Editor’s Note: Welcome to our TV Rewind column! The Paste writers are diving into the streaming catalogue to discuss some of our favorite classic series as well as great shows we’re watching for the first time. Come relive your TV past with us, or discover what should be your next binge watch below:
As you’ve probably heard by now, one of the most popular television shows of 2023 is somehow a series that originally premiered over a decade ago. The legal drama Suits first aired in 2011 and was one of the last installments in USA Network’s optimistic “blue sky” era of dramas alongside such shows as Burn Notice, Royal Pains, and Psych. It ran for nine seasons and over a hundred and thirty episodes before concluding in 2019, but—thanks to the magic of Netflix—has somehow stumbled into miraculous new popularity, breaking all manner of streaming records and introducing a whole new audience to the story of a fake lawyer, his unexpected BFF, and the seemingly hoity-toity firm that ultimately becomes his family.
Largely memorable for the fact that it starred Meghan Markle back before she married a prince and became the Duchess of Sussex, Suits follows the story of Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a hyper-intelligent college dropout with a photographic memory who manages to fake his way into a job at the law firm of Pearson and Hardman. Working alongside a talented attorney named Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), the fast-talking, pop culture-referencing pair tenaciously fight to win cases via any means necessary, be it a heartfelt closing argument or a surprising legal loophole, all while trying to keep Mike’s secret from the rest of the firm.
Highlights from the series’ long run include the wonderfully easy chemistry between Macht and Adams, whose partnership clicks from their first scene together; the slick, entertaining dialogue that made even the most mundane of court activities feel exciting; and the array of intriguing supporting characters, including fiercely polished senior partner Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), dedicated paralegal Rachel Zane (Markle), and the formidable Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty), Harvey’s uber-capable secretary with whom he shares an on-again/off-again flirtation through much of the show. But Suits’s best character was always the one the show initially seemed to consider something of an antagonist to Harvey and Mike: Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). And while viewers likely hated, loved, and respected Louis by turns at various points in the series, he still remains its most compelling and occasionally controversial figure.
When we first meet Louis, he’s a junior partner at Pearson Hardman—jealous of his longtime rival Harvey’s promotion above him, deeply insecure, and often paranoid, particularly when it comes to Mike’s addition to the firm. But behind all of Louis’s rudeness and bluster lies a soft and surprisingly caring heart, and his arc over the course of Suits’s nine seasons is one of the series’ most satisfying, as he grows from a petty, frequently obnoxious weasel to a genuine friend and leader who more than earns his spot as a named partner in the firm’s title.
In the world of Suits, Louis can often come off as kind of a weirdo, particularly next to more traditionally hero-coded characters like Harvey and Mike. He’s deeply insecure, a man who desperately wants to be liked and seen as an equal by those he respects most, which often means he comes off as a try-hard at best and an outright suck-up at worst. He often punches down at those whose jobs he considers beneath his and he’s willing to use everything from blackmail and emotional coercion to outright bullying to get what he wants, rather than trusting that he can ultimately earn those things on his own merits. But Suits thankfully doesn’t shy away from depicting the anxiety and fear that drive many of Louis’s choices, and it is because of that extreme vulnerability that it’s so easy to sympathize with and root for him.