Despite constantly being fed clips on my Instagram feed, for months I resisted watching “Suits.” It looked like another one of those financial power shows—like “Billions” or the political “House of Cards”—that basked in subterfuge and cold power plays. I’d seen “Wall Street,” “Boiler Room,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” What reason was there for me to get into a cold, icy show about high-power lawyers and million dollar deals? But then I watched the series opener, and liked what I saw. By the end of the first episode, I realized the show had intrigue, and Harvey Specter was not Gordon Gekko. “Suits” followed a very contagious arch, inviting viewers to not so much fall in love with lawyering, but to fall in love with the fictitious Manhattan law firm of Pearson Hardman, and to feel—by the show’s finale nine seasons later—that the “Suits” cast was indeed a family.
“Suits” can really be broken up into two parts, pre-Mike Ross and post-Mike Ross. For those who have watched the show, this will be obvious. But for those who have not, this will be as spoiler-free a review of the USA series as possible. It will also attempt to explain why the show became a hit and one of my all-time favorite series alongside it.
Power Suits, Power Ties, yet Deeper Treasure
“Suits” follows Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), a high-power lawyer in New York City, and opens on him ‘closing’ a client his boss, Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) is having difficulty with. It’s a billion-dollar merger deal and huge figures are involved. But what makes an impact on the sequence is Harvey’s bottom line. His biggest concern is not the dollar amount, but the fact that the firm’s client wants to embarrass the company he’s bought in addition to taking it over. It’s a bad look, and Harvey goes to great lengths to make sure the client does the right thing. I can’t remember the last time a show featuring a slick attorney in a $3,000 suit cared about that. And while “Suits” would—like Harvey—attempt to hide Specter’s true nature amidst his desire to “win,” it would become the backbone of a show that actually cared about its characters.
The tour guide for Pearson Hardman becomes Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a lost soul with brilliant potential that becomes intertwined with Harvey during a case of mistaken identity. Mike’s a once-Harvard hopeful, a gifted young man who’s life became derailed when his parents died at young age. He always wanted to be a lawyer. However, he was thrown out of college helping his friend Trevor (Tom Lipinski) get out of trouble. Trevor is trouble, and in the most unlikely way it takes Harvey for Mike to see it. During a drug deal at a hotel, instead of running into the police Mike’s been set up to meet, he instead meets Harvey—who thinks he’s a Harvard grad intertwining for a job—and the rest is history. Mike impresses Harvey with his photographic memory and knowledge of law. So much so he agrees to hire him as his associate, despite the fact Mike doesn’t have a law degree. Thus begins a friendship neither one of them ever anticipated. Also begins a show that never ceases to entertain, even when it should have run out of steam seasons ago.
Drama, Comedy, and Emotion Where You Least Expect It
What works about “Suits” is the way it draws you into Pearson Hardman with a host of characters that don’t let up. In quick succession we get familiar with Jesica Pearson, a hard business woman who has a soft spot for Harvey and keeps the firm together. We meet Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). He’s a brilliant financial partner who is rabidly insecure, and takes self-sabotage to a new level. There’s Rachel Zane, a gifted paralegal who becomes a love interest for Mike (Meghan Markle, whose public notoriety I was unfamiliar with prior to watching this show). And then there’s Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty), Harvey’s long-time secretary and irreplaceable part of his life.
What also works is the way “Suits” puts Mike up against Harvey and grows them both as the series progresses. Mike is brilliant but inexperienced. The way Harvey gloats his legal prowess and continually reminds Mike of his lack of it make up some of “Suit’s” best comedy. But there’s also hard lessons—first as Mike’s goodhearted and caring nature reminds Harvey what he likes about law in the first place, and second as the duo fights to keep Mike’s secret from Jessica, Louis, and an endless slew of clients and lawyers. The first season toys with Mike’s secret playfully. However, as the show moves forward, it becomes increasingly serious, until Season 5 when it comes to a head. No spoilers will be given here; but the way the show’s writers craft this occurrence—as well as the acting brought by Macht and Adams—is some of the most emotional stuff I’ve seen on TV in some time.
Characters First, Drama Second
“Suits” also devotes massive amounts of character development that allows its characters to grow naturally. As a host of attorneys come and go, it never loses its focus on its primary characters, which other shows often fall prey to. This is especially true of Hoffman’s Louis Litt. He starts the series as a conniving jerk you can’t stand, yet makes you love him by the end. The way it picks apart at Louis’ insecurities and past traumas makes them feel real. It also makes me wonder if the show’s writers always had this arc determined, or it grew out of necessity as the “Suits” gained in popularity. Either way, Rick Hoffman is amazing in the role. You’ll hate Louis one minute and love him five minutes later. I couldn’t imagine another actor nailing this complexity the way he did. Litt feels like a complete person, and gone forever is that icky memory I had of Hoffman torturing that poor girl in Eli Roth’s “Hostel.”
The series’ plotlines follow its needs, and I’m purposefully avoiding detailing them in totality for two reasons. First, it would take too long; this is supposed to be a review, and not a novel. And second is for anyone who hasn’t seen this show yet. If you like dramas about lawyers, relationships, and complex feelings, I wouldn’t want to ruin a moment of “Suits” for you. It’s a special show. It’s not one of those situations where the writing never wavers (though it does pause a bit in the early parts of Season 9, its final), nor one where you wish you could go back and experience it as a newbie all over again. You grow along with the characters, and are not left disappointed at the end. And while key characters do leave the show, you’re left knowing they’re going to be okay and your investment in their characters was not wasted.
Of course the show’s villains are aplenty, including some fun portrayals and some vicious. Eric Close plays a conniving rival attorney named Travis Tanner, and his scenes are fun even when they’re mean. Not fun—and a character you’ll grow to hate—is David Constabile as former managing partner Daniel Hardman. Constabile is a gifted actor, and Hardman stays around far too long in the firm causing all sorts of trouble. Some lesser troublemakers such as Sean Cahill (a fun Neil McDonough) and a menacing prison inmate named Frank Gallo (“24’s” Paul Schulze) move plots along as needed.
Gabriel Macht Excels as Harvey Specter
However fun the side plots are, without the principal cast the show would simply not work. I was not familiar with Gabriel Macht before “Suits,” but now, I cannot imagine anyone else in this role. Harvey Specter is so confident, so driven, and so immovable, that in a lesser actor’s hands I can imagine the character falling apart and coming across as nothing more than mean spirited. Macht’s Harvey looks as at home in thousand-dollar power suits and fancy offices as he does in gym clothes and boxing rings. Harvey is the best and he lets everyone around him know it. But the way “Suits” chips away at his softer side—especially in regards to his relationship with co-star Patrick J. Adams and later with his mother (Brynn Thayer)—is remarkable.
It’s a wonder that Macht poked fun at Specter in 2015, aghast at why fans liked “totally insecure, aggressive” Harvey. I think Macht gets it in the series’ closer, though, as he speaks to Sean Cahill about the lines he’s crossed and why. Macht wanted to explore the things that made Harvey tick. There are several scenes across the nine seasons where Macht transmits emotion so relatable into Harvey it’s unbelievable. It’s a utter crime that Macht is missing from the show’s eight nominations and one win.
Patrick J. Adams is great too, though for me the joy of his character is watching Mike go from a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and wants to do real good, to a realist who becomes a capable lawyer and friend. His “secret” consumes a large part of the early show. But the best parts with Adams are the ones where Mike learns to stand up for himself (against clients and even Jessica Pearson), and the hard lessons he learns with Harvey. Macht and Adams are brilliant apart, but better together. Both are seeking family and find it with each other, and the way the series concludes rewards fans who have stuck through it for nine seasons.
Strong Female Characters Balance ‘Suits” Veneer
Additionally, the chemistry Adams and co-star Meghan Markle bring to their relationship is palpable. I’m sure many started watching “Suits” to see Markle before she became a duchess, but I’m not one of them. I didn’t know her before I began this show, and that’s for the better. She’s wonderful as Rachel Zane, a gifted paralegal with a kindness and heart to her that transforms her scenes. The series’ writers do her justice, and don’t just make her a one-sided love interest. She and Mike make each other better people. Further, Rachel’s initially estranged relationship with her father (an awesome Wendell Pierce)—a partner at another practice—lends a realness to her character that is profound.
Of course Markle doesn’t exist in a vacuum of female characters. Through the aforementioned Gina Torres and Sarah Rafferty “Suits” layers itself with strong female characters to balance its male leads. Torres really commands a strong performance as a woman who is a straight shooter. However, by the end of her character’s tenure, she makes you believe she has a heart under her tough veneer. And likewise Rafferty injects heart and wisdom into Donna, a character that will doubtless become a fan favorite. While “Suits” writers dance a will-they-won’t-they between her and Harvey that is palpable, the way their story is crafted—apart from Donna’s own personal growth—is relatable and believable. While Donna starts as Harvey’s secretary and a source of comic relief, she quickly becomes anything but. And the camaraderie she has with the rest of the cast—specifically Hoffman—drives the show home.
Some additional late series stars—such as Dulé Hill, Amanda Schull, Aloma Wright, and Katherine Heigl—keep the show afloat and add their own brand of camaraderie and intrigue.
A Strong Recommend—On Netflix Now
I could devote an entire paragraph to each character on the show—they’re that good and that deep and entertaining—but at some point I have to stop. And also at some point, I hope anyone who hasn’t seen “Suits” and has read this far will simply flip on Netflix and begin the journey. It’s a show about law, yes, and a show about high-power, corporate New York. But it’s also about more. It’s about loyalty, family, empathy, and a drama of the highest order. And while often that drama exists as part of the show’s plot mechanisms, it never threatens to take it over. “Suits” never threatens to become dramatic—a soap opera, if you will—because it cares too much about its characters. They grow because of the show’s progression, not the other way around. The series begins with a hotshot lawyer in his prime and an hitherto unlucky protege. However, when it ends, its characters are forever changed. And while “Suits’” ending is bittersweet—because obviously it must end—the time you spend with these characters is unforgettable. The series has become a fast Top 5 of all time for this writer. And a strong recommendation to watch the phenomenon seems like it will never be strong enough.
“Suits” Seasons 1-8 are streaming on Netflix and Season 9 is available on Prime Video.
