Warning: this article contains spoilers for SuitsWhen Patrick J. Adams announced his departure fromSuitsin 2018, many were quick to blame the following season’s melodramatics and half-baked storylines on his absence as the quick-witted Mike Ross. However, the fast-paced legal drama already had its fair share of problems long before Mike tied the knot with Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle) and moved to Seattle in season 7’s finale, which provedto be Meghan Markle’s final appearance onSuits.
By the end of the 2010s,Suitshad exhausted many of its key plotlines, leaving little room for growththat didn’t feel either repetitive or overly cliché. Even the series' main dilemma had been resolved once Mike successfully became a lawyer in the season 6 finale– a miraculous feat, consideringMike had been sentenced to prison in season 5for conspiracy to commit fraud. Ultimately, the final seasons ofSuitslost their allure due to a plethora of recycled storylines and lackluster additions piled up over nearly a decade of network television.
Seasons 8 And 9 Are Dominated By Pure Chaos And Melodrama
Since the first seven seasons ofSuitshad already wrapped up major plot points, including the conclusion of Mike and Rachel’s romance and many of the firm’s internal power struggles, seasons 8 and 9 suffered from a torrent of cheesy storylines that saw many of the series' greatest leads reduced to mere caricatures of themselves. Consider Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), once the cunning lawyer who proved to be Harvey Specter’s (Gabriel Macht) most bitter rival; by season 9,Louis' antics are less neurotic and more cartoonish, with his relationship with Sheila serving as a prime example of his radical shift.
Another point of parody inSuits' later seasons wasthe firm’s ever-changing name throughoutSuits’nine seasons, which became a running joke by the end of the series; by season 8, however, the rivalry between newcomers Samantha Wheeler (Katherine Heigl) and Alex Williams (Dulé Hill) culminated in the firm being retitled “Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams,” a name thatsounds more like it’s from aSuitsSNL sketchrather than the series' penultimate season. Plus, the late-stage additions of Samantha and Alex served as poor substitutes for the banter and camaraderie of Harvey and Mike, one of the show’s strongest attributes in the earlier seasons.
Suits Was Already Showing Worrying Signs When Mike Was Still Around
The Legal Drama Could Only Cover So Much Ground
Even before Mike split for Seattle with Rachel at the end of season 7,Suitshad already started to show signs of losing steam as its storylines became increasingly far-fetched and silly. From the start, the series always had a bad habit of setting up drama, only to resolve it an episode or two later. However, season 6 took that practice to the extreme after resolving Mike’s stint in prisonjust a few months into his two-year sentencethrough some Herculean contrivances.
By season 7, Pearson Specter Litt had already endured a merger, an FCC investigation, and countless lawsuits.
On top of its increasingly improbable storylines, another issue that plaguedSuitsin its mid-to-later seasons was the continuous threats to the firm’s existence, which were oftenbrought about by some of Suits' greatest villains. By season 7, Pearson Specter Litt had already endured a merger, an FCC investigation, and countless lawsuits. This even included a $100 million class-action suit in season 6that prompted almost the entire firm to quit.
Suits’writers were already facing a monumental challenge in conjuring up a believable threat to the firm’s survival from season to season. In the show’s final years, however, it simply became impossible to do so without eitherretreading familiar ground or crossing into ludicrous territory.
Suits’ Biggest Problem Wasn’t Mike’s Exit – It Was Not Ending Sooner
You’ve Got To Know When To Fold Them And Walk Away
Much like how audiences were turned off byThe Office’s final two seasons after Steve Carell retired from the role of Michael Scott in 2011,Suitsalso suffered from Patrick J. Adams' departure in season 7. However, the exit of the show’s key players didn’t begin with Mike Ross or Rachel Zane: it began with Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), whose withdrawal at the end of season 6should’ve prompted the wrap-up of the series.
AlthoughSuitswas a show entertaining enough to survive the loss of main characters like Jessica, who starred in aSuitsspinoff that was canceled after one season, her departure triggered a tsunami of exits the writers desperately tried to replace with newcomers like Samantha Wheeler. Though valiant, this approach didn’t work becausethe audiences hadn’t grown attached to these charactersover several seasons of television. Ultimately,Suits’biggest mistake wasn’t saying goodbye to Mike too early: it was saying goodbye to everyone too late.
