*ABC has just become the first network to make full-season commitments to its new fall shows.
The network has picked up Pete Nowalk’s “How to Get Away With Murder” and Kenya Barris’ comedy “Black-ish” for full seasons, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Murder” will expand to 15 episodes this season — the most that star Viola Davis’ movie schedule can permit — while “Black-ish” is for a standard 22 episodes.
The Shonda Rhimes-produced “Murder,” created by Shondaland disciple Nowalk, became the banner’s newest hit after opening to a whopping 14 million total viewers. The drama was the most-watched scripted entry for the night, which included “Scandal” and veteran “Grey’s Anatomy.” When factoring in three days of delayed viewing, the Davis-led drama set a record, becoming the biggest DVR viewership in history. The series jumped to 20.3 million total viewers.
“Black-ish,” the semi-autobiographical comedy from showrunner Barris and starring Anthony Anderson, finally gave ABC a hit behind “Modern Family.” The comedy opened to 10.8 million total viewers, holding on to a large chunk of its Emmy-winning lead-in. After ABC touted the show as the No. 1 new comedy of the season, week two saw the series fall an alarming 24 percent to 6.6 million total viewers, though it’s still the strongest second-week retention of any comedy in the problematic post-“Modern Family” slot since 2009
SOURCE: eurweb.com
