( CNN ) -- Gather 'round , students : `` How to Get Away with Murder 's '' Viola Davis is teaching a lesson in how to win a TV show . The Oscar nominee stars in ABC 's much-anticipated new drama from the house of Shonda Rhimes , and it debuted Thursday to critical applause and solid ratings . The third show in ABC 's new Thursday night block devoted to Rhimes ' programming -- `` Grey 's Anatomy , '' `` Scandal '' and `` How to Get Away with Murder '' air one after another , beginning at 8 p.m. -- `` Murder '' was the strongest of them all in terms of number of viewers . `` Grey 's '' was watched by 9.8 million at 8 p.m. and had a 3.0 rating in the adult demographic , while `` Scandal '' returned to its 9 p.m. time slot with 11.9 million watching and a strong 3.8 rating in the key demo . `` How to Get Away with Murder , '' meanwhile , debuted to an audience of 14 million and had a 3.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic . `` Murder , '' which is executive produced by Rhimes and created by `` Grey 's Anatomy '' writer/producer Peter Nowalk , sees Davis play Annalise Keating , a smooth criminal defense attorney and professor who 's as alluring as she is mysterious . Keating shares the screen with a crew of eager law students working to win her approval . As their prof , she offers them a chance to intern with her firm if they perform well on an assignment . But the group of students we meet in `` How to Get Away with Murder '' wind up facing a much bigger test when there 's a dead body involved . After catching the pilot episode , most critics agree that the students may be an integral part of the story -- which , despite not being created by Rhimes , certainly has her trademarks -- but it 's Davis viewers will come back for . `` While the show has certain Rhimes ' accents -- a strong female lead , a large and diverse ensemble , a willingness to pile on complications -- it is very different from any of the series she has written , '' says the Los Angeles Times . `` Annalise wears neither a white hat nor her heart on her sleeve ... ( and ) seems more than capable of being both Sherlock and Moriarty . Backward , in heels . '' For HitFix 's Alan Sepinwall , the pilot runs into trouble when it focuses too much time on the students and their deadly mystery . `` The characters involved are so much less compelling than Annalise that it feels like a magic trick gone awry -- sleight of hand that keeps pulling your attention from the one person who makes the show work , '' Sepinwall writes . `` Viola Davis is a star , and it 's long overdue that she got to frontline a show like this . It 'd be a shame if that show winds up underusing her because it did n't trust that she 'd be enough through the sheer brute force of her personality . '' The A.V . Club , which was also frustrated by a lack of Davis screen time , believes that the series has promise. `` 'How To Get Away With Murder ' faces some of the same issues many Shondaland properties have faced : a weakness for melodramatic plotting that sacrifices emotional complexity for clichÃ©s and mere complication , '' the review says . `` But it has excellent bones , grounded in an outstanding pedigree and Rhimes ' demonstrated ability to keep an audience hooked from scandal to scandal . It 's not perfect , but it 's never boring . '' After Thursday 's premiere , viewers seemed to agree , with many tweeting that they 've found their new favorite show . Did you watch ? Did you agree that the pilot needed more Davis and less focus on the students ? Let us know what you thought in the comments .
ABC 's ` ` How to Get Away with Murder '' has received mostly positive reviews . Critics have noted how well Viola Davis plays her role . She plays a mysterious law clerk and criminal defense attorney . One aspect of the plot involves a murder .