The ninth and final season of the American legal drama Suits was ordered on January 23, 2019. With its renewal, it was announced that it would be the final season of the show with all regulars from the previous season returning. Unlike the second through eighth season, the ninth season consisted of ten episodes instead of sixteen.[1] The final season premiered on USA Network in the United States July 17, 2019, followed by the premiere of spin-off series Pearson.[2]
| Suits | |
|---|---|
| Season 9 | |
 Promotional poster for the season | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | USA Network |
| Original release | July 17 – September 25, 2019 |
| Season chronology | |
Cast
Regular cast
- Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter
- Rick Hoffman as Louis Litt
- Sarah Rafferty as Donna Paulsen
- Amanda Schull as Katrina Bennett
- Dulé Hill as Alex Williams
- Katherine Heigl as Samantha Wheeler
Recurring cast
- Denise Crosby as Faye Richardson
- Aloma Wright as Gretchen Bodinski
- Rachael Harris as Sheila Sazs
- Patrick J. Adams as Mike Ross
- Alison Louder as Susan
- Brynn Thayer as Lily Specter
Guest cast
- Sasha Roiz as Thomas Kessler
- Jeffrey Nordling as Eric Kaldor
- Stephen Macht as Henry Gerard
- David Reale as Benjamin
- Ray Proscia as Dr. Stan Lipschitz
- Brian Hallisay as Craig Cameron
- Derek McGrath as Mr. Paulsen
- Daniel Bellomy as Jeremy Wall
- Wendell Pierce as Robert Zane
- Benjamin Ayres as Gavin Andrews
- Jake Epstein as Brian Altman
- Kurtwood Smith as Reed Tucker
- Max Topplin as Harold Gunderson
- Amy Acker as Esther Edelstein
- Usman Ally as Andrew Malik
- Neal McDonough as Sean Cahill
- Eric Roberts as Charles Forstman
- Erik Palladino as Kevin Miller
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [3] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | 1 | "Everything's Changed" | Christopher Misiano | Aaron Korsh | July 17, 2019 | 1.04[4] |
| 126 | 2 | "Special Master" | Michael Smith | Genevieve Sparling | July 24, 2019 | 1.04[5] |
| 127 | 3 | "Windmills" | Gabriel Macht | Marshall Knight & Rob LaMorgese | July 31, 2019 | 0.94[6] |
| 128 | 4 | "Cairo" | Anton Cropper | Sharyn Rothstein | August 7, 2019 | 1.00[7] |
| 129 | 5 | "If the Shoe Fits" | Christopher Misiano | Jeffrey M. Lee & Jordan Pomaville | August 14, 2019 | 0.96[8] |
| 130 | 6 | "Whatever It Takes" | Michael Smith | Ethan Drogin | August 21, 2019 | 1.05[9] |
| 131 | 7 | "Scenic Route" | Emile Levisetti | Garrett Schabb | September 4, 2019 | 1.07[10] |
| 132 | 8 | "Prisoner's Dilemma" | Julian Holmes | Ethan Drogin | September 11, 2019 | 0.97[11] |
| 133 | 9 | "Thunder Away" | Robert Duncan McNeill | Genevieve Sparling | September 18, 2019 | 0.96[12] |
| 134 | 10 | "One Last Con" | Aaron Korsh | Aaron Korsh | September 25, 2019 | 0.86[13] |
Production
Final season decision
With the renewal, creator Aaron Korsh offered insight on the decision to end the show with a 10-episode ninth season. He stated that he and USA Network decided to extend the cast contracts for two more years beyond season 7 after they wrapped production on season 6. Speaking on the shortened final season, he shared: "Our winter runs consist of 6 episodes, so we all felt like it would be very difficult to just have a truncated finale to a season. We always wanted to have the big 10 in the summer, to go out on a high note so to speak."[14]
In addition to the ten first-run episodes, USA aired a repeat of the series pilot episode on August 28, with additional commentary from the cast members added.
Casting
Korsh revealed intentions to bring back characters from the past as it has "always been in the lexicon of Suits to bring people back and that's because I think that's how life works," but that the writers were deciding on whom exactly they wanted to bring back as too much returning characters would prevent the story from moving forward. He denied rumors started by British tabloids that they were trying to get Meghan Markle back for a cameo in exchange for a large donation to charity, although he did share that he and Patrick J. Adams were contemplating bringing Mike Ross back for the final season if it worked out with Adams' schedule. At the same time, he stated a cross-over with characters from Pearson had not been ruled out nor planned.[14] On June 3, 2019, it was officially announced that Adams would return as a guest star for the fifth episode of the season. Korsh also hinted that he could re-appear in the series finale, though that was still uncertain. Additionally, Korsh stated that they would always welcome Markle back if she were to reach out, but he did not see it happening.[15]
Following the eighth-season finale, Korsh stated in an interview that Wendell Pierce's Robert Zane was written out of the show given Pierce's uncertain availability for the ninth season. Nevertheless, Korsh hoped that they would be able to bring him back.[16]
Writing
Additionally, Korsh shared that the ninth season would pick up shortly after where the eighth season left off.[14] After the eighth-season finale, Korsh further shared that the ninth season would explore the newfound relationship between Donna and Harvey and teased that there could be marriage and death in the final season.[16] On Patrick J. Adams' return, Korsh elaborated that Mike's return would see him embroiled in a case against Harvey and Samantha.[15]
Filming
The table read for the fifth episode featuring Mike Ross' return was scheduled for mid-June with filming starting shortly after. Initially, Patrick J. Adams was going to direct the series' penultimate episode, thus the ninth of the season, but his signing on to star in The Right Stuff prevented that plan from coming to fruition.[15]
Ratings
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
DVR (18–49) |
DVR viewers (millions) |
Total (18–49) |
Total viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Everything's Changed" | July 17, 2019 | 0.2 | 1.04[4] | 0.3 | 1.24 | 0.5 | 2.28[17] |
| 2 | "Special Master" | July 24, 2019 | 0.2 | 1.04[5] | 0.3 | 1.08 | 0.5 | 2.12[18] |
| 3 | "Windmills" | July 31, 2019 | 0.2 | 0.94[6] | 0.3 | 1.17 | 0.5 | 2.11[19] |
| 4 | "Cairo" | August 7, 2019 | 0.2 | 1.00[7] | — | 1.06 | — | 2.06[20] |
| 5 | "If the Shoe Fits" | August 14, 2019 | 0.2 | 0.96[8] | 0.3 | 1.22 | 0.5 | 2.18[21] |
| 6 | "Whatever It Takes" | August 21, 2019 | 0.2 | 1.05[9] | 0.2 | 0.94 | 0.4 | 1.99[22][a] |
| 7 | "Scenic Route" | September 4, 2019 | 0.2 | 1.07[10] | 0.2 | 0.85 | 0.4 | 1.92[23][a] |
| 8 | "Prisoner's Dilemma" | September 11, 2019 | 0.2 | 0.97[11] | 0.2 | 0.84 | 0.3 | 1.80[24][a] |
| 9 | "Thunder Away" | September 18, 2019 | 0.2 | 0.96[12] | 0.2 | 0.92 | 0.4 | 1.88[25][a] |
| 10 | "One Last Con" | September 25, 2019 | 0.2 | 0.86[13] | 0.2 | 0.93 | 0.4 | 1.79[26][a] |
References
- ^ Gelman, Vlada (January 23, 2019). "Suits to End with Season 9". TVLine.com. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ @USA_Network (May 1, 2019). "It all comes down to this. The final season of #Suits premieres July 17 on @USA_Network" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Shows A-Z - suits on usa". The Futon Critic. August 21, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (July 18, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.17.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (July 25, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.24.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 1, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.31.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 8, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.7.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 15, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.14.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 22, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.21.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (September 5, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.4.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (September 12, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.11.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (September 19, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.18.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (September 26, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.25.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c Andreeva, Nellie (January 23, 2019). "'Suits' Creator Aaron Korsh Shares Final Season Plans, Who May Return & More". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ a b c Andreeva, Nellie. "'Suits': Patrick J. Adams To Return For Final Season; Creator Aaron Korsh Provides Details & What About Meghan Markle". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (February 27, 2019). "'Suits' Creator Aaron Korsh Talks Game-Changing Finale Ending & Surprise Exit, Teases Marriage & Death In Final Season". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Welch, Alex (August 14, 2019). "'Yellowstone,' 'Below Deck Mediterranean' lead the cable Live +7 ratings for July 15–21". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ Welch, Alex (August 16, 2019). "'Teen Mom' scores top 18-49 gain in cable Live +7 ratings for July 22–28". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ Welch, Alex (August 19, 2019). "'Descendants 3' scores big gains in cable Live +7 ratings for July 29 – August 4". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^ Welch, Alex (August 26, 2019). "'Yellowstone' doubles its audience in cable Live +7 ratings for August 5–11". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- ^ Welch, Alex (August 29, 2019). "'Yellowstone' stays on top of the cable Live +7 ratings for August 12–18". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (August 30, 2019). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: 'Pearson' Leads All Telecasts in Percentage Gains Among Total Viewers and Adults 25-54". Programming Insider. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (September 13, 2019). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: 'Mayans M.C' Second Season Premiere is the Top Adults 18-49 Raw Gainer Among All Telecasts". Programming Insider. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (September 20, 2019). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: FX Dramas 'Mayans M.C' and 'Snowfall' Lead All Cable Shows in Overall Raw Gains". Programming Insider. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (September 27, 2019). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: 'American Horror Story: 1984' Season Premiere Tops All Telecasts in Raw Gains Among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49". Programming Insider. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (October 4, 2019). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: 'Stumptown' Series Premiere as the Only Telecast to More Than Double its Live+Same Day Adults 18-49". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 4, 2019.