Suits has been a big hit for USA over the years, largely thanks to the cast of characters that has stuck around from the very beginning. The core cast was shaken up in a big way back in Season 6 when Gina Torres left the show, meaning that Harvey and Co. would have to try and keep Pearson Specter Litt afloat without Jessica Pearson's leadership. Losing Jessica was a bummer for fans, but there was good news: USA was considering a spinoff all about Jessica. Now, we finally have some details about how the spinoff will get going: via backdoor pilot.
The Season 7 finale of Suits will serve as a pilot to launch a potential spinoff centering on Jessica Pearson's life in Chicago. Her new life in the new city will present some new challenges that she didn't need to deal with in New York. She'll be forced to enter a world of dirty politics in Chicago, and it will take all of her legal brilliance to establish a place for herself in the Windy City. The backdoor pilot will see Jessica reunite with her old crew from New York to give her a hand.
Suits isn't exactly the first show to attempt to launch a spinoff via backdoor pilot, but few shows will necessarily dedicate as huge an episode as a season finale to trying to set up a new show. USA clearly has a lot of faith in the idea that Gina Torres as Jessica Pearson has what it takes to draw upon the Suits audience and anchor a series of her own.
Of course, it's not like the show is dedicating its season finale to a minor character or newcomer; Jessica was a pivotal member of the Suits cast from the series premiere all the way to her departure as a regular in the Season 6 midseason finale. In fact, she's come back a few times since her big departure to lend a hand, first with Mike's case in the Season 6 finale as he was attempting to earn the right to legally practice law, and then again in Season 7 to give Harvey some pointers now that he's taken her former job as managing partner of the firm.
Suits creator and executive producer Aaron Korsh is on board to executive producer and write the pilot for the prospective spinoff, and Suits veteran director Anton Cropper will helm the episodes. Unfortunately, we still have a while to wait before we get to see Jessica Pearson in her first episode as leading lady. The first half of Season 7 is currently airing, with the second half not set to pick up until at some point in the first quarter of 2018. We'll just have to hope that Jessica will find more reasons to return to New York between now and the Season 7 finale.
You can catch news episodes of Suits on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on USA. Pearson Specter Litt added an unexpected new partner this season, and a new actor has mixed up the cast, so it's definitely worth tuning in. For your other options, take a peek at our fall TV premiere guide.
