How ‘Suits’ turned into a hit — four years after its run

It may feel as if “Suits” is everywhere right now. And that’s because it is. The first season of “Suits” ranked as the eighth-most-watched series on Netflix from July 17 to July 23 (its fourth week in the Top 10), with more than 20 million hours viewed, according to Netflix data.

Demand for “Suits” jumped 27 percent in the first month since it arrived on Netflix compared with the month prior, according to Brandon Katz, an industry strategist for Parrot Analytics.

The renewed interest in “Suits” comes from a variety of factors, including its stars, its episodes and the organic growth it has seen through social media.

“Suits” tells the story of Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), who uses his photographic memory to weasel his way into a job as a legal associate for successful attorney Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). (Ross never attended law school.) Throughout the show, Ross and Specter end up winning a number of cases as Ross continues to hide his secret.

Plenty of big names have appeared on “Suits,” including Meghan Markle, now Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who played Rachel Zane, a paralegal who looked to rise up the law firm. The show began before Meghan became romantically involved with Prince Harry, and after Meghan left, Katherine Heigl joined. Although it wrapped up in 2019, the series has recently followed in the footsteps of works such as “Breaking Bad,” “Gilmore Girls” and “The Office” — well-known shows that have earned a second life through streaming to audiences who may have missed the original run.

“It’s clear there is additional value to be wrung from certain titles in the post-finale windows,” Katz said.

He added that “Suits” viewers are seeking out shows with similar themes and formatting, such as procedurals like “Blue Bloods” and “The Blacklist.” “The genres that drew large audiences on broadcast TV once upon a time (procedurals and sitcoms) can and are still popular on streaming,” Katz said in an email.

There’s also a chance that Meghan might be a draw for fans, Katz said. She was one of the stars of the show before departing in 2018 to join the royal family.

Netflix uses some individual account information to change thumbnail images for selections to entice people to click on shows, Katz said, so it’s possible that “those who have previously watched Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s docuseries” may have seen her showcased in the thumbnails.

The streaming victory has carried over to social media, where the hashtag #SuitsOnNetflix is trending on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. Fans are pointing out their favorite moments, and TikTokers have posted videos of people reenacting and parodying scenes.

Fans have positively reviewed the series, which boasts an 87 percent average audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Several audience reviews from the end of July highlight why the show is resonating.

“Every episode leaves you wanting to watch another. I call it my guilty pleasure,” wrote one audience critic.

But there hasn’t always been love for “Suits.” Many critical reviews from its beginnings panned it for being “nonsensical” and “ludicrous” for its cast and storyline. Others pointed out that it had some glaring flaws, such as Specter and Ross having expertise in all areas of law; the unrealistic speed of litigation and case work; and the premise being too unrealistic to work in real life.

“Though the series begins amusingly enough, it quickly descends into cloying buddy escapade,” wrote New York Times critic Ginia Bellafante in 2011.

Corey Holmes, a fan of “Suits” since 2013, said he and his friend Alex Charles would use the phrase “Suits life” — a reference to the TV drama — whenever successful things would happen to them in their careers. But Holmes is still confused about the show’s recent streaming resurgence.

“It’s satisfying in that kind of like ‘Law & Order’ kind of way,” Holmes said, adding that “I personally don’t know why that show exploded out of nowhere recently.”