Peter Nowalk, executive producer and creator of How To Get Away With Murder, says the show is about how normal people would behave in extreme situations
How did you come up with the idea for this show on Star World Premiere HDIJ
I think the initial idea came from the fact that I find my life very boring, but I find putting normal people in extreme circumstances to be a theme that I find very appealing. So what’s more extreme than being a first-year law student who’s kind of innocent and naive and being thrust into a murderIJ So I find that kind of exciting and fun and like an adventure that’s so unlike my real life, so it just seemed like a cool way to jump into a TV show.
You have a protagonist who it seems like is morally questionable. What was the driving decision behind making a morally questionable characterIJ
To me, whether she’s morally questionable or not, it just comes to the heart of the character, who she is and why she’s been there. And the real adventure we’re going to go on with this character is the peeling back of the onion and finding out what drives her to this place, what her perspective is on justice. It’s not so black and white to her. like, justice is very complicated, and the justice system is much more corrupt than you would think it would be. So I think in a certain way, Annalise feels like she’s being moral. She’s just standing up for the people who don’t get stood up for a lot.
What kind of research went into making this showIJ Did any of you study lawIJ And if not, did you talk to people that went to law school or law school professorsIJ
Definitely. And actually, Betsy’s (one of the executive producers) husband is our consultant because he’s a criminal defense attorney. So he is a great resource for me. I think taking on any project is fun when you get to learn and throw yourself into a world that you don’t know. I also find — like I could never go to law school. I think I’d be terribly bored and challenged in a way I didn’t like. (laughs)
So for me, it’s fun to think of a way to make law school fun. That’s what the appeal was for me.
How To Get Away With Murder seems like a more classic murder mystery response to all the forensic murder shows we have these days. What murder mystery classics you might take inspiration from, be it films or televisionIJ
It is a classic murder mystery. The crimes will be emotionally driven, very relatable. I think they’re kind of normal people in extreme situations. And I think, for me, some of the thrillers that I have always loved as a kid were like, 80s and 90s legal thrillers that they don’t really make anymore. I also liked Patricia Highsmith kind of psychological thriller novels.
Will there be a murder in each episodeIJ
The cases of the week will be all different. We’ll tell all different types of criminals that Annalise (Viola Davis) will defend. So, like, we’ll do an insider trader as well as a bunch of murderers.