Suits completed its nine-season broadcast run in 2019, but following its addition to Netflix last year, it’s more popular than ever. Remarkably, this new box set marks the first time the entire series has been available on Blu-ray in the U.S. Also, due to the vagaries of streaming licensing, Netflix currently only has the first eight seasons, while Prime has season nine, so this box represents the best way to binge the full series in high quality.
Buy Suits: The Complete Series Blu-rayThe series follows the exploits of a group of lawyers at a high-priced Manhattan law firm. It’s not really a legal drama though, as those lawyers spend far more time jockeying for power amongst themselves than assisting clients in court. The writers are far more interested in palace intrigue than the law, something like a boardroom Game of Thrones, with the balance of power shifting so frequently that the firm’s name changes at least once per season as partners are forced out and promoted. And yet, that wasn’t really the original hook.
Season One introduces a brilliant young legal prodigy named Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), who lands the opportunity to join the firm as an associate following a chance meeting with top dog Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). There’s just one glaring problem: he doesn’t have a law degree. Harvey recognizes Mike’s unorthodox genius, so they enter into a secret pact to pass him off as a Harvard Law grad. That sets up the principal plot for the early seasons, as they try to stay one step ahead of being found out while Mike gains experience and proves he’s superior to credentialed lawyers.
If this had been a limited series, the hook would have been enough to sustain it. Unfortunately, the show kept getting renewed, forcing the writers to definitively resolve the original concept and cast about for new impetus. Enter the never-ending palace intrigue, with ancillary characters gaining prominence as they claw over each other to try to reach the top. The law firm is the very definition of a toxic workplace, with the characters appearing angry and miserable most of the time, sniping at each other in tense expletive-filled exchanges that make you wonder why anyone would stay. It all gets to be a bit much by the midpoint of the run, with only the tease of potential office romances to counter the negativity.
The most notorious office romance is of course the one between Mike and future ex-royal Meghan Markle, here playing a plucky paralegal named Rachel Zane. Markle’s real-life romance with Prince Harry led to her leaving the show after Season Seven, which is also where Adams exited, with their characters traipsing off together to the mystical land of Seattle to do good, decent legal work for a change, similar to when George Clooney and Julianna Margulies ditched Chicago for the good life in Seattle on ER.
With no more hook, no more Adams, Markle, or fellow original cast member Gina Torres, season seven was a natural stopping point for the show. Instead, it continued for two more seasons, bringing in Katherine Heigl in her hoped-for triumphant return to series work after her ostracization in movies. Previously recurring cast members Amanda Schull (12 Monkeys) and Dulé Hill (Psych) also got upped to regulars and law firm partners, setting up some new dysfunctional law family dynamics even as the plot vapors of three remaining cast members played out. Thankfully, two of those characters finally acted on their long-simmering romantic attraction, ultimately emerging as the true heart of the show and providing a satisfying conclusion to its run. Adams also circled back around for a few episodes in the final season, further reinforcing the feeling that maybe it was worth sticking through the whole series after all.
The Blu-ray box set organizes each season in standard multi-disc Blu-ray cases, an ideal choice that protects the discs instead of using cardboard sleeves or a stacked spool of discs. The flimsy box provides little to no protection but offers a visually appealing home for the nine cases. Video is 1080p HD, while audio is DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Bonus features are present in abundance, but seem to be entirely archival, as originally included on the individual season releases. Those features include the full set of webisodes, behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, gag reels, the extended pilot, and much more.
If you’re looking for new Suits material, you may be in luck, as its resurgent popularity has led to a pilot green light for Suits: L.A. starring ex-superhero Stephen Amell (Arrow). For now, the new box set offers a chance to revisit the phenomenon in full, or discover it for the first time.
Suits: The Complete Series is available on Blu-ray on March 19th.
