on the hit show — gives fans a clue. “Portia de Rossi, an amazing actress, plays a key figure in the Republican party,” he explained. “She and I both work together and butt heads in a very fascinating way I think.”
The final show, airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT, on ABC’s new “Thank God It’s Thursday” Night is How to Get Away with Murder, starring Oscar Award-nominated actress Viola Davis. She’s happy her show stands behind Grey’s and Scandal. “I think that we couldn’t be in better company. That’s what I think,” she added.
Davis, who stars as a professor who “gets entangled” with four of her law students, said fans will definitely love the TV legal drama.
“I think viewers are going to connect to it because I think it’s intriguing. I think that they’ll connect to the fact that each week another layer is peeled away from each character that is unexpected and tantalizing,” she explained.
There are two other season premieres on Thursday night: Fox’s Bones at 8 p.m. ET and NBC’s Parenthood at 10 p.m. ET.
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