The ‘How to Get Away With Murder’/’Scandal’ Crossover Is Finally Happening Tonight

By Andy Swift, TVLine
Published March 1, 2018, 10:34 a.m. ET

The long-awaited Shondaland crossover promises more drama than you can… handle. (Sorry.)

As seen in the final moments of the most recent of How to Get Away With Murder, Annalise Keating is turning to Scandal‘s Olivia Pope for help with her class-action lawsuit, giving birth to an uneasy partnership in Thursday’s two-hour event (ABC, 9/8c).

“They both end up needing each other in surprising ways,” Murder boss Pete Nowalk tells TVLine. “As much as both of them would like to believe they’re in complete control of their lives, and of each other, they’ll have to depend on one another in ways that are very uncomfortable. These are two very powerful women who don’t like to be the beta. It’s new territory.”

Another powerful woman making the leap from Murder to Scandal is Michaela, though she has a considerably different perspective on Olivia and her Gladiators than Ms. Keating.

“Michaela is definitely impressed by them and feels like she’s in the presence of grand minds,” Nowalk says. “‘Starstruck’ is the perfect word for it. Annalise, on the other hand, is not easily impressed and not used to having to take orders from other people. Olivia tells her, ‘This is my world, my rules. You’d better get down with that.’ And as you’ll see, that’s not so easy for Annalise.”

Speaking of Michaela, many fans — OK, fine, me — couldn’t help but notice that most of the promotional photos of Michaela also featured Scandal‘s Marcus Walker.

“The old Michaela, before she became a murderer, would have loved to get to know Marcus more,” Nowalk acknowledges. “We’ll see if that still stands for her and whether there are any sparks for her.”

But the spotlight, of course, will remain on Olivia and Annalise, who find themselves at a bit of a crossroads.

“This crossover came about because the storylines merged in a really organic way,” Nowalk says. “They’re both women who have been disgraced and need to redeem themselves. Shonda [Rhimes] and I were very honest about not doing it unless it felt right.”