Lex Scott Davis is joining You Know Who and Josh McDermitt in Suits: LA. Which, ok, that probably kills our brilliant plan for a show in the running of a good idea into the ground franchise centered around a legal drama’s application of Eugene Porter’s mullet. So, we’ve got some…thoughts. Not all of them are good, but not all of them are ragey either. We’re also not joking when we say we actually might have a vision that could work (whether we trust anyone to do something like it or not.)
So…progress?
Let’s start with the bad, though. Because, ok. Our hearts belong to the original, and those hearts are…not exactly in this. Again, we’ve been more than clear there. But one thing that makes us deeply, deeply uncomfortable is this: So far, we have two white dudes and one Black woman. Which, inevitably because Suits is involved — in name only — makes us think of two white dudes (Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams) and, based on fictional firm hierarchy, one very specific Black woman. In case you’re the newest person ever here, that would be Gina Torres. As in, our forever managing partner, boss, and queen, Jessica G.D. Pearson.
Are they…are they trying to make us think about her? If so, yikes. After all, television does have a not-at-all hidden track record of playing like women — and especially women of color — are just…interchangeable. (To be clear: We do not agree with the industry people — at all.) And if they aren’t trying to get us thinking about the P in PSL…Honestly? Still yikes. Because instead of having this show star a white dude who keeps, inexplicably, failing up, they could’ve upgraded. But, of course, Pearson not getting the backing it deserved, then failing as a result (still bitter), just totally proves it’s not possible to get viewers invested!!!! (The sarcasm, please note it.)
Ok, so. Anyway. Here’s the big yikes:
“Davis will star as Erica Rollins, described as ‘a savvy and strong-willed rising star. Erica works for Ted Black. She’s shrewd enough to test the loyalty of her associates only to admire some of them for not having any.'”
(via Variety.)
Some things that stand out: “works for Ted Black” and “her associates.” So, she’s…not the bland white dude’s superior — or, well. She totally is…just…not in the firm’s leadership structure — but, instead, has to work for him. And she admires disloyal associates? Ok but. That’s a no. Just no. So, to recap: Not managing partner, not a boss for either mullet brother partner, stans at least some folks with no loyalty.
…y’all. We are, once again, asking how someone can so fundamentally misunderstand what everyone loved about Suits, thus making the “market” for a Suits: LA Union Traitors in the first place. But ok. Let’s be fair. Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle, obviously) worked for the firm, even worked for Harvey at one point. If we’re making the (frankly, ludicrous) parallel from Black to Specter, this could work! And, obviously, neither Rachel nor the person who technically worked “for” Harvey for 12* years — Donna (Sarah Rafferty) — was anywhere near “just” their basic, traditionally-“lower,” job description. True. But what made all that work was having someone like Jessica running the place and being given credit for running the place. But here, we have Black Lane. Not Black Lane Rollins — and certainly not Rollins Black Lane.
Red flag.
Here’s the thing, though. We want Lex Scott Davis to thrive. And if this whole “looking for loyal subjects, yet kinda into the associates who aren’t” thing turns out to be a fascinating gray area in the vein of Fraudy McFraud Fraud Mike Ross, or the moves Jessica made to become managing partner and stay at the top of the mountain, or any number of other situations, that just might get this thing back on track. And not in a “LOL mullets” way. In a very real, “let’s go anti-heroes,” kinda a Pearson flashback, way. In fact, if this whole thing starts with Rollins immediately and/or over the course of a season ousting Black and, maybe (or maybe not) Mullet Lane, all of our initial fury would have been for nothing. Let’s hope we’ve been trolled, in the most ultimate and Suits–like way.
Because, seriously. We would be so, so, so, so, so here for a former dance (ok Dance Physical Therapy) major from Baltimore (or, Bawlmore if you grew up eating Old Bay like Yours Truly) being the actual star of this thing. (Yes, we read the IMDB bio.) TV gods, hear our prayer. Even if that wasn’t the original Suits: LA intent — apologies to the Darvey Army for putting the word “intent” too close to the name of Suits and short-circuiting our your brains for a second — it would just simply work. It’d even make Mother Jessica proud. Just saying.
Lex Scott Davis once starred as Toni Braxton in Unbreak My Heart. So…just saying, now we’re really hoping she can unbreak Suits: LA. And, in the process, maybe even unbreak us. Because, sorry not sorry? But the couple minutes here and there we watched to get a screenshot for this piece…were better than anything that man can do.
