The USA legal drama Suits has dominated televisions across America since becoming available again to stream on Netflix and Peacock earlier this year. The renewed interest in the series has sparked rumors of a possible reboot or a spin-off, but is it worthy of either?
Suits Premise
Suits follows Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a college drop-out with a photographic memory who convinces Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), an attorney at one of New York City’s most prestigious law firms, to give him a job as an attorney despite not having a law degree or having passed the bar exam. The two work in tandem to keep their secret while also getting into plenty more trouble along the way.
The premise is undoubtedly intriguing, and the entire show is well done. The leading men are charismatic, competent actors; the scripts are dramatic without being totally unbelievable; and there are half a dozen supporting characters, particularly women, who add depth to the storylines. Suits is one of the best modern legal dramas, but it’s not so good it needs a reboot.
Although the show seems to have a unique spin, Suits follows a formula that other legal dramas have in the past and new ones could in the future: a very good attorney with an uncommon trait finds themself in a precarious situation and has to juggle their personal and professional life to keep things from unraveling.
How to Get Away with Murder, Scandal, The Good Wife, The Lincoln Lawyer, and more are all predicated on this basic formula. Rather than rebooting Suits, another outstanding legal drama could certainly emerge following that same formula (and fans of the genre could give The Lincoln Lawyer a chance as its second season only dropped on Netflix in August).
Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams in ‘Suits’
A new spin-off of Suits isn’t necessarily a good idea either. Part of what makes the show so good is the chemistry of the cast, and few of the characters are worth following outside of New York City, as evidenced by the short-lived 2019 spin-off Pearson, which followed Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) in Chicago.
A spin-off following Mike Ross or Harvey Specter would have the best chance at survival, but the former wouldn’t work unless Meghan Markle were to be involved (which seems very unlikely), and as for the latter, well, we can only watch Macht balance being slightly unscrupulous and very attractive for so long on his own.
It’s Okay to Leave Good Enough Alone
Reboots and spin-offs are a tricky game. They rarely work, and they’re typically just capitalizing on nostalgia without any consideration as to whether it’s a good idea. We’re not saying we wouldn’t give a Suits reboot or new spin-off a chance if one were to emerge, but we’d be awfully skeptical.