Later this year, USA Network’s Suits will be ending after its ninth season. The show will not only end on a high note as the network’s longest-running series but also, its end reminds us that it introduced viewers to one of the most compelling female characters in recent memory: Jessica Pearson. As Suits shuffles off the air, fans of the series will be happy to know that they’ll get a spin-off in its stead and it will feature good old Jessica.
The spin-off will focus on Jessica’s move from New York City to Chicago as she takes a job working in the Chicago mayor’s office. While Jessica is ready to kick ass and take names, she soon discovers things at her job may not be as above board as they seem. In doing so, Pearson will trade the shiny corporate law offices of Suits for the gritty world of Chicago politics.
With that in mind, here’s everything we know about Pearson so far.
Gina Torres is front and center as Jessica Pearson
After a short hiatus, Gina Torres will be reviving her role as powerhouse Jessica Pearson, after stepping back from Suits in its sixth season. Torres returned to the role a few times in season seven before appearing in the season finale that served as the backdoor pilot to her own series. Torres, who will also serve as an executive producer on the show, said at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January that she came up with the idea in the wake of the 2016 election.
The title lets you know what to expect
Naturally, it’s named after its lead character Jessica Pearson, but that wasn’t always its title. For a while, it was reported as being titled Second City, a nickname for Chicago, the show’s setting. Since Second City is the name of a popular and long-running improv and sketch comedy enterprise, the name change is probably better for the SEO.
Also, we like Pearson better if only because you know that this show will develop Jessica’s character a bit more, as has been noted in past interviews with Torres. Speaking with USA Network, Torres commented in a January interview that Jessica will be “a fully fleshed out woman and what it costs her to be at the top of her game” and added that “she was always in service to the firm but now she’s in service of her own life. What does that look like?”
The spin-off has been in the works for a while
The build-up for a Suits spin-off has been a long, long time coming. Considering this show has been in development since 2017 when USA Network and Suits creator Aaron Korsh announced the spin-off, we know that there’s been careful attention paid to making this show into a surefire hit. We also know this from the backdoor pilot Suits had for Pearson in April 2018, its seventh season finale. The episode, titled “Goodbye,” followed Suits lead character Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) as he visited Jessica in Chicago, where she begins working for the mayor.
Torres has a supporting cast that will give you Suits feels
Torres will be joined by a new cast of familiar faces on Pearson. Rounding out the Pearson cast will be Homeland’s Morgan Spector as Jessica’s boss, Mayor Bobby Golec. Spector appeared with cast members Simon Kassianides and Chantel Riley in the backdoor pilot that aired in 2018. Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill), Isabel Arraiza (The Oath) and Eli Goree (Riverdale) will also star.
No Suits cast members will appear in season one
Not to state the obvious, but Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, will not be making an appearance as Rachel Zane on the spin-off of her old show, just like we can expect her to not return for the Suits final season. Besides now being royalty, the former Suits actress will soon be a new mom. Also, considering no other current Suits cast members have confirmed or even teased that they’d pop up on Pearson, you should probably prepare for no surprise cameos during season one.
The trailer for season one will get you hyped
USA Network has yet to announce when Pearson will air, but with all the new information we’ve been getting, we suspect it will be sometime this summer or fall. Until then, we have the trailer for the first season, which teases Jessica’s uneasy transition into the Chicago political world and her fight to uncover corruption while doing what is best for the city. The trailer builds on teases that this show will be a political noir, so of course, we’re all in. It’s a tense few minutes but there’s no better way to prep for Pearson (that we know of) than watching this trailer.
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