Focus Fire: Suits
In a day and age where mediocre television rules the ratings (See: The Jersey Shore, any show involving the Kardiashian family, etc.) it makes me happy to know that there are still a number of high quality TV series that see the light of day. One such new series is Suits, a comedy-drama that is currently airing on the USA Network.
Set in New York City, the premise of this show revolves around the exploits of Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a brilliant associate at the law firm Pearson Hardman who is hired by high-powered attorney and recently promoted Senior Partner Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). The kicker here, is that Mike is a college dropout who used to make a living for himself by taking the LSATs and law school bar exams for other people. After unintentionally running into a private hiring event held by Harvey, Mike impresses the him with sharp knowledge of the law, photographic memory, and the young man’s genuine desire to be a lawyer. Taking into consideration his need for a new associate due to firm policy, Harvey agrees to hire Mike, who becomes his new protege despite his lack of a law degree.
Like many other TV shows and video games that catch my attention, what stands out to me about Suits is the superb writing and story development. The show’s first season follows Mike as he navigates through the cutthroat world of corporate politics while keeping both he and Harvey work to keep his secret under wraps, as word of his hiring an associate without a degree would have the former fired and the latter disbarred. While Mike plays the classic role of a morally-inclined lawyer who gets emotionally attached to his clients, Harvey appears to be the unscrupulous opposite, only to turn around at the end of every episode to show that he really is more caring than he lets on… in his own way. Overall, both Mike and Harvey are portrayed as highly intelligent and sarcastic individuals whose back and forth banter showcases a great chemistry between the two actors similar to that of Matt Damon and George Clooney in the Ocean’s Eleven series.
As this is a USA Network series, Suits also has its share of beautiful but equally intelligent female characters in Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle), a paralegal with testing anxiety who develops a mutual attraction with Mike, and Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), one of the firm’s namesakes and Harvey’s boss.
Overall, Suits is an incredibly fun series to watch for all of the reasons listed above and more. Its qualities easily make it comparable to another USA Network show that I’ve covered (White Collar), not only in its great writing, but also its showcasing of the fast, first-class New York City lifestyle, complete with $2000 suits and high rise apartments. It’s no wonder that I’ve become so attached to this show, right?
