“Suits” fans will get a double dose of their favorite characters with the Gina Torres-led spinoff “Pearson” debuts right after the main series’ final season premieres Wednesday night. And just as the title of the new show implies, “Pearson” is all about Torres’ Jessica Pearson.
Even though the disbarred NYC powerhouse attorney is now adjusting to down and dirty Chicago politics, Torres assures us that she’s still the Jessica you know and love.
“We took great pains to ensure that, even though the show by and large is really a complete departure from ‘Suits’ that you would still recognize the character that you love so much,” Torres told TheWrap in the interview above. “And so she is very much intact, she is very much the no-holds-barred, dynamic woman in charge that all of our Suitors love.”
“But you also get the entire woman, not just the Jessica you knew at work,” she added. “You also get to meet her family, we go home with her, we get to see more of the effect that living this kind of life has on her. And it’s not always easy and she doesn’t win every battle right off the bat.”
On the first season of “Pearson,” newly appointed as Chicago Mayor Bobby Novak’s (Morgan Spector) right-hand fixer, Jessica is quickly embroiled in a crooked and dangerous new world where every action has far-reaching consequences. With her compulsion to win, Jessica is forced to reconcile her unstoppable drive with her desire to do the right thing – two things very much at odds.
Because the final chapter of “Suits” will be airing just ahead of all that new “Pearson” drama, Torres says “we are still very tethered to the mothership.” And she is also attached emotionally, of course, due to the many seasons she spent on the show.
“I can’t believe we had as long a run as we did,” Torres said. “I still feel that I’m a part of that show. I will always be a part of that show, even though I haven’t been on it in some time. It has given birth to characters that people have related to and have stuck with through thick and thin. It absolutely has been the launching pad for ‘Pearson.’”
As for whether or not you’ll see “Suits” characters cross over onto “Pearson” once the main series has ended, Torres said: “Maybe, maybe. I usually say, there’s no point in pretending that Jessica didn’t spend all those years of her life with those people. They maintain a part of the mythology of that character. And so why wouldn’t they?”
“Pearson” premieres Wednesday, Wednesday, at 10/9c, following the final season premiere of “Suits.”