Suits season 7 finale to serve as backdoor pilot for Gina Torres series
Today, USA confirmed that this episode will serve as a backdoor pilot for the new potential series, which is actually going to be rather different from the flagship show. For one, the setting here is going to be Chicago rather than New York — something that you may have been able to predict given that this is where Jessica moved following her last episode as a regular on the show. The larger surprise here is that the new series, (if picked up) will end up being more political in nature than what we’re seeing on Suits itself.
The new logline, courtesy of TVLine, offers up some additional insight into what’s coming in this episode:
“The pivotal Season 7 finale will reunite Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty) and Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle) with their old friend Pearson as she adjusts to her new life in the Windy City. When she is forced to enter the dirty world of Chicago politics, Pearson must rely on her legal wits and valiant relationships from Pearson Specter Litt to navigate this unknown territory.”
Meanwhile, Chris McCumber, President of Entertainment Networks at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, had the following to say:
“The powerhouse character of Jessica Pearson, expertly brought to life by the incomparable Gina Torres, has won the hearts of television fans everywhere … USA Network is beyond thrilled to work with Gina, Aaron Korsh, the entire Suits producing team and our partners at UCP to explore the exciting next phase of Jessica’s story.”
Will this series work?
We do think that the odds are in the show’s favor, given that there is a thirst right now for a series, interesting political show that’s not just all about over-the-top twists or insane premises. There are shows out there like Scandal and Designated Survivor that touch on a number of conversations, but they are set in such heightened worlds. You can certainly argue that we are at present in a heightened world in our way, but there are still some elements of it that are grounded. You know that Aaron Korsh and the rest of the Suits team love to tell wonderful, powerful stories, and there is the potential for all of that here.
What we do also like about the premise is that it is detached enough from the main series that it could find an audience of its own and is not necessarily going to be reliant on Suits itself for its success. We’ve got a lot of faith in this — we’d also love to see D.B. Woodside (pictured above) on the show, but given that he is a part of Lucifer, that could prove challenging.
What do you want to see on this series, should it be picked up?
Share in the comments below! Meanwhile, you can click here to secure some additional news and insight now on Suits proper, including a preview for Wednesday night’s new episode. (Photo: USA.)