Summary

• Suits reflects the time it was aired with its innovative crime-solving and mystery elements, but some aspects haven't aged well, including harsh treatment of associates and unrealistic storylines.
• Main characters in Suits seem to handle every field of law, despite having no formal qualifications, which stretches believability.
• The show's plot relies too heavily on personal vendettas and repetitive case discoveries, and some storylines, like Mike finding work in law again, seem unlikely.

Suits was created to be intense and edgy, but while it was trying to accomplish these goals, it made some choices that don’t stand the test of time. Suits ran from 2011-2018 on the USA Network and follows Mike Ross, a man with a photographic memory who gets a position with Harvey Spector despite having no formal law degree. The series was massively popular during its original run on cable television, but it became exorbitantly more popular upon its arrival on Netflix in 2023. The increased focus and viewership have meant a chance to reexamine Suits 12 years after it began.

In many ways, Suits is a product of its time. It was on when the USA Network was filled with innovative crime-solving shows that follow two best friends navigating one part of the investigative world. The mystery element from trying to keep Mike’s secret and the week-to-week case-solving provided viewers with plenty of entertainment over the course of all nine seasons of Suits. However, that does not completely forgive some of the harsher choices and moments that happen during the show. From badly aged actions to poor storylines, several problems can be found during a Suits rewatch.

10 Louis’ Treatment Of The Associates Is Too Cruel

In Suits, Louis eventually becomes a partner at the firm. Before this, he was responsible for training the associates. However, his treatment of them is harsh at best. He often yells and hurls insults at them. While law is not an easy field and characters can be expected to work long hours, the expectations placed upon them by Louis feel overly dramatized and often cruel. This is one element of the show that did not age well, especially with a current emphasis on proper working conditions in the real world.

9 Main Lawyers Practice Every Field Of Law

Pearson and Hardman talk about having different departments, in fact, they’re all referenced when there’s a battle for a partner position going on in season 2 of the show. However, it seems that Harvey and Mike work almost any type of law case that comes into their office. From fraud to corporation settlements, the two lawyers have expertise in all types of law, which is especially astounding since Mike isn't a real lawyer in any law type practiced.

8 Donna’s Actions For Harvey Are Out Of Character

Donna is one of the show's smartest characters, but a decision in season 2 is noticeably strange. She is accused of hiding a signed document that would have changed the outcomes of a case and is ultimately fired because of it. While Donna is extremely loyal to Harvey, it doesn’t make sense that she would do something so out of character. She also knows how Harvey would feel about hiding the document, but does it anyway. The fact that she then manages to get her job back is incomprehensible, as even being accused of such a thing would destroy all credit in the legal world.

Donna is fired in Suits season 2, episode 5 and rehired in season 2, episode 9

7 Too Many Personal Vendettas

The amount of personal vendettas that seem to run the legal profession in Suits is unrealistic, even in a high-stress world like law. There are several episodes a season where someone tries to destroy Harvey because of something he’s done in the past, so many of which would have gotten Harvey disbarred in real life. When Suits elects to take a break from the vendettas against Harvey outside the office, the lawyers within the Pearson and Hardman office then get involved. Harvey feuds with Louis, Hardman, and others constantly, creating an extremely toxic working environment. The dramatization is fun, but it messes with the integrity of cases.

6 Repetitive Case Discovery Becomes Exhausting

One of the funniest things about watching Suits again is the quick realizations the characters have at random moments about the cases they’re working on. In every episode, the characters will be stuck on a case that they can’t seem to crack. Then, when they’re having a conversation, someone will say something random to them, and they’ll instantly have the answer to the case they need to crack. The first time or two, it was a cool touch, but for this pattern to happen every episode gets pretty exhausting. It’s unrealistic and a harsh reality of Suits finding convenient ways to keep the plot moving quickly.

5 Mike Finding Work In Law Again Wouldn't Happen

When Mike is eventually released from prison, Suits' necessity for him to find work in law again becomes an issue. After being discovered for pretending to be a lawyer, the idea that he is able to enter the professional legal world seems really unlikely. His reputation would be tarnished and nobody would trust him to work for them as he was able to lie for so long about something so important. They needed to keep the show going, but this plotline leads to Mike becoming a real lawyer and seems too unlikely on another watch-through.

4 Mike’s Hiring Process Is Confusing

Mike's trickery to get the job at Pearson and Hardman is a necessary plot point for Suits, but it is nonetheless confusing how his hiring got past the HR department. A prestigious law firm like Pearson and Hardman would not hire someone who lacks the proper qualifications, as they would want to do everything to protect their company. That includes providing the necessary requirements to the HR department, but Mike does not have most of them. He has no proof of a degree or any law experience, and he also has no references. Considering he can't even fool his coworkers, HR overlooking his hiring is a nightmare.

3 Harvey Breaking Mike Out Of Prison Is Unrealistic

In season 6, Mike goes to prison after his secret has been discovered, and Harvey's ability to break him out is unrealistic. No prison would allow a prisoner to be taken on a field trip because of a friend, no matter how many favors they owe. There would be protocols in place to prevent Harvey from having a relatively easy time breaking Mike out. Furthermore, Harvey faking a poisoning just to get Mike taken out of the general population so the escape can happen is quite unrealistic.

2 Cases Move Too Quickly

Every episode is a new case for the Pearson Hardman lawyers in Suits. While it’s normal for lawyers to handle multiple cases, the American legal system does not work fast enough to move on from cases in two days. The show follows an episodic case format, as a lot of lawyer shows do, but the lack of long-running cases makes the show feel unrealistic. The acquisition, the research, and sometimes even the court date all happen within an episode and a short period of time, which makes it feel like the show has no sense of pacing.

1 Everyone Knows Mike's Secret

One of the most unbelievable parts of Suits is the keeping of Mike’s secret. It seems that Mike is yelling at Harvey in every other episode because someone else could potentially know his secret. Between Jessica Pearson finding out to working cases about another professional faking his qualifications, Mike is constantly surrounded by risk. With the amount of people who know Mike’s secret—especially the ones who have no personal stake in his happiness—there’s almost no way that everyone would keep it to themselves and not report him.