Netflix’s best legal thriller is now a 134-hour TV show

The show aired from 2011 through 2019. SuitsThe show is most famous for the fact that Meghan Markle quit the show to become Duchess Sussex. It is a very well-made show. Think… Scandal meets Good Fight meets PracticeA touch of Miss SloaneSprinkle of Ally McBealIt’s always good to be cautious. Now it’s on Netflix in full, and it’s the perfect thing to make time to watch (or rewatch).

Like many other shows that focus on the high-powered careers, SuitsIt is driven by its hubris white male stars. Harvey Specter, Gabriel Macht’s character in the first season of The Specter Chronicles takes Mike Ross under his wing at Pearson Hardman as a law associate. Though Mike is a college dropout who’s never been to law school, he does have a photographic memory — and he’s been making money by taking the (infamously difficult to pass) New York bar exam for lazy little cheaters who don’t want to study.

Harvey, impressed by Mike’s recall and entertained by his sleight of hand, mentors Mike and shares with him. Together they take on some of the firm’s toughest cases, all while trying to keep Mike’s secret under wraps. Because, you might recall, practising law without a licence is an offense! Hijinks are bound to ensue. And a lot of the fun of the show is watching the firm’s internal machinations play out as the circle of trust expands.

The music is fast and fluid. SuitsThe show excels in tying up and unraveling narrative knots. Political to its core, Harvey, Mike, and the cast of characters who fill out the show are at the top of their games, going up against bankers, prosecutors, businessmen, and other such unsavory characters to fight for justice — all while diligently and artfully sidestepping their own complicity. Harvey and Mike, however frustrating they might be, are smooth operators that enjoy the practice of law. Their bond comes from their love for the intellectual challenge of law. Winning is great, but they are also bonded by their mutual enjoyment. While we might be looking at a $1 billion lawsuit, they are solving a complex 4D puzzle.

Image: USA Network/Everett Collection

Image: USA Network/Everett Collection

The real fun is in the enjoyment of SuitsCharacters are the show’s main focus. In nine seasons the show carefully undoes all of its assumptions about the goals and wants of its characters, allowing for them to change and grow as people. Jessica Pearson is an excellent example. Gina Torres’ majestic and towering performance gives us a savvy Afro-Latina attorney at the very top of her game. Her career was hard-won. SuitsNever forgets this, which allows her to stand toe to toe with maverick attorneys who challenge and report to her. She forms a sisterhood with paralegal Rachel Zane, played by Meghan Markle and Donna Paulsen, played by Sarah Rafferty. They use this to survive in a profession dominated by men. When Harvey and Mike’s shenanigans jeopardize her standing and reputation, she illuminates with righteous fury why the stakes are so much higher for her. Jessica Pearson, in the era when Annalise and Olivia Popes ruled television, was an undisputed torchbearer of excellence. And that’s before we even get to those The suit.

A decadent little drama, SuitsIt is a comfort marathon watch. With exciting cases, wonderful interpersonal relationships, and a will-they-won’t-they to satisfy even the most impatient shippers, there are worse ways you could spend 134 hours of your time. You’re right, I did count.

SuitsSeasons 1-8 of Netflix are available now.