Summer Series Renewals

After the first episode of Outlander aired to a delighted audience STARZ announced the show would have a second season.  Recently fans of ABC Family’s Switched at Birth heard the fan-favorite would have another season, and today word comes that FX’s The Strain will also have a second season.

USA Suits official pic of  Donna (Sarah Rafferty)

USA Suits official pic of Donna (Sarah Rafferty)

Earlier this month it was announced that the USA show Suits would have a 5th season, Suits is a show that does not appear to get a lot of watercooler conversation, like it’s character Louis Litt (played so well by Rick Hoffman) the show is under-appreciated by many because it is simply so reliably good.  With roughly 10 episode season, each season has an arc with a flowing narrative, and character growth.  Lead characters Harvey (Gabriel Macht) and Mike (Patrick J. Adams) have matured in the past four seasons, one going from being so career focused he seemed unaware other people existed to now caring about the man he has been mentoring.  He no longer leaves others to fend for themselves in a dog-eat-dog world, but will do what he must to defend them.  And when it comes to the hard choices, the Harvey who once would have chosen Money or the Client, now has to consider and think, because he has come to realize friends and people matter.

Mike Ross on the other hand started out seeming like a kid pretending to be a man, and after four seasons with Harvey mentoring him, and learning from the lawyers at the lawfirm (which has undergone some name changes) he ended season 4, not just a man, but a better man than we might have hoped for just a few years ago.

The characters of Donna (Sarah Rafferty) and Rachel (Meghan Markle) with their quick wit and willingness to challenge these two men to be better than they thought themselves capable of being is part of what makes the show sparkle.  Without Donna we might never have come to see the vulnerable side of Harvey, and without Rachel we might never have come to see the strength and courage of Mike.

In Season 4, as so many shows do, they shook up the status quo — in this case breaking up the parternship of the mentor and his mentee.  Mike went out on his own to see what he could do without his mentor there to catch him when he fell, and the result was fantastic, because it gave not only Mike a chance to grow and develop, but also Harvey.

Suits has earned it’s 5th season, and if you have not see the previous four, next time you are looking for a show give Suits and its 50+ episodes to date a chance.   (Fans may also recognize Gina Torres of Firefly/Serenity who rocks this universe as the managing partner of the law firm.)