Shona Rhimes' programs are known for dramatic sex, heart-stopping murders, and sensational finales. Apart from the long-running medical procedural, How To Get Away With Murder, starring the brilliant Viola Davis.
HTGAWM boosted Viola Davis' popularity among the masses, and also won the actress an Emmy for her role as the ferocious defense attorney, Annalise Keating. The show straddles the path between a legal procedural and a crime thriller with some substantial human drama thrown in. Here are the ten best characters on the show, ranked.
Asher Millstone
The one qualification that would get anybody into Annalise's brood was some completely amoral act, preferably murder. Asher did not really live up to the expectations in season 1, where he was innocent of any crime other than being a bit slow and rather annoying.
Jokes apart, in season 2, Asher ran over an Assistant District Attorney in cold blood and ed the others who had already been living a lie for a full season before that. Asher was never shown to be as ambitious as Michaela or Connor, or even as sharp as Laurel, but his goofy fun-loving attitude brought some comic relief to the dark backdrop of the show.
Frank Delfino
Frank was Annalise's right-hand man in more sense than one. Officially, he was her legal associate but in reality served as a henchman of sorts whose job was to find out everything about clients, even if that meant frequently resorting to methods that were not strictly legal.
At the end of season 1, Frank was shown to be have been manipulated into committing murder by Annalise's womanizing husband, Sam Keating. More importantly, he started a relationship with Laurel and in time, as more and more shocking deaths came to the fore, Frank became someone the Keating Five found themselves relying on.
Nate Lahey
Nate Lahey was first introduced as the long-suffering boyfriend of Annalise Keating. Nate was a detective with the Philadelphia police and was in an on-again-off-again relationship with her for the longest time, silently tolerating every beating down that he received from Annalise who didn't think twice before framing him for crimes committed by her students.
Nate stood by Annalise like a rock, through thick and thin, helping the Keating Five every time they did something grossly illegal--which was very often indeed. It was only in season 5 that Nate himself became responsible for murder, and thus truly one of the gang, all of whom had now been complicit in murder one way or another.
Michaela Pratt
Michaela was a force to reckon with when she first ed Annalise's law classes. She was mean, competitive, and ambitious to the point of being morally dubious, and for all intents and purposes, was a mini Annalise herself.
Michael's character mellowed a lot since season 1, although she was still willing to stoop low to get herself, and in effect, the whole gang, out of harm's way. She became involved with Asher and was Connor's best mate. Fiesty and sly, Michaela was one slippery customer.
Connor Walsh
Connor was a hotshot legal student back in season 1, engaged in a tough contest with Michaela for that number one position in class. But being associated with Annalise came with a price and he practically suffered a nervous breakdown in season 3, after Wes died.
Connor's character went through an interesting evolutionary arc as he went from the cold, arrogant budding lawyer to a much more mature, albeit still confused, human being.
Laurel Castillo
Laurel was the dark horse of the Keating Five. Initially a somewhat idealistic young woman who wanted to do some good in the world, Laurel was slowly revealed to be a woman with many skeletons in her cupboard, who could keep a steady head, especially if a body needed burying.
After Wes died, the narrative kind of shifted focus on Laurel as the second lead after Annalise, as her entire family was shown to have been complicit somehow in Wes' murder, as well as various other misdeeds. The actress took off abruptly after season 5 but had been an integral part of the drama until that point.
Bonnie Winterbottom
Bonnie deserves to be ranked higher simply because of the way the role was played by Liza Weil. Bonnie was slimy and hard underneath her somewhat meek exterior.
The showrunners did a great job portraying the twisted co-dependent relationship between Annalise and Bonnie. The showdown scenes between Bonnie and Annalise have been some of the most powerful in the history of the series. The transformation of the apparently docile Bonnie into a dangerously cunning woman capable of cover-ups and ruthless murders has been quite intriguing.
Wes Gibbins
Wesley Gibbins was basically the second lead on HTGAWM until the season 3 finale which ended in his death--one of the most shocking deaths in the history of television.
Wes was handsome and heartfelt, the precise kind of character whose unexpected and horrific death would drive the audience hysterical. Wes had a curious relationship with Annalise, so much so that there were speculations about some sexual attraction between them. Although his character was killed off long back, he remained a significant force that shaped the course of the series after he was gone.
Oliver Hampton
One of the best characters on the show, Oliver was the glue that held the sociopathic bunch of law students together--the only one in the group who retained a semblance of sanity. In season 4, he became complicit in the attempted murder of one of the Keating Four's--since this is after Wes' death--fellow students.
The geeky tech genius was sensible, keeping Connor and the rest of the group grounded. Oliver and Connor's relationship was one of the most ionate and meaningful on the show--Connor's concern that Oliver should not face the same trauma he himself had faced again and again, and Oliver's efforts to protect his lover on his part was heartwarming to watch.
Annalise Keating
The fierce criminal lawyer, and law professor, Annalise Keating, was literally the best in the business, never hesitating to cut some corners if she had to, to bring a case home. Yet, her apparently picture-perfect life with her handsome professor husband was shattered when she discovered that her husband had been having an affair with a student who had then turned up dead in a water tank.
Annalise was not only the central force towards whom the rest of the characters gravitated but also a mother hen of sorts, ready to go to any lengths to shelter and protect her own. She was highly flawed as a woman, which made her more real and relatable. Actress Viola Davis pumped her character full of energy, raw sensuality and power, easily making Annalise one of the most empowered women on television in recent years.