From Shonda Rhimes, ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder hooked audiences by kicking off with a murder mystery, featuring morally gray characters, and building a large cast of characters full of intersecting secrets, and there are plenty of shows like How To Get Away With Murder that feature many of those traits. Viola Davis led the cast of the series as Annalise Keating, a law professor who became embroiled in one cover-up after another with her students, and it’s her gravitas and secrets that created a lot of the weight for the show, something the series has in common with other female-led dramas. Davis, however, isn’t the only draw.
Shows like How To Get Away With Murder don’t all have to be heavy dramas either. Other TV shows have similar ensemble dynamics, cleverly twisty mysteries, or even similarly styled scripts right down to the rhythm of the dialogue. There is a wealth of TV available on streaming sites for fans looking for a show like How To Get Away With Murder.
15 Monk (2002-2009)
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Available to stream on Peacock
How to Get Away with Murder began as a procedural show with an overarching mystery. If one is looking for a similar format, Monk may be the perfect show.
Like How to Get Away with Murder, Monk features a flawed but brilliant main character who struggles with his past and self-image. The quirky detective helps the police solve difficult crimes while coping with the fact that the one murder he has never been able to solve is his wife’s.
14 Lie To Me (2009-2011)
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Available to stream on Hulu
The Keating 5 are always working to read those around them. As they know they are guilty of tampering with evidence, they worry about others discovering the same. This mistrust causes them to constantly evaluate the intentions of those around them.
If the audience finds this aspect of the show interesting, Lie to Me will certainly be engaging. This show focuses on a group of body language experts who work for an agency called The Lightman Group. They are contracted to work on cases and assist by looking for non-verbal clues that will shed some light on the emotions of the speaker. When it comes to shows like How To Get Away With Murder, this is the only series that is all about reading people, and the characters are even better at it than the Keating 5.
13 Money Heist (2017-2021)
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Available to stream on Netflix
How to Get Away with Murder features a series of interconnecting crimes all connected to the main characters. If one is looking for a show filled with another group of criminals that are easy to cheer on, Money Heist might be that show.
This Spanish show follows a flawed but lovable group of criminals who work together to pull off an incredibly challenging and rewarding heist. The fast-paced nature of the show, dynamic characters, and twist and turns will keep How to Get Away with Murder fans engaged.
12 For The People (2018-2019)
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Available to stream on Hulu
Shondaland shows often have a similar feel to them, and For the People is no different. While a lot of shows like How To Get Away With Murder are focused on mystery, this one is centered on the courtroom aspects of the series. The show focuses on new lawyers beginning their careers in a position at The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The cases these lawyers face are often very complex and the young lawyers are forced to face off against each other. Similarly to How to Get Away with Murder, there is a huge social justice aspect to this show and the cases deal with complex issues that provide commentary on relevant real-world issues.
11 Little Fires Everywhere (2020)
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Available to stream on Hulu
Like How to Get Away with Murder, Little Fires Everywhere starts off the series with a mystery by showing viewers a clip from a fire that takes place at the end of the show. The rest of the series then examines the events leading up to the mystery, leaving fans guessing exactly what happened.
Throughout the show, several other mysteries become intertwined and complicated dynamics arise between the characters. The show also touches on issues of racism and poverty and how they impact individuals, ensuring that this show contains many of the same elements that hooked How to Get Away with Murder fans.
10 La Mante (2017)
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No longer available to stream
La Mante is a French show that was previously available with English subtitles on Netflix. The show centers around an infamous serial killer who goes by the name “The Mantis.” Though this serial killer has been captured, her power isn’t to be underestimated. When a copycat begins to recreate her work, the police are forced to turn to her for help. She agrees – on one condition. Her estranged son who happens to be a detective must be involved in the investigation.
How to Get Away with Murder fans will enjoy the complex dynamic this character has with her son. They will also enjoy trying to predict what Jeanne (The Mantis) will do next as fans race to figure out the central mystery of the show.
9 Quantico (2015-2018)
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Available to stream on Hulu
Quantico probably should have ended with its first big mystery being solved in season 2, but How to Get Away with Murder fans will love binging this series. The show is about a group of FBI recruits who get caught up in a deadly terrorist plot.
Quantico shows clips from the aftermath of the terrorist attack before jumping back to the recruits’ training days in a narrative style that is very similar to the way other shows like How To Get Away With Murder tease their mysteries. The narrative style will have fans questioning every character and looking for clues as the story progresses. In this show, every character has a secret to hide, not unlike Annalise and Keating 5.
8 Imposters (2017-2018)
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Available to stream on Netflix
Imposters was canceled way too soon, but that shouldn’t stop TV fans from binging it. After Ezra, Richard, and Jules are all conned by the same woman, these unlikely friends set off on a mission to take her down. But the team soon learns that Maddie is not to be underestimated. If they want to succeed, they will have to learn to beat her at her own game.
How To Get Away With Murder fans may find some parallels between Imposter’s Ezra and HTGAWM’s Wes as both characters start off idealistic and naive but are eventually forced to go down a darker path. Shows like How To Get Away With Murder force their central characters to make a lot of darker decisions that they don’t anticipate before their stories begin.
7 Sharp Objects (2018)
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Available to stream on HBO Max
The Sharp Objects television series is based on the book by the brilliant author Gillian Flynn, best known for writing Gone Girl. Flynn has a gift for creating truly twisted characters, and it shows in this mystery. When Camille, a reporter, is forced to return to her hometown to investigate the mysterious disappearance of two young girls, she begins to reconnect with her estranged family.
This investigation leads Camille down a dark path, resurfacing some painful childhood memories. Much like How To Get Away With Murder’s Annalise, Camille serves as an extremely flawed and unreliable narrator.
6 The Blacklist (2013- )
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Available to stream on Peacock
Like HTGAWM, The Blacklist initially follows a case-of-the-week format. It is eventually revealed that these crimes are more connected than anyone originally thought. In this show, infamous criminal Raymond Reddington surrenders himself to the FBI and pitches a deal to help them take down some of the most dangerous criminals in the world.
Reddington has a mysterious and unhealthy obsession with a young profiler named Elizabeth Keen. Just like some of the other shows like How To Get Away With Murder, there is a strained and twisted mentor-mentee relationship. The connection between these two and the truth about Reddington’s past is the heart of the show and has some parallels to Annalise’s curious relationships with the Keating 5.
5 Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017)
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Available to stream on HBO Max
In Pretty Little Liars, a group of friends is tormented by an unknown enemy who calls themselves “A.” There is plenty of drama between these girls as they carry out acts that call their friendships into question.
But ultimately, these girls value self-preservation and are forced to work together (without really trusting each other) to bring down their adversary. Much like the Keating 5’s crimes keep them together, these liars are brought together by the secrets of their past. There is plenty of betrayal and secret keeping among the group even while they are keeping one another’s secrets from the outside world.
4 The Following (2013-2015)
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Available to stream on The CW and CW Seed
The Following is a masterpiece. The central character of the show is a flawed hero who battles with addiction, just like Annalise. His name is Ryan Hardy, and he is a former FBI agent who is involuntarily dragged out of retirement when notorious criminal Joe Carroll escapes from prison. Carroll is the man responsible for Hardy’s descent into madness and Ryan isn’t happy to be involved in his evil plot. Unbeknownst to the FBI, Joe Carroll has been building a secret network of followers like a cult leader, and taking him down proves to be a colossal undertaking.
The Following features a lot of the procedural elements that many series like How To Get Away With Murder do, but the focus is on one central case instead of several cases of the week. The series also highlights how a singular objective can damage the relationships in someone’s life, just as How To Get Away With Murder sees the lives of the Keating 5 fall apart.
3 Big Little Lies (2017-2019)
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Available to stream on HBO Max
How To Get Away With Murder is iconic because of the fierce female leads that exist in Annalise, Laurel, and Michaela. If fans are looking for electric women who can embody the same firecracker energy that exists in these ladies, Big Little Lies may hold the key.
This show contains interwoven mysteries and murder. These characters take justice into their own hands. Just like How To Get Away With Murder flash forwards contain clues and insight into the climactic murder before it occurs.
2 Scandal (2012-2018)
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Available to stream on Hulu
Shonda Rhimes, the creator behind How to Get Away with Murder has earned herself an iconic reputation thanks to shows like How To Get Away With Murder and Grey’s Anatomy. If fans are looking for another Shondaland show to satisfy the void left by the ending of How To Get Away With Murder, Scandal is the show for them. There are several parallels between characters in these shows. Instead of the muscle in a Frank, there is a Huck. Instead of the mentee in a Bonnie, there is a Quinn.
And instead of Annalise, there is Olivia Pope – a DC “fixer” who gets her clients out of precarious situations. Pope’s team is willing to go to extremes to win and Olivia’s thirst for power is insatiable. The show also features a crossover episode with characters from How To Get Away With Murder, providing fans with one more chance to revisit their favorites.
1 Elite (2018- )
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Available to stream on Netflix
Netflix’s Elite is clearly influenced by How to Get Away with Murder. Narratively, it is the closest in style of the shows like How To Get Away With Murder. Each episode begins and ends with flashes from the “murder night.” This show is filled with shocking twists that will excite fans as they place their bets on the character behind the murder.
It won’t be so easy to figure out, with each character possessing a strong motive for committing the crime. The Spanish language show, which is dubbed in English, is the best way for How to Get Away with Murderfans to get their fix.
