It’s on! Former Suits co-star Gina Torres has closed a deal with the studio behind the hit USA legal drama series, Universal Cable Prods., to headline and produce a potential spinoff series centered on her Suits character, uber attorney and office style icon Jessica Pearson. The project will be shepherded by Suits creator/showrunner Aaron Korsh, whose deal is still being worked out. The new series, which is in very early stages of development, is based on an idea Torres brought to UCP, which is ran by Jeff Wachtel. There has been a lot of enthusiasm for the project, with Torres’ deal closing quickly as UCP stepped up while Torres was fielding offers for broadcast pilots.
“I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity and the level of confidence Bonnie Hammer, Jeff Wachtel and everyone at UCP have in me and the potential of this project,” Torres said in a statement to Deadline. “Can’t wait to get started.”
Korsh originally wanted to kill off Jessica Pearson in the Season 6 summer finale, giving the character a dramatic ending, but changed the storyline upon objections from the network. Instead, after taking up a pro-bono case, Jessica ended up deciding to go to Chicago to be with her love, Jeff (D.B. Woodside).
“I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity and the level of confidence Bonnie Hammer, Jeff Wachtel and everyone at UCP have in me and the potential of this project,” Torres said in a statement to Deadline. “Can’t wait to get started.”
Korsh originally wanted to kill off Jessica Pearson in the Season 6 summer finale, giving the character a dramatic ending, but changed the storyline upon objections from the network. Instead, after taking up a pro-bono case, Jessica ended up deciding to go to Chicago to be with her love, Jeff (D.B. Woodside).
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DEADLINE: Will Mike stick to his promise? Will the clinic be involved in these pro bono cases, and will they go hand in hand with the corporate cases?
KORSH: When we were writing that scene collectively, the idea was that Mike was going to be like, ‘I can include the clinic and bring them in.’ In Mike’s mind he was like, ‘Just in case, if I want to bring the clinic on, I can’. I don’t know that he is positive he’s going to, but there’s no doubt Mike wants to follow through on this deal. This is a large part of why he was coming back.
DEADLINE: Will Jessica be popping up again in Season 7?
KORSH: I would never count her out is what I would say. We don’t have specific plans but she’s obviously always a near and dear character of the show and if opportunities arise, we would of course love to bring her back. We’re too early to know yet.
KORSH: When we were writing that scene collectively, the idea was that Mike was going to be like, ‘I can include the clinic and bring them in.’ In Mike’s mind he was like, ‘Just in case, if I want to bring the clinic on, I can’. I don’t know that he is positive he’s going to, but there’s no doubt Mike wants to follow through on this deal. This is a large part of why he was coming back.
DEADLINE: Will Jessica be popping up again in Season 7?
KORSH: I would never count her out is what I would say. We don’t have specific plans but she’s obviously always a near and dear character of the show and if opportunities arise, we would of course love to bring her back. We’re too early to know yet.
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Is there a world where you could see Suits going beyond a seventh season?
Yeah, sure. I don’t see why not. My feeling on Suits in the early days was that it would go likely at least six, possibly seven and up to eight. But I wouldn’t limit it to only eight now when I see shows like Grey’s Anatomy lasting much longer. It’s still a very popular show within the network and I think worldwide. Other than that, it still has a lot of stories left to tell with our original cast and maybe if we also bring in new people I could see it going beyond, absolutely.
What is the word on this spinoff? Are you developing ideas?
Basically I have to give Gina Torres a lot of credit. She had an idea and went to the studio and sort of discussed with them. ... It wasn’t a vague idea but it was a broader idea. They came to me, asked me what I thought. Obviously I love Jessica, I’m interested in seeing what’s happening with her in the future, and we decided to pursue it. It’s very, very early. We’re in the early process of brainstorming and formulating, but it’s so early that we haven’t even put into place the parameters under which it would logistically work. That has to come before we can even think creatively about it.
Could it potentially mean an episode of this upcoming season of Suits taking place in Chicago alongside Jessica and pick up on her life there?
First of all, yes. There’s always a potential for anything. The early days of Suits, it was a Wall Street show that became a law show. At the time had you asked me if these guys would be lawyers, I’d so no. They’re investment bankers. It evolved into that. We are in such early stages that anything could happen. There’s no guarantee that it will be Chicago or anything like that, but absolutely that’s a possibility.
Yeah, sure. I don’t see why not. My feeling on Suits in the early days was that it would go likely at least six, possibly seven and up to eight. But I wouldn’t limit it to only eight now when I see shows like Grey’s Anatomy lasting much longer. It’s still a very popular show within the network and I think worldwide. Other than that, it still has a lot of stories left to tell with our original cast and maybe if we also bring in new people I could see it going beyond, absolutely.
What is the word on this spinoff? Are you developing ideas?
Basically I have to give Gina Torres a lot of credit. She had an idea and went to the studio and sort of discussed with them. ... It wasn’t a vague idea but it was a broader idea. They came to me, asked me what I thought. Obviously I love Jessica, I’m interested in seeing what’s happening with her in the future, and we decided to pursue it. It’s very, very early. We’re in the early process of brainstorming and formulating, but it’s so early that we haven’t even put into place the parameters under which it would logistically work. That has to come before we can even think creatively about it.
Could it potentially mean an episode of this upcoming season of Suits taking place in Chicago alongside Jessica and pick up on her life there?
First of all, yes. There’s always a potential for anything. The early days of Suits, it was a Wall Street show that became a law show. At the time had you asked me if these guys would be lawyers, I’d so no. They’re investment bankers. It evolved into that. We are in such early stages that anything could happen. There’s no guarantee that it will be Chicago or anything like that, but absolutely that’s a possibility.
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