'Suits' Casts 'Scrubs' Vet as Harvey's New Secretary

Mandi Bierly
Updated
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It must have been one of the most sought-after jobs in fictional New York: Harvey Specter’s new secretary has been found.

Aloma Wright, who played Nurse Laverne Roberts on Scrubs and Nurse Maxine on Days of Our Lives, will recur as Gretchen Bodinski, Harvey’s replacement for Donna, who’s now working for Louis Litt.

With more than two decades of experience, Gretchen isn’t afraid to tell it like it is and brings a fresh perspective to the firm. She makes her debut in the July 1 episode.

Related: ‘Suits’ Season 5 Premiere Postmortem: Creator Talks That First for Harvey

“[Nurse Laverne Roberts] was one of my favorite characters on Scrubs, and the funny thing is,” Suits creator Aaron Korsh tells Yahoo TV, “she auditioned for the part, and I thought she was so good, and she reminded me of the woman on Scrubs, so it actually made me think, ‘Maybe we should get the woman on Scrubs in, because that woman was so funny. I’d like Gretchen to be funny, but this woman is such a dramatic actress, I don’t know if she has it in her to be funny.’ And then I looked [Aloma] up, and I’m like, ‘It was the woman on Scrubs!’ She transformed her whole aura. So it was an easy hire, and I was really happy with it.”

Harvey chooses Gretchen, in part, because he doesn’t want to repeat the same situation he had with Donna, Korsh says. “On the surface, she’s nothing like Donna, but once you get to know her, they share some qualities,” he teases.

Suits airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on USA.