It was a stroke of genius for Michaela Pratt (Aja Naomi King) to suggest that her boss, Annalise Keating (Viola Davis), seek out Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) in order to revive her huge class action suit.

“How to Get Away With Murder” executive producer Pete Nowalk told TV Line that it was actually a dream come true for Michaela to see the two women in action.

“Michaela is definitely impressed by them and feels like she’s in the presence of grand minds,” Nowalk said. “‘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.”

However, working together will have the two women develop an appreciation for one another. In fact, Nowalk said they will “both end up needing each other in surprising ways.”

“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,” he said.

Nowalk even told Variety that the crossover between “How to Get Away With Murder” and “Scandal” is a “wish fulfillment” of some sort - not only for him, but also for Shondaland fans.

“Shonda [Rhimes] and I decided to do this because Olivia and Annalise’s stories really met in a very organic way in terms of that they both have fallen from grace and really need to redeem themselves,” Nowalk said. “It’s interesting to have to rely on a stranger to redeem yourself. They don’t know each other, they may not like each other, they have very different styles, so how do they develop enough trust to take on this huge project?”

The two-hour crossover event will take place on March 1 on ABC, with “Scandal” first airing at 9 p.m. followed by “How to Get Away With Murder” at 10 p.m.

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