Suitsgarnered new attention after being made available on streaming. Though the legal dramedy wrapped up in 2019, its renewed success on streaming platforms has earned it a spinoff series.Suits: L.A.introduces an entirely new cast of characters:Arrowactor Steven Amell leadsSuits: LAas Ted Black, a former New York federal prosecutor looking to reinvent himself by representing the Los Angeles elite. However, the twist is that he is defending cases he loathes, continuing the same morality tale as the original series.
BothSuitsand its spinoffSuits: L.A.features law firms who do everything they can to win cases and show up other lawyers, all while trying to do it the right way. However, if the new series is anything like the original, plenty of people will be heading into courtrooms with the full intent of doing bad things. With that in mind,there are plenty of shows likeSuitsthat feature lawyers skirting the lines of morality, all while trying to do the right thing and overcome the odds stacked against them.
Similar toSuits,Damagesis a former legal drama that was based on a powerful firm that represented clients in complex cases. Both shows also share another common trait. Glenn Close plays Patty Hewes, a brilliant attorney who takes on a young protégée, Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne).This is very similar to Harvey and Mike’s relationship onSuits, with Patty working to teach Ellen her ways, all while trying to maintain her own brilliant court record in the process. However, there are also significant differences.
10 Harsh Realities About Harvey Specter’s Character In Suits
Harvey Specter is arguably the most important character in Suits, but he can also be a walking, talking red flag with major unresolved issues.
Suitshas long-running storylines, but much of the series also plays out in a case-of-the-week format. With that in mind,each season ofDamagesdeals with a major casethat Patty and her firm take on. Patty has to figure out how to win this one case throughout the season while also dealing with her developing relationship with Ellen. The seasons also take the interesting turn of showing both their planning and the other firm’s planning in the ongoing cases.Damageslasted for five seasons.
Billy Bob Thornton stars as Billy McBride inGoliath, a legal drama that aired on Amazon Prime Video. This series sees Billy as a former brilliant attorney who founded his own law firm and helped build it to great heights. However, whena murder suspect he helped get acquitted went on to murder an entire family, he walked out on his firm and quit practicing law. Living at an extended-stay hotel by the Santa Monica Pier, he finds himself pulled back into the courtroom and has a chance to redeem himself.
The show is perfect forSuitsfans who love the team handling cases they seem destined to lose, only to find a way to pull it out at the end. Imagine if Harvey was fired for a bad case and then decided to fight his way back after hitting rock bottom, and that is whatGoliathoffers. The series had four total seasons, and fans should note that this is a much more dangerous and gruesome series, with the cases Billy gets involved with, as this is more of a thriller than a courtroom drama.
Suitswas such a beloved legal drama because it rarely took itself seriously. While there were a lot of dramatic moments and danger for Mike and Harvey, there was also a tendency to add touches of silly humor to the show that made it as funny as anything on television at times. ForSuitsfans who loved things like the Louis “nightmare episode,” one legal musical comedy that fits into that style isEli Stone.Jonny Lee Miller stars as Eli Stone, an attorney who had a potentially fatal brain aneurysm.
What might be the side effect of that affliction are hallucinations. He has a music soundtrack always playing in his mind that only he can hear - and it is all George Michael songs (and often includes hallucinations of people dancing while George Michael appears in scenes singing the songs). However, this led to a series where Eli uses his visions to accept cases with almost no monetary gain but a chance to do morally good things, especially when his visions lead to him predicting things that were about to happen.
Franklin & Bash
Cast
Franklin & Bash follows Jared Franklin and Peter Bash, charismatic lawyers who thrive on unconventional tactics to secure clients and win cases. With a penchant for theatrics in the courtroom, they navigate legal challenges while balancing their personal pursuits, marking their presence in the competitive legal landscape.
ForSuitsfans who love the dynamic between Mike and Harvey and their attempts to work cases with a unique style,Franklin & Bashoffers something very similar. In this series, Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar star as Jared Franklin and Peter Bash, who areunconventional streetwise attorneys who become highly sought after after they defeat a prestigious law firmin a court case. The firm they defeated offers them jobs to breathe life into the struggling firm since they remind the managing partner (Malcolm McDowell) of him when he got started.
The two continue to take on the same cases they did before but with a large firm backing them. However, also similar toSuits, there is a lot of backstabbing within the firm and people who are out only for themselves and not for the good of the law firm. The series lasted for four seasons and 40 episodes when it aired on TNT and might be a perfect show forSuitsfans looking for something similar, but with just enough of a fresh flavor to deliver a different experience.
For anyone who watchedSuitsfor the great courtroom drama,a Fox show that is all about court casesisAccused. This was a unique series because each episode took on a different court case, but without letting the viewers know the crime or what led up to it when the episode begins. The episode then plays out from the defendant’s point of view as the case moves on, and each episode will let the viewers learn as the case rolls on what happened and whether the accused is guilty or innocent.
It is a rare courtroom drama series that is more concerned with the defendantsthan it is with the attorneys, so that is very different from a show likeSuitsthat puts the viewers in the shoes of the lawyers in every case. However,Accusedmakes it work by having the anthology series case some very familiar faces as the accused, with names like Michael Chikils, Megan Boone, Rachel Bilson, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Whitney Cummings, and more.
Pearson
Jessica Pearson is a powerful, recently disbarred lawyer who has to adjust to the dirty underbelly of Chicago politics while trying to get her career back on track.
Suits: L.A.is not the first attempt at aSuitsspinoff. In 2019, Aaron Korsh createdPearson,a political drama following ex-attorney Jessica Pearson into the brutal world of Chicago politics. It was great to see Gina Torres reprise her role as the powerhouse lawyer, after she stole a long list of scenes as Harvey’s brilliant and indomitable mentor. Pearson is a shining example ofSuits’capable female characters.
Pearsonhelps to round out Jessica’s character arc after her exit from show, and it remains a worthwhile watch for those curious about where her career is headed next.
The Jessica-centric spinoff offered a welcome change, but was unfortunately short-lived.Pearsonwas canceled after just one season, despite receiving broadly positive reviews. Its cancelation seemed to be a product of low viewership rather than poor quality. Its political storyline is somewhat predictable but nonetheless carried by Torres' performance.Pearsonhelps to round out Jessica’s character arc after her exit from show, and it remains a worthwhile watch for those curious about where her career is headed next.
How to Get Away With Murder
A new part of the Shonda Rhimes Shondaland productions, How to Get Away With Murder is a crime drama series created for ABC and starring Viola Davis. When law professor Annalise Keating’s (Davis) interns become involved with a murder that shakes the university and firm, the group will find themselves in an ever-spiraling saga of lies, deceit, and intrigue. The show’s format focuses on slowly unearthing the truth behind murders, all while complicated clients and cases arrive for the law firm to handle.
In the first episode of this ABC thriller, Professor Annalise Keating introduces herself to the class of Criminal Law 100, or as she prefers to call it:How To Get Away With Murder.The title proves itself apt, asshe and a select group of her brightest law students become unwittingly entangled in a murder plot. What follows is an enthralling (if often absurd) descent into a web of scandal and intrigue.
LikeSuits,How To Get Away With Murderknows how to keep its viewers hooked. It relies heavily on its increasingly outrageous plot twists. Its greatest asset, though, is Viola Davis. The EGOT-winning actor grounds the series with emotional realism.How To Get Away With Murderfinds a multidimensional lead in Annalise Keating, whose tough exterior hides a vulnerability that will endear her to viewers.
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Lincoln Lawyer: This legal drama follows Mickey Haller, a Los Angeles defense attorney known for operating from his Lincoln Town Car, as he revives his career after an accident by taking on a high-profile murder case. The series explores challenges within the justice system and Haller’s pursuit of truth.
Not to be confused with the 2011 Matthew McConaughey film of the same name,The Lincoln Lawyeris a legal drama series that premiered on Netflix in 2022. Like the film, the series is inspired by Michael Connelly’s book series, which follows LA lawyer Mickey Haller. He earns his pseudonym because he is often seen working from the back of his Lincoln Navigator.
The archetype of the young, handsome, legal maverick isa formula that bothSuitsandThe Lincoln Lawyercapitalize on. The protagonist’s titular quirk isn’t enough to build a series around, but thankfully,The Lincoln Lawyerdoesn’t rely too heavily on that. Its decently crafted storylines are bolstered by punchy dialogue. The series doesn’t stray far from the hallmarks of the genre, but for those seeking a straightforward, satisfying legal drama,The Lincoln Lawyerwill hit the spot.
The Practice
The Practice is a legal drama series created by David E. Kelley, centered on the law firm of Donnell, Young, Dole, and Frutt. Led by Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott), the firm often deals with contentious legal and ethical dilemmas in its pursuit of justice. The show explores the complex dynamics of the legal profession and the personal lives of its attorneys.
The Practisemay be almost 30 years old, but viewers continue to return to this 90s courtroom drama, and it’s not hard to see why.The Practiceprovided the blueprint for successive legal dramas likeSuitsto emulate. A young Dylan McDermott stars as Bobby Donnell, who starts the series as the sole senior partner of Robert Donnell and Associates. Through him,The Practiceoffers a barefaced depiction of the American legal systeminformed by the writer’s own experience as a former attorney.
Suitsis at its best when its characters' personal drama intrudes on the workplace. The entanglement of individual morals and legal ethics is also the theme thatThe Practicecontinually returns to. It isn’t all crises of conscience, though: the show has a distinctive style of sardonic humor, which will appeal to those who came toSuitsfor its lighter approach to the world of law.
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is a legal comedy-drama series created by David E. Kelley and initially premiered in 2004. The series follows the exploits of the Crane, Poole & Schmidt law firm staff helmed by Denny Crane (William Shatner) and Alan Shore (James Spader) as the attorneys dabble into the legal gray area to take on cases deemed “unwinnable.”
A direct continuation ofThe Practice,Boston Legalfeatures many of the same characters, focusing particularly on James Spender as Alan Shore.Shore subverts the trope of the earnest attorney devoted to the cause of justice, and rather exemplifies both series' scathing outlook on the legal profession. He is smarmy and condescending, but nonetheless brilliant to watch.
Suitsspent its early seasons exploring the dynamic between Harvey and his protégée, Mike.Boston Legalis another series that benefits from a compelling duo. The wry Shore is contrasted by eccentric veteran lawyer, Denny Crane. Played by William Shatner, Crane’s flamboyant personality should make him a thorn in Shore’s side. Instead, the pair are unlikely best friends, and their strange relationship givesBoston Legalan oddly touching note.
