‘Suits’ Season 7 Finale to Serve as Backdoor Pilot for Gina Torres Spinoff
The Season 7 finale of USA Network’s “Suits” will serve as a backdoor pilot for a potential spinoff based around Gina Torres’ character Jessica Pearson, Variety has learned.
The Season 7 finale, which will air in the first quarter of 2018, will reunite Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty) and Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle) with their old friend Pearson as she adjusts to her new life in Chicago. When she is forced to enter the dirty world of Chicago politics, Pearson must rely on her legal wits and relationships from Pearson Specter Litt to navigate this unknown territory. The first half of “Suits” Season 7 currently airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
“Gina Torres is a terrific actress and a valued member of our family,” said Jeff Wachtel, chief content officer for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment and president of Universal Cable Productions. “Gina and Aaron have created a truly memorable character in Jessica Pearson, and we felt we owed it to the audience – and ourselves! – to follow her journey beyond the original show.”
The pilot will be executive produced and written by “Suits” creator and executive producer Aaron Korsh and executive producer Daniel Arkin. It will be directed by “Suits” alum Anton Cropper. Doug Liman, David Bartis and Gene Klein of Hypnotic will also serve as executive producers.
“The powerhouse character of Jessica Pearson, expertly brought to life by the incomparable Gina Torres, has won the hearts of television fans everywhere,” said Chris McCumber, president of entertainment networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “USA Network is beyond thrilled to work with Gina, Aaron Korsh, the entire ‘Suits’ producing team and our partners at UCP to explore the exciting next phase of Jessica’s story.”
“Suits” premiered on USA in 2011 and will air its 100th episode this season. The series is among the network’s top-rated original series, with Season 7 currently averaging a 0.4 rating in adults 18-49 and 1.4 million viewers per episode in Nielsen’s Live+Same Day measurements.
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