Buckle up, ‘Suits’ fans, because we’re going to travel “Back to the Future” thanks to the genius of series creator Aaron Korsh, whom we spoke with earlier today and who shared some really juicy tidbits on what’s to come — from both the past and the future — on one of our favorite USA Network sophomore dramas.
I said “one of our favorite” because there are way too many USA Network dramas I love, and these sophomore ones in particular. Nobody mess with my ‘Necessary Roughness’ and ‘Suits’ nights. Particularly when there are handsome men on display – which means 90% of the time, because let’s face it, USA Network doesn’t fool around when casting for their shows. One needs to be ridiculously talented AND ridiculously handsome to be a lead on their shows. Which I am all for. Why settle for talented when you can have talented AND handsome? What can I say, I’m greedy.
Before the above hotness paired with the outside temperatures knocks me out faster than Sark can drink a bottle of Chateau Petrousse (never seen ‘Alias’? Never mind…), let’s get down to the nitty gritty here. First and foremost, let me give you my usual warning in CAPITAL LETTERS: SPOILERS AHEAD! You’re allergic to knowing in advance a little (or a lot) of what’s to come on your favorite show? Then STOP READING AT ONCE. Of course you’ll miss out on juicy stuff like what Gabriel Macht’s wife, Jacinda Barrett, is up to on ‘Suits’. Or how Mr. Korsh’s inclination for a certain medical herb, when he was the new kid on the block at work, inspired him to write Mike’s character. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. By the way, how do I love thee, Patrick J. Adams? Don’t think I’ve only got love for Mr. Macht. Or Macht-alicious, as our editor-in-chief prefers to call him. Can’t blame her. We’re equal-opportunity handsome men lovers here. No discrimination!
Was I saying? Oh right. There’s a certain amount of scoop I have the privilege to deliver, starting right now. Here it comes, ‘Suitors’, right from the very lips of the brilliant mind who gave us the show. Oh also? My fellow Alias fans, there’s stuff for you ahead… and juicy. Because Ana Espinoza as one of the leads (the gorgeous and incredibly talented Gina Torres) wasn’t enough, guess who was on the show and fans didn’t get to see in the U.S., but audiences abroad saw, courtesy of an uncut version of the ‘Suits’ pilot? Keep reading, you’d never guess!
Alessandra: “In the uncut pilot that aired abroad there already was Daniel Hardman’s character, that you mentioned was cut in the U.S. version, and then brought back this season. Victor Garber was the actor who originally portrayed Daniel Hardman, right? How did that not work out? I mean, as a major Alias fan I’ve got to say, if there’s someone who can intimidate Harvey, that is Jack Bristow!”
Aaron Korsh: “Oh, you’re absolutely right! We thought he did an amazing job . The version that aired abroad was much longer than the one in the U.S.. Sometimes you can cut lines without cutting scenes, and sometimes you’re going to cut whole scenes. So we made the tough decision — because it was all driven by time — but that character [originally] was kind of Jessica’s mentor and they were friends, and we cut it out. And then we thought, it adds a lot more to the show if we bring Daniel Hardman in. By the time we decided to bring him back, it just wasn’t gonna work out to bring Victor Garber back, because the character had changed. I didn’t think Victor Garber was going to be interested.
David Costabile (note: the actor who was cast to play Daniel Hardman in season two), he had this ‘quiet power’ that I never forgot. Originally we were gonna make Hardman… he was gonna be like, Harvey-like, and we couldn’t really find the right person for that. And then someone pitched me Costabile and I saw him on Damages and like I said, I saw him having this ‘quiet power’, and thought he’d be perfect for the role.”
Alessandra: “And interestingly enough, there is a coincidence there as well that brings back to Alias. Costabile was on ‘Person of Interest’ last season, which is a JJ Abrams show, and JJ Abrams said they found him terrific and wanted to find a way to bring him back, to work with him again.”
Aaron Korsh: “Really! I didn’t know that. I had no idea he was on ‘Person of Interest’! But I had seen him on ‘Damages’ and thought he was perfect for the role based on that.”
Can you see Rambaldi artifacts looming in the background? This has Rambaldi written all over it, I’m telling you. Not to mention, Mr. Costabile played a JUDGE on ‘Person of Interest’, of all things! The coincidences here are piling up. That’s it, this is a new version of “the Prophecy”! Sadly, we won’t get to see Spy Daddy kick Harvey’s (toned) ass — but Mr. Costabile is wonderful in the role, and at least I won’t shake my head in disbelief when I see Harvey kick Daniel Hardman’s sorry ass. Because that’s going to happen, and sorry, but no way could Harvey defeat Spy Daddy. Lessons Alias taught me: you can defeat death, but you cannot defeat Jack Bristow. Period. Not even if you’re Harvey Specter. So in the end, I guess it all worked out for the best. Although… Ana Espinoza and Spy Daddy at each other’s throats in uber-stylish attire? That would have been priceless, my friends. Priceless! But I digress. Now, back to Daniel Hardman and what’s ahead for him…
Alessandra: “Speaking of Daniel Hardman and his story, what about a certain… Monica character that we will get to meet and who has a major past with Daniel Hardman? And while we’re on that subject, could you tell us a bit more about this “Rewind” episode? (note: the episode in question, entitled “Rewind”, is episode 8 of season 2, and it features a flashback to five years ago that will show us most of the main cast back then and what was going on with them at the time.)
Aaron Korsh: “Basically the rewind episode is kind of… we thought it would be interesting to shed some light on these characters’ past. So you’re gonna find out about Harvey’s past. It tells the story of Mike and Jenny when they first met, and Trevor. And Monica… and Zoe (note: Zoe is the character who will be played by Mr. Macht’s wife, and who has big romantic history with Harvey. She is a jury expert that Harvey decides to hire to help him with a present, uhm, “thorny” situation, in episode 7). Monica has a past at the firm, she left the firm under kind of cloudy circumstances and she plays her role both in the past and in the present. She interacts mainly with Louis in the episode in the past and Mike in the episode in the present, but she has a past with everyone: Rachel, Harvey, Jessica, Daniel. And then Harvey has to seek her out for help in the present.”
Given yours truly does know quite a few more details about it, and given I don’t want USA Network to send a killer to terminate me anytime soon, I’ll only add a little something. Know how this show never uses details in episodes without good reason? One of those details from the premiere episode of the season will come back into the fold, big time!
And regarding Zoe Crawford, the character Mr. Korsh mentioned, who will be played by Jacinda Barrett, I can leave you with this: there’s a pool table. She and Harvey are seemingly playing a game of pool, but it’s actually all dalliance. Or maybe not. Who was the last one to NOT call? And why? All of this and more is coming up on ‘Suits’, so trust me, you don’t want to miss a minute of any new episode!
And before I leave you to ponder how to beat the competition coming from the umpteenth woman in Harvey’s life (what, I know you all do that), there’s this absolutely priceless detail about Mr. Korsh’s life and how he came up with a big side of Mike’s character that I MUST share with you.
Aaron Korsh: “I may or may not have smoked a lot of pot in my life. In Wall Street everyone is from Harvard and Yale and those from Harvard hire people from Harvard, and those from Yale hire people from Yale. And I was like… smoking pot while I was working, and I felt like a fraud. Of course I wasn’t, I had my degree and everything, but I was still smoking pot. Mike’s character is based on feelings that I had on feeling like a fraud. I don’t know that I have the empathy that Mike does, but we grew up in a town that had people with different socio-economics situation. You were just living with a lot of different people of all kinds and it kind of taught me that when you have a person in front of you, you have a person. They’re not beneath you, they’re not above you, they’re just a person. That’s where it comes from for Mike’s character.”
Now you know you must take me seriously when I mention a certain medical herb. And you know that Mr. Korsh doesn’t hold back when it comes to giving out juicy, personal, emotional details about how and why his characters are created. Maybe that’s why we love them so much. Because at least a part of them is solidly grounded in reality.
We got much more than this from Aaron Korsh, but that will be the subject of a different story, as I have no intention of melting anyone’s pupils with a Divina Commedia (yes, Dante’s Divine Comedy) right now. So more scoop coming to you next week, lovelies. For now, the court joker shall exit stage left, and leave you all lovelies to meditate on how the ‘Suits’ story endeth.
Don’t forget ‘Suits’ is coming back with a new episode this Thursday at 10 p.m. on USA Network!
