Suits Is Not White Collar
Show: Suits, which airs Thursdays at 10 PM on USA.
Plot: Small-time drug dealer/professional New York bar exam taker Mike (Patrick J. Adams) is about to get caught in a sting operation with a briefcase full of weed, so he ducks into a hotel ballroom where Harvey (Gabriel Macht) is conducting interviews for first-year associates. With his photographic memory and legal smarts, Mike is impressive enough to get the job.
Soapy Intrigue: Well, here's the thing: Mike has never been to law school. In fact, he never even finished college! Harvey, his assistant Donna (Sarah Rafferty), and now senior partner Jessica (Gina Torres) know Mike's secret, and some steps have been taken to cover his tracks, but if it gets out that the firm is passing someone off as a legit lawyer who isn't, I guess they're screwed? So it frequently happens that someone is just about to expose Mike. There's also constant jockeying for power among the senior lawyers at the firm, particularly Louis (Rick Hoffman), whose perpetual inferiority complex leads him into bad decisions. In the love department, Mike has an ongoing flirtation with Rachel (Megan Markle), a paralegal at the firm, but he keeps ruining it by hooking up with other ladies.
What It Will Remind You Of: It will remind you of all the other USA shows, in that it's slick, stylish, and basically superficial. In particular, the way Mike is always eschewing the easy path for some do-gooder reason or other may remind you of Kate (Sarah Shahi) of Fairly Legal, R.I.P.
What’s Best About It: Adams is quite likable in the boy-genius role; Donna gets all the best lines and will make you wish you had an assistant like her.
What’s Worst About It: Needs more Torres! Also, whenever Mike isn't just about to get caught out for not having graduated law school, it's as rote as any other legal drama, without being as trashy or lurid as, for instance, SVU.
But If I Save It Until Friday, Don’t I Risk Having Someone Spoil It For Me Before I Watch It? No one ever has paid enough attention to the plots of this show to want to talk about them, and no one ever will.
Finally, And Most Importantly, Do the Female Leads Wear Cute Outfits? Jessica is, no kidding, one of the most polished dressers on TV -- as she should be; Torres has a body for clothes. Rachel and Donna also do a nice job of showing how to make the most of your wardrobe on a budget, which is clearly something Jessica doesn't need to think about.