'How to Get Away with Murder' Season 5 Renewal News: Will The Legal Thriller Be Coming Back?
The finale for the fourth season of ABC's legal-thriller show "How to Get Away with Murder" just aired and, despite the stunning conclusion, fans are already wondering if Professor Keating and her crew of legal students will be making a return next year or if the show has reached its end due to declining ratings.
The latest season of "How to Get Away with Murder" has, overall, received a weaker reception than the previous seasons. For the 18-49 demographic, the show's target audience, it averages at a 0.94 rating and, in terms of viewer count, rolls in at an average of 3.7 million per episode. This is a noticeable drop from the third season's numbers, specifically a 28 percent and 20 percent drop, respectively.
But, it should be noted that, compared to season 2, season 3 received a marginally large drop as well, even bigger than the difference with season 4. Compared to the second season, season 3 had a 31 percent drop in ratings and a 27 percent drop in views. So, these metrics do not necessarily indicate whether a show is returning or not.
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On top of that, series creator and executive producer Peter Nowalk recently extended his contract with ABC for an additional three years. Again, that does not necessarily mean the show has been renewed for a fifth season. He could very well start a new series on ABC instead, but it is a good indicator that the series is still on ABC's good graces.
Speaking of Nowalk, he himself recently spoke about the potential storyline of a fifth season for the show. According to reports, Nowalk told the press during a finale preview screening at the Sunset Gower studios that he is already working on how the fifth season will play out, especially with the show's iconic flashforward and flashback moments. He said that, should the show be renewed for a fifth season, fans should expect it to be "twisty and more fun" and that it will have a "different tone" from what people are used to.
"How to Get Away with Murder" just finished its fourth season run on ABC.
