Fifteen years after the show’s debut, take a look back at the pop culture phenomenon Suits and its place in the pantheon of famous legal dramas.
Suits is a cultural phenomenon. It has reached multiple generations of viewers and become one of Netflix’s most binge-watched series. Drawing on the history of the television lawyer, workplace drama, and postmodern comedy, the show explores the professional and personal impact of pursuing a career in high-stakes corporate litigation. Its characters navigate ruthless office politics and battle impostor syndrome, while working grueling hours and seeking personal fulfillment.
In Suits: A Cultural History, Richard L. Schur argues that the show reconfigures familiar television tropes and uncovers cultural hopes and fears about ambition, work, success, and justice. Beneath the tailored suits and clever banter lies a deeper story about status anxiety and the cost of “making it.” Set against the two main intellectual currents of the 2010s—Obama’s optimism and Trump’s nostalgia—Suits exposes a cultural hunger for moral clarity yet harbors suspicions about the major American social institutions that supposedly provide it. What emerges is not simply a television show about rich, attractive lawyers involved in sometimes outlandish cases but a window into viewers’ desires for family, community, and justice. A must-read for fans of the show.
