7 Biggest Ways Suits Changed Across 9 Seasons

April 26, 2024, 10:30 p.m.

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7 Biggest Ways Suits Changed Across 9 Seasons

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Summary Mike Ross becomes a licensed lawyer, ending the drama of his legitimacy issues by season 6.

The firm undergoes over a dozen name changes, showing instability within the leadership.

Harvey proposes to Donna as both characters mature, with Louis becoming competent and taking over the firm.

Suits is a well crafted legal drama series from start to finish, but the show does undergo several major changes between the first episode and the last. Suits was first aired on the USA Network in 2011, where it went on to have success as a popular hit show for much of the entire nine-season run. Building on drama and tension experienced by individuals working in an upscale New York City law firm, Pearson Hardman, the series crafted a compelling character-driven narrative around an area that hasn't had a lot of successful procedural dramas exploring it.

However, the show is also first and foremost a fictional TV series that is driven and shaped by the stories and lives of the central characters. These characters grow from a more immature and naive starting point in the first season, to become more well-rounded, and more fully realized characters by the series' end. And in addition, many other details surrounding the show and its characters are dramatically different by the time the series wraps up in 2019. Unlike some shows, however, most of the changes in the Suits show were for the better.

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7 Mike Ross Became A Licensed Lawyer

Suits: Season 6

One of the biggest and most central stories to come out of the first half of the show was around Mike Ross' legitimacy as a lawyer. When he is hired by Harvey Specter to work at Pearson Hardman, he initially has no real certificate, or a completed law degree. This is not only highly illegal and irresponsible, but it also contradicts the beliefs of the firm, as they exclusively hire associate candidates who have graduated from Harvard and are qualified to be fully-fledged lawyers.

Much of the drama in the early seasons of the show came from what would happen if Mike was caught.

Much of the drama in the early seasons of the show came from what would happen if Mike was caught. Considering his illegitimate operations as a lawyer, any cases he worked on could have been thrown out and challenged, as well as causing the firm considerable lasting damage. However, by Suits season 5, Mike is put in prison for his illegal activity, and the following season, he acquires a license to practise law. This may have removed a significant source of drama, but after six seasons, it was time to move on to new stories.

6 The Name Of The Firm

The Firm Had Around 13 Names Through All The Seasons

As prestigious as Pearson Hardman is, the firm also suffers from the unfortunate fate of undergoing over a dozen name changes. The show has multiple power struggles and plays for characters to get their name on the door, and so, Pearson Hardman eventually changes to become Litt Wheeler Williams Bennett. In between, the series sees this change an awful lot, as Harvey is promoted to name partner, Robert Zane briefly becomes a name partner, along with several other characters who come and go, while many of the original leaders moved on, or were ousted.

The name of the firm may appear trivial, but it is the standard on which the entire reputation must be built. It seems likely that customers would be confused and potentially even concerned by just how many changes occur within the leadership, indicating the company is unstable and the leaders unreliable. However, it also made for compelling rivalries and something that the characters could strive towards in an effort to outshine each other and prove they are the most valuable lawyer at the firm.

Suits is available on Netflix.

5 Mike And Rachel Leaving The Show

Suits: Season 7

The show underwent a huge change when two of the main cast chose to leave the series in the season 7 finale. Patrick J. Adams, who played Mike Ross, and Meghan Markle, who played his on-screen love interest, and eventually his wife, Rachel Zane. Markle had begun a relationship with the British Prince, Harry, and chose to retire from acting to continue their relationship and tackle a new role as his wife and a member of the royal family. Evidently, things have shifted in their lives since then, but it also changed the series for the rest of its run.

Adams chose to leave the show in order to stay true to the story that was built around his character, as the relationship between Mike and Rachel was so important for the series. Rather than have the writers kill off Rachel, or simply turn her role into something that only happened in the background, without ever appearing, Mike and Rachel's story needed a happy ending. As a result, Mike and Rachel get married and move to Seattle to start a new life together and a new law firm.

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4 The Relationship Between Harvey Specter And Louis Litt

From Rivals To Close Friends

Harvey Specter and Louis Litt have potentially the second most important relationship that is explored in the series, after Harvey and Mike's. Harvey and Louis are complete opposites in many ways, and at the start of the show, they are also bitter rivals. They both compete for the same promotions, the same high-profile cases, and the same level of respect and prestige at Pearson Hardman.

They both hold similar positions at the start of the series, but Harvey clearly has a way with people that Louis doesn't, and he uses this charisma to his advantage.

Louis finds himself fighting tooth and nail for everything that he has, in hopes that he can earn respect and admiration from his peers. Their relationship is so tense, that at times, Harvey and Louis get into frequent shouting matches and occasional brawls. Despite this rocky beginning, the two do begin to trust each other in later seasons, and even develop mutual respect and appreciation. In the show's finale, the pair are good enough friends that they both get married on the same day, together, and Harvey steps down to hand over the role of leading the firm to Louis.

3 Jessica Pearson Leaving The Firm

Suits: Season 6

Jessica Pearson was one of the most important characters in Suits from the start. She was the head of Pearson Hardman, and for several seasons, she ran the entire firm as the sole name partner working at the firm. However, after six seasons of the show, both Jessica Pearson, and the real life actress who plays her, Gina Torres, opted to leave the show. A short time later, Torres landed a Suits spin-off series designed around the character who had moved to Chicago to work in the political arena, but the show was canceled after season 1.

Pearson's absence did mean there were significant changes at the firm, but due to her role being more in the background, it did not drastically change how the rest of the show played out for the remaining cast of characters. Perhaps the biggest change was a lack of supervision for Harvey and Louis, but this also led to a positive change in both characters as they became more responsible, and reliant on each other's skills and abilities, rather than believing they were each superior and capable of moving forward without the other.

2 Harvey And Donna Get Together

Suits: Season 8

Throughout the series' run, Harvey and Donna have a clear chemistry and romantic tension that goes unexplored. Both Harvey and Donna explore other relationships, and the history that the pair had is revealed, but they opt to keep their relationship professional, and avoid blurring the lines with romance. This is important because Donna is easily the best and most capable assistant on TV, and without her, Harvey would be entirely lost. Likewise, Donna is an exceptional and talented assistant, but she also has a great deal of knowledge and experience working with Harvey that would be wasted in another role.

As a result, the best option for both of them is that they continue working together. However, by the end of the series, things have changed enough that Harvey no longer feels married to his job, and he chooses to move to Seattle to tackle working with his friend Mike Ross at his smaller law firm. With this change in his role and lifestyle, Harvey proposes to Donna, and the pair are able to finally explore the romantic relationship that had been brewing between them for the entire series run.

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1 Louis Matured A Lot

An Almost Entirely Different Man

The relationship between Louis and Harvey has been discussed multiple times in the above sections, but purely focusing on Louis' growth over the series, he becomes an almost entirely different man over the course of the show. Louis Litt starts out as an immature and insecure, petulant man. He feels insignificant, and takes offense when he is overlooked, or ignored. Louis also needs attention and praise to be able to operate, and without it, he becomes erratic and dysfunctional. However, early in the show, he does not receive a great deal of praise, and frequently comes in second place after Harvey.

Louis is able to put aside his pride and struggles in order to become a better lawyer, leader, and friend, and he begins to form a close relationship with his former rival, Harvey.

Despite this, Louis is able to take the knocks and continuously get back up after each defeat or loss. He gains confidence, and a greater degree of self-acceptance, which leads him to getting into a happy and committed relationship with Sheila Sazs, and becoming a father. Louis is able to put aside his pride and struggles in order to become a better lawyer, leader, and friend, and he begins to form a close relationship with his former rival, Harvey. By the end of Suits, Louis is competent and capable enough to take over the firm, and step up with confidence.

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