Suits' Harvey Specter has been a formidable force as a lawyer from the very beginning, but he's never exactly been the picture of emotional health. Some of his deepest levels of dysfunction can be traced back to his relationship with his mother was he was a teen, and a couple of decades haven't been enough to heal old wounds. Soon, Harvey will get another chance at closure when Suits finally introduces the mysterious Lily Specter, and we know who will tackle the role: Brynn Thayer of One Life to Live fame.
Although Lily Specter has been mentioned often enough on Suits, she hasn't appeared in the flesh to interact with her adult son over the years. We really only know his side of the story, and the way Harvey tells it, he was only 16 years old when he caught his mom cheating on his dad. To spare his father's feelings, Harvey kept quiet about Lily's affairs. Lily eventually left the family after a couple of years anyway, and Harvey has never recovered.
On the plus side, Harvey's mother sleeping around gave him a no-tolerance policy for people who cheat on their significant others. On the down side, he's been emotionally stunted on the maternal front for years, and those issues have re-emerged with a vengeance in the wake of Jessica Pearson's departure from the Pearson Specter Litt law firm. In the midseason premiere, Donna told Harvey that he needs to make things right with his mom, and the casting of Brynn Thayer as Lily is proof that we'll soon see them attempt such a reckoning.
Brynn Thayer is best known for her work on ABC's daytime soap opera One Life To Live, where she played a character named Jenny for seven years from 1979 to 1986; she reappeared on the series one more time to reprise the role in 2002. She joined the legal drama Matlock in 1991, playing Leanne McIntyre for three years on primetime. Thayer returned to soaps for roles on General Hospital in 1994 and Days of Our Lives in 2011. More recently, she nabbed guest spots on shows like How to Get Away with Murder, Castle, and The Fosters.
All things considered, Brynn Thayer could be the perfect person to bring Lily Specter to life. She has experience in just about every genre that has ever been touched upon by Suits, and she's a TV veteran. Luckily, we don't have to wait too long to see how Thayer does in the role. TV Guide reports that Lily Specter will make her Suits debut in next week's episode.
Tune in to USA on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET to see what's next for Harvey, Mike, and all the rest on Suits in Season 6, and don't forget to take a look at our midseason TV premiere schedule.
