--- description: Suits is the perfect background show. It runs for nearly 84 hours, but it also strikes the perfect balance between drama and predictability. title: In Defense of 'Suits' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec05f3386a61a1dc/6988b7668e0601bf85468f7d/meghan-markle-patrick-adams.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # In Defense of _Suits_ ## Video: Suits Season 1 Trailer [Watch (HLS stream): Suits Season 1 Trailer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Z3ACfuFy.m3u8) (2:20)  _Published 2023-08-11. The ludicrous legal procedural deserves to be on top of Netflix's streaming charts._  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Aug 11, 2023 4:35 PM CUT  Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane, Patrick J. Adams as Michael Ross. Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane, Patrick J. Adams as Michael Ross.USA Network— Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Aug 11, 2023 4:35 PM CUT Do you want to watch something smart or brainless? That seems to be the choice these days. HBO churns out dramas like [_White Lotus_](https://time.com/6240351/white-lotus-season-2-finale-explained/ "undefined") and [_Succession_](https://time.com/6283238/succession-series-finale-recap/ "undefined") that will make you think, but you don't always want to contemplate class warfare on a weeknight. Alternatively, there's the ever-growing glut of [reality television on Netflix](https://time.com/5782392/love-is-blind-review-netflix-reality-tv/ "undefined") that is made so cheaply and quickly you'll feel as if you're losing brain cells by just clicking on the preview. This is the state of TV—especially during the summer doldrums—and with no end in sight for either the [writers'](https://time.com/6301288/the-ai-jokes-that-give-me-nightmares/ "undefined") and [actors' strikes](https://time.com/6294212/sag-aftra-actors-strike/ "undefined"), we could be in for a paltry fall as well. And yet on many streaming services, the most-watched shows are the few dramedies that fall somewhere on the spectrum between mindless and mindful. Theyoften hail from a bygone era and usually offer viewers dozens, if not hundreds, of episodes. Streamers like Netflix, Amazon, and Peacock often get into bidding wars over content produced well over a decade ago in hopes that a new audience will rediscover the pleasures of older TV. The latest example is _Suits_, which originally premiered on the USA Network in 2011\. The show has been previously available on Peacock, but reached new heights when it dropped on Netflix on June 17\. The series—best known for launching the career of [former-royal Meghan Markle](https://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217561/meghan-markle/ "undefined")—has broken several streaming records with 12.8 billion minutes viewed across Netflix and Peacock in the last four weeks. It's the [most watched title ever](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/suits-nielsen-streaming-top-10-record-acquisitions-1235687508/ "undefined") acquired by a streaming service, according to Nielsen. (In a coup for Peacock, the ninth and final season is available exclusively on that streamer.) **Read More:** [_The 47 Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2023_](https://time.com/6241589/most-anticipated-tv-shows-2023/ "undefined") Critics and industry analysts have offered many theories as to why _Suits_ is so successful: Casual royals watchers are seeing [Markle's photo pop up on their Netflix app](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/07/31/suits-netflix/ "undefined") and clicking out of curiosity; [Netflix dropped eight seasons](https://puck.news/suits-success-the-future-of-netflixonomics/ "undefined") of the show at once, the perfect way to fill long summer days; it's the ["Netflix effect" in action](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/08/07/suits-on-netflix-why-duchess-meghans-old-show-is-so-popular-now/70541665007/ "undefined"), boosting once-ignored series like [_You_ ](https://ew.com/tv/2018/12/03/you-season-2-netflix/ "undefined")and [_Breaking Bad_](https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/7/14/21312595/netflix-breaking-bad-podcast-streaming-land-of-the-giants "undefined") by making them accessible. But these stories largely dismiss _Suits_ as a forgettable show riding on Markle's fashionable coattails. I would argue _Suits_ is actually pretty good, the kind of middlebrow TV networks don't make anymore. Is it going to win a ton of Emmys or make you think deeply? Definitely not. But it's also not mind-numbing dreck. It's the perfect background show. Not only does it run for nearly 84 hours, but it strikes the perfect balance between drama and predictability. It falls into a category I call the "ludicrous procedural." It can be at once utterly thrilling and totally mundane. It's exactly the kind of show Netflix needs. ## What is the ludicrous procedural?  Patrick J. Adams as Michael Ross and Sarah Rafferty as Donna Paulsen in Suits. Ian Watson—USA Network/NBCUniversal/Getty Images You're sick of debating what to watch with your partner or roommates every night. You need a go-to weeknight show to flip on while cooking dinner or folding laundry. Let's say you want to binge something lighter than prestige TV shows like _The Wire_ and _The Sopranos_ but heftier than _Selling Sunset_. You're craving plot, but not one you have to track too carefully. Classic sitcoms like _Friends_ or _The Office_ can provide weeks or months' worth of bingeing material, but at a certain point they feel too formulaic. There are no surprises. By definition, sitcom characters do not evolve or mature too much or the show will have to end. Ross and Rachel will never be done with each other, and Dwight will never stop making awkward comments about beets. **Read More:** [_The 25 Best Shows to Watch on Netflix_](https://time.com/6276424/best-shows-netflix/ "undefined") A procedural might be up your alley: Predictable but with the occasional twist. Shows like _Law & Order: SVU_ or _ER_ offer an absurd number of episodes, but they're so intense and will wear you down. And you actually have to pay attention to something more concerned with the state of the world, like _The Good Wife_ or _The West Wing_, in order to keep track of the political and romantic relationships and how it all factors into season-long arcs. _Suits_ hits a sweet spot. The plots are silly, but never dumb. The dialogue may make you roll your eyes, but it's clever just often enough. You can look down at your computer to answer emails for a 40-minute span, look back up again, and you haven't missed anything particularly significant. And yet something dramatic and entertaining is happening. It's the same reason that _Grey's Anatomy_ has proven so popular for 19 seasons. Everything is extremely high stakes—literally life or death—at Seattle Grace Hospital, and yet it's not so serious. At one point Katherine Heigl's character talked to a ghost. (Fun fact: Heigl eventually replaced Markle on _Suits_ after the latter left to marry Prince Harry.) Netflix often touts the notion that it wants to make ["gourmet cheeseburger" shows](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/16/how-much-more-netflix-can-the-world-absorb-bela-bajaria "undefined") that are both premium and commercial at the same time. I suspect that when Netflix executives make that argument, they have something like _Suits_ in mind. ## The insane _Suits_ premise is part of its appeal  Rick Hoffman as Louis Litt, Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter, and Gina Torres as Jessica Pearson in Suits. Shane Mahood—USA Network/NBCUniversal/Getty Images The premise of _Suits_, if you stop to think about it, is bonkers. The pilot episode—which for reasons that I cannot possibly fathom clocks in at 90 minutes—introduces us to Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), an orphan with a perfect memory. Despite being a genius, he was kicked out of college after doing a favor for his deadbeat friend. Mike makes a living taking the LSAT for other people in exchange for cash. The aforementioned wastrel friend, now a drug dealer, asks Mike to do him a favor: Deliver a briefcase of pot to a hotel room. Mike deploys his immense powers of observation to suss out that his buyers are actually cops and runs into a a suite where a law firm is conducting interviews to evade capture. There he meets Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), a cocky lawyer who wears really, really nice suits. Harvey, charmed that Mike can recite case law by heart and unperturbed by the fact that Mike's suitcase pops open, spilling weed on the floor, hires him. This is an insane decision because 1) Mike didn't go to law school at all and 2) this particular law firm only hires lawyers who went, specifically, to Harvard Law School. (This policy proves very strange to anyone who takes a peek at [law school rankings](https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings "undefined"). But the writers get to spend the next nine years cracking a lot of Harvard jokes.) **Read More:** [_Why a Royal Meghan Markle Matters_](https://time.com/5281096/meghan-markle-multicultural-britain/ "undefined") Mike will be thrown in jail and Harvey will be disbarred if Mike's secret is ever discovered. On his first day, Mike meets a paralegal named Rachel Zane (Markle!). They flirt, and he learns that she is incredibly smart and desperately wants to be a lawyer, but is terrible at taking tests. She can't get a good score on the LSAT. You can probably guess where that plot is headed. Every dozen or so episodes, someone new finds out Mike is not a real lawyer and needs to be bribed, blackmailed, or brought into the cabal of secret-keepers for this mediocre white man who happens to have a photographic memory. Is it believable? No. Does it conveniently provide a fail-safe plot device to stir up intrigue at the end of a season? Absolutely. ## The comfort of the procedural  Meghan Markle starring as Rachel Zane in Suits Ian Watson/USA Network—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Once you get into the groove of the show, you quickly learn the beats. It's a buddy comedy: Harvey teaches Mike how to be a closer, and Mike teaches Harvey to exercise his long-buried empathy. It's a procedural: Each episode, a lawyer takes a case they think will be easy, but—surprise—there's some major roadblock that they'll overcome by the end of the episode. And it's a soap: One of the lawyers is always sleeping with someone ill-advised like a client or an opposing attorney or a paralegal. Even by the standards of a workplace drama, the firm of Pearson Hardman is highly chaotic. It changes its name every few episodes as various attorneys backstab and blackmail to obtain the status of name partner, which frankly seems like a massive marketing problem. But the show's bloat is the point. In an era of slim seasons with just a handful of episodes, the endless ups and downs of one cast of characters has an undeniable appeal. Even if the revelations are usually predictable, there's a certain dopamine hit that comes with correctly guessing how Mike and Harvey will squirm out of a particular jam. Surprises are welcome, but only on occasion. Sometimes TV tries to twist itself in knots trying to spring the unexpected on its audience—[just ask _Game of Thrones_](https://time.com/5590729/game-of-thrones-finale-daenerys/ "undefined"). ## Just enough prestige touches  Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter, Patrick J. Adams as Mike Ross, and Rick Hoffman as Louis Litt in Suits. Ian Watson—USA Network/NBCUniversal/Getty Images _Suits_ is not prestige TV. But it does borrow elements from that golden era of television. [As Matt Zoller Seitz once pointed out in his review in Vulture](https://www.vulture.com/2013/07/suits-usa-network-season-three-review.html "undefined"), "There are no dumb or weak characters, just smart sharks." Harvey's secretary Donna (Sarah Rafferty) is whip-smart. The managing partner of the firm (Gina Torres) never has the wool pulled over her eyes. Even the jealous and socially awkward character of Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), a sometimes-antagonist-sometimes-hapless-sidekick to Harvey, is a whiz at tax law. One-liners are the show's bread and butter. “We’re like two fingers of the same hand,” Louis tells Harvey in a bid for peace over dinner one night. “As long as I’m the index,” Harvey shoots back. Like the rest of the show, the banter lends itself to half-listening. It also helps that _Suits_ looks good. Every time you do glance at the screen, you'll be greeted by beautiful people in immaculately tailored suits strutting through a perfectly appointed midcentury modern office. Yet the show somehow manages to add depth to its seemingly surface sartorial choices. Mike's wardrobe gradually becomes more expensive and fitted as he insinuates himself into the world of white-shoe law firms and changes slightly during his brief stint as an investment banker. At one point, Donna susses out Louis' secret promotion after she remembers he bragged years ago he'd wear a certain Brioni suit after making senior partner. **Read More:** [_A Comprehensive Guide to Every Streaming Service_](https://time.com/6258245/streaming-service-guide/ "undefined") Every few episodes, you'll also find yourself pointing at the screen, like [Leo DiCaprio in _Once Upon a Time in Hollywood_](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pointing-rick-dalton "undefined"), at the sudden appearance of a famous person. _Justified'_s Margo Martindale, _Game of Thrones'_ Conleth Hill, and _The Wire'_s Wendell Pierce (recurring every few episodes as Rachel's father) capture and hold your attention just when you were getting bored with the usual cast. (In a curious yet charming script choice, the pop culture-obsessed Mike often quotes _The Wire_ when Pierce's character is out of the room.) In his review,Seitz points out major overlaps with a much more lauded workplace drama of the same era: _Mad Men_. The two shows often shared directors. And they are actually interested in a lot of the same office politics, from complicated gender and race dynamics to the corrupting power of wealth. But while _Mad Men_ left viewers feeling exhausted (if philosophically fulfilled), _Suits_ always left its audience with a big smile. Nowadays, bingeing _Mad Men_ feels like a project. Bingeing _Suits_ feels like a diversion. ## What we lost when we lost "blue sky" shows  Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter and Patrick J. Adams as Michael Ross in Suits. Shane Mahood—USA Network/NBCUniversal/Getty Images They don't make them like this anymore. But why not? The devolution of the USA Network, where _Suits_ first aired, tells the story of a flailing medium. The network was once moderately successful in terms of its pop culture footprint. _Monk_ was its biggest hit. But even the lesser-watched shows like _Suits_, _Psych_, _Burn Notice_ and _Royal Pains_ were, for me at least, a staple of childhood boredom. The [New York _Times_ once wrote](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/arts/television/suits-on-usa-review.html "undefined") that the cheery network "seems to have a mandate to uplift the national mood, to appeal to the fantasy of second chances and second opportunities." A Harvard fraud gets to practice law in New York; a fake psychic ingratiates himself with the Santa Barbara police by solving mysteries; a disavowed spy goes freelance in Miami to fight mobsters and con artists; and a doctor wrongfully blamed for the death of a patient reinvents himself as a concierge doctor in the Hamptons. The locales were usually beachy: Even _Suits'_ New York manages to hide the Big Apple's drearier streets—probably because it was filmed in Toronto. Inevitably, these hucksters and screw-ups used their particular talents to help the needy. USA Network pivoted away from its "blue skies" programming in the 2010s when the rise of series like _House of Cards_ and _Orange Is the New Black_ at Netflix challenged traditional networks to enter the prestige TV race. For several years, USA Network pursued awards—or at least internet chatter— with grittier series like _Mr. Robot_, _The Sinner_, and _Dirty John_. With the exception of _Mr. Robot_, which did get a few nominations and launched Rami Malek's career, USA failed to compete with the increasingly dominant streamers in the prestige space. It no longer makes original series. The NBC Universal subsidiary airs mostly reruns and reality TV, essentially killed off by the likes of Netflix, Disney+, and NBC's own streaming service Peacock. Counterintuitively, the death of networks like USA is bad news for Netflix, who has relied on network TV shows like_Suits_, _Manifest_, and _You_ to boost its viewership numbers. Netflix has been trying to build up its own library of bingeworthy content. But its most-watched series, like _The Crown_ or _Stranger Things_, cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make and could never produce nearly enough episodes to fulfill viewers' insatiable appetite. While newer (and slightly cheaper) Netflix originals like _The Night Agent_ or _The Diplomat_ have aspirations to become the mid-tier dramas that people will binge for weeks on end, the streamer simply doesn't have a robust enough library to keep up with demand. As long as there are lulls in television programming, some old and seemingly unexpected series will find new life on these streamers. Eventually TV creators may learn the lesson. We don't want dumb shows and smart shows. 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