Pearson Review: ‘Suits’ Spinoff Starring Gina Torres Demands Your Attention
I’m here to tell you that the first season of Pearson demands your attention.
The long-awaited Suits spinoff starring Gina Torres is slow going at first, but overall, it’s an intriguing new drama series that Suits fans and non-Suits fans alike will appreciate.
I screened the full first season, and by the end, I was only left wanting more. If you’re able, it’s worth it to go back and revisit the show’s backdoor pilot, the Suits Season 7 finale, where Harvey heads to Chicago to help Jessica, before watching the new series, as it does set up a lot of important pieces.
Pearson doesn’t have the lightheartedness that Suits does, but it doesn’t claim to try, either. Right from the start, Pearson digs into dirty politics and scandal. It’s all a bit more broody and serious, and it lacks much in the way of comic relief. (This is also apparent in the opening credits — there is no “Greenback Boogie” here.)
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a stark difference between the two shows.
One notable comparison to the show’s predecessor is that each begins with a character doing the work of a lawyer without actually being a lawyer. In this case, though, Jessica has been disbarred and is now taking on the role of a fixer for the Mayor.
Pearson is the chance for this character to shine. It’s a chance for us to get to know her better and to watch her evolve.
If you’ve followed any of my Suits reviews, even barely, you know one of the reasons I enjoy writing about and watching the show is because of the way it digs deep with its characters. Pearson has the same strength when it comes to Jessica. It’s marvelous to watch a character we already know grappling with these new beginnings.
The job is one thing — things are apparently “done differently” in Chicago, and that’s something she has to get used to. And the very fact that she’s no longer an actual lawyer, and that her reputation is tarnished, are all challenges she has to face.
As she figures that out, she’s figuring herself out too. Jessica wants to be different than the person she was in New York. She wants to grow and she wants to be better, but she’s still ambitious and driven. All of this affects her personal relationships, including her relationship with Jeff Malone (D.B. Woodside).
What’s most interesting about all of that, I think, is how it affects Jessica’s relationship with her family.
Prior to the first episode, Jessica had been fighting against the Mayor’s office to keep a low-income housing project from being torn down — one where her aunt and cousins had also been living.
These are estranged family members, and Jessica’s cousin Angela (Chantel Riley) wants little to do with her or with any help she tries to offer. In her eyes, Jessica comes from a different world — and she left her family behind a long time ago.
Jessica’s decision to drop the lawsuit against the city that dealt with the housing project and instead take a job with the Mayor’s office is obviously met with tension.
She insists it’s the right call and that it will allow her to do even more good to be on the inside, but as we quickly learn, there’s a lot more going on in the Mayor’s office than she expected. There’s a reason that the Mayor, Bobby Novak (Morgan Spector) wants Jessica to work for him in the first place. All that will be revealed, but Jessica’s skills are put to good use from the moment she walks through the door.
This is Jessica Pearson we’re talking about, after all.
It’s not surprising that Gina Torres does a stellar job throughout the first season. She’s taken a character we already loved and expanded on her in some interesting ways. She plays a range of emotions and we get a chance to see a few new sides to her that we didn’t have the chance to see on Suits.
Another striking performance on the series is that of Bethany Joy Lenz, who plays City Attorney Keri Allen. (The role was previously played by Rebecca Rittenhouse.) Keri is easily my favorite character next to Jessica, and though the two butt heads at first, the similarities between these two women are significant.
One of Keri’s relationships does feel cliche… well, a lot cliche, actually. But her character is far from it, trust me.
Other standouts include Simon Kassiandides as Nick D’Amato, Isabel Arraiza as Yoli Castillo, and Chantel Riley as Angela Cook. It’s really a fantastic cast overall, and the show addresses plenty of relevant issues and makes Chicago a character all its own.
Oh, and you can expect threads back to Suits, both in Jessica’s references to her past and to a couple of cameos, though they are brief and honestly a bit gratuitous.
This first season of Pearson isn’t perfect, and it takes some time to start feeling invested in all of these characters. The show feels like it’s still finding its footing in the first few episodes, but once it does, it soars.
Are you excited to watch Pearson? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Pearson premieres Wednesday, July 17th at 10/9c on USA.
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.