Annalise Keating, law professor and criminal defense attorney at Middleton University, selects five students to intern at her firm: Wes Gibbins, Connor Walsh, Michaela Pratt, Asher Millstone, and Laurel Castillo—along with Annalise's employees Frank Delfino and Bonnie Winterbottom, an associate lawyer.

The first nine episodes focus on Annalise's case of Caleb and Catherine Hapstall and their alleged involvement in the death of their adoptive parents.

Connor struggles with his relationship with Oliver, while Asher works with ADA Emily Sinclair in order to protect his secrets.

In the mid-season finale, Sinclair is murdered by Asher, and Annalise helps cover it up, at the expense of her being shot in the stomach by Wes.

The season ends with Annalise finding out that Frank was responsible for her being in a car accident and losing her baby, and sending him away as a result.

Meanwhile, Annalise takes the case of Caleb and Catherine Hapstall, adult adopted siblings accused of murdering their wealthy parents.

After Wes hears Levi's suggestion that Annalise murdered Rebecca, he begins plotting revenge and convinces Nate to join in.

Meanwhile, Frank is presented with a situation that hits close to home, and Wes' search to find out more about Rebecca's disappearance culminates in an explosive confrontation.

Annalise's new client is a man accused of making his ex-wife's husband commit suicide, while Frank brings in Oliver to help with the Hapstall case.

After being taunted by Annalise, Frank uses some of his money from a suitcase to pay off a nurse to get the DNA results from the Hapstall crime scene and Philip's straw.

The DNA also confirms Philip is a product of incest, being the child of Helena Hapstall and her only brother, Catherine and Caleb's adoptive father.

As Wes goes over the case file photos, he notices that in the background of Philip's screenshot is one of Catherine's paintings and informs Annalise and Nate.

I'll take care of it," while Caleb simultaneously reveals to Michaela a gun he apparently found in Catherine's studio.

The students try to deal with the fallout of "murder night", with Wes suffering a large amount of guilt over shooting Annalise.

Meanwhile, Annalise starts to hallucinate about a baby because of her medication, which causes trouble for her in court when she is forced to take the stand regarding her shooting.

Wes visits the doctor to get sleeping pills because his guilt has been causing insomnia, but after joking about suicide, he is checked into the psych ward.

Connor calls Annalise, panicked that he received an email from Philip with footage of them on the murder night that links them to what happened.

Annalise tries to handle the situation, while Wes and Laurel try to put the pieces of Rose's death together, traveling to Ohio to get the case files.

Shortly after Philip sends a video of Michaela's previous visit to Caleb, Annalise decides to ask the new ADA, Todd Denver, for blanket immunity to cover the team for Sinclair's murder in exchange for using all of Philip's emails to track his whereabouts, much to Denver's curiosity about what they did at the Hapstall mansion—the "crime scene"—that night.

Later, Oliver reveals to Connor that he has quit his job, Michaela and Asher share an unexpected moment, and Bonnie knows that Sam had Frank kill Lila.

Pressured after hearing a drunken Laurel tell Annalise that she herself had Frank kill Lila, the latter escapes to her mother Ophelia's house.

[30] Production began on May 21, 2015, with Shonda Rhimes announcing on Twitter that Peter Nowalk and his writers were in full swing mapping the second season.

Viola Davis played the protagonist of the series, Professor Annalise Keating, a high-profile defense attorney, teaching a class at Middleton University.

Jack Falahee portrayed Connor Walsh, the ruthless student who found himself in a situation where his boyfriend Oliver Hampton, played by Conrad Ricamora, had received news of having HIV.

Charlie Weber portrayed Frank Delfino, an employee of Annalise's firm who is not a lawyer but handles special duties requiring discretion.

It was announced on July 14, 2015, that the second season would introduce several new characters, including a family consisting of Caleb, Catherine and Helena Hapstall.

[37] On July 31, 2015, TVLine reported that Famke Janssen was cast as a brilliant, revered defense attorney for a multi-episode arc and would first appear in the season premiere.

[38] Matt Cohen was announced on August 11, 2015, to recur in the second season as Levi, who was described as a sexy, edgy working class guy.

[41] On January 14, 2016, it was announced that Wilson Bethel, Adam Arkin and Roxanne Hart would be joining the show to play the Mahoney family.