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Shonda Rhimes’ ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ sets DVR record for ABC

Six million viewers watched last week's premiere of Shonda Rhimes' "How to Get Away With Murder" in time-shifted playback in the first three days after it aired, Nielsen reported.
(Richard Shotwell / Invision/Associated Press)
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If Shonda Rhimes really is angry, this should help cool her temper: Her new show “How to Get Away With Murder” just set a DVR record.

ABC’s legal drama drew an additional 6 million viewers who watched last week’s premiere on time-shifted playback in the first three days after it aired, according to figures published Tuesday by Nielsen.

That is the biggest number of people who have ever watched any telecast in that three-day DVR window. The previous record-holder was the NBC thriller “The Blacklist,” which logged 5.6 million back in January.

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With the DVR numbers thrown in, “Murder” drew a crowd of more than 20 million, which is a hit in anyone’s book.

Rhimes and her shows -- she also oversees “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy” -- have been getting all kinds of attention lately.

In its review of “Murder,” the New York Times seemed to refer to Rhimes as “an angry black woman,” touching off an uproar in social media, including a can-you-believe-this? tweet from Rhimes herself.

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During the premiere of the show, People magazine live-tweeted a message poking fun at the speech patterns of a 1960s maid played by Viola Davis in the feature film “The Help.” Davis also stars in “Murder.” People later apologized and retracted the tweet.

What do you think of “How to Get Away With Murder”?

Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT

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