No, We Don’t Need a ‘Suits’ Spinoff – We Need to Trust Writers With Original Content Instead

As viewers who watched USA’s Suits from its first episode, we’ll perpetually understand the show’s appeal and be grateful for its newfound Netflix popularity. Yes, please, let us always scream about Donna Paulsen and Harvey Specter’s relationship. And let’s continue to shower the cast with all the praise they should’ve gotten while the series aired on the USA network. 

It’s understandable why people would want more or why they’d even want a spinoff. Our need for nostalgia must genuinely be studied at this point because it’s become thoroughly confusing and concerning. Instead of paying new writers for the clever, original stories they propose, Hollywood is constantly capitalizing on media from the past—and for what reason? Sure, maybe after fifty years or so, it could make sense, but today, it only fuels the never-ending hollowness that makes it incredibly discouraging to believe in original properties.

Part of the reason why Suits works so well is because the premise differentiates it from other law procedurals and because the cast did an exceptionally remarkable job of embodying deeply complex characters with tremendous depth. The number of episodes doesn’t matter, even if some might argue that does the trick, but ultimately, finding a good cast with astounding chemistry to bring to life thoughtful and realistic characters might just be the trick. Still, it feels like the industry is scared to take these leaps despite how often such series prove to be dynamic additions to the world of television.

Further, plenty of brilliant series airing on network television today are also seldom given a chance to soar because of poor marketing that otherwise goes to the properties people don’t care much for. It’s hard to imagine that a series like Pan Am or Pitch would still be canceled if it aired today and was given its proper due by streamers to find its footing. Additionally, that’s another factor that weighs heavily on the industry because the second a series doesn’t gain immediate buzz or attention, it’s axed. Or, in the case of Netflix, for instance, it still cancels a wildly popular show and then blames it on the 2023 WGA and SAG AFTRA strikes.

Thus, it’s almost upsetting to consistently see the desire for things like a Suits reboot because even though the series is a top tier in drama, we have lost a sense of worth in something running its course. A series doesn’t have to go on forever or be rebooted into various spinoffs to remain memorable. You have to laugh (so you don’t cry) at the detail that shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia manage to be on air for sixteen seasons without a single Emmy nominee, but hey, maybe if it blows up in a different way, then we’ll get talks about a spinoff. People will be talking about Succession’s four-season run for years to come, and it’s a series the writers chose to leave where they did. 

It’s an age-old saying that less is more. In this case, when something runs its course or carries on its cultural impact, we need to let it be—move forward with more content not to replace what we lost but to continue creating. It’s this same idea of what accidentally happened with Barbenheimer and how it became a summer phenomenon that can’t and shouldn’t be replicated. Someday, we might have something like it again—a combination to evoke similar feelings, but we shouldn’t strive to recreate what already exists. We should move past it. We should trust writers and actors to deliver unique premises that leave a mark not because they’re trying to be like something that’s come before but because they’re telling a nuanced, thoughtful story that’ll touch people somehow. And because, well—the Suits finale was pretty damn perfect, so why touch something that went out flawlessly? 

Suits is now streaming on Netflix and we highly recommend a rewatch.