Patrick J. Adams: ‘Succession’ Is Just the ‘Grown-Up’ Version of ‘Suits’
Samantha Bergeson
“Suits” alum Patrick J. Adams is convinced that “Succession” is indebted to the viral USA Network series.
While “Suits” ran from 2011 to 2019, “Succession” debuted in 2019. The Emmy-winning HBO series concluded in 2023.
“’Suits’ is a predecessor to another very popular show,” Adams said during his and Sarah Rafferty‘s “Sidebar: A ‘Suits’ Watch Podcast,” adding, “’Suits’ walked so that ‘Succession’ could run.”
He added, “They got to be the grown-up [to ‘Suits”] PG version.”
Adams pointed to the overlap of actors and directors between the two series.
“The things that we have in common [include] Dagmara [Domińczyk]. She was in ‘Succession,’ she was in ‘Suits,'” Adams said. “Rob Yang. Do you know who Rob Yang was in our show? He was the doctor in [the ‘Suits’ pilot] where he’s giving Mike the drug test. You know where else you’ve seen Rob Yang? The pilot of ‘Succession.'”
Adams also said that “Suits” director and producer Kevin Bray, who was “arguably responsible for the look and vibe of the whole thing,” went on to direct episodes of “Succession.”
And the location of both series, despite being different genres of TV, added to Adams’ argument.
“It’s in New York, we’re dealing with New York power brokers, people moving and shaking at the highest levels of New York society,” he said.
The one thing that “Suits” has that “Succession” doesn’t, it seems, is a spinoff though. “Suits” landed a reboot, titled “Suits L.A.,” after the legal drama had a streaming resurgence on Netflix.
“Succession” star Matthew Macfadyen told IndieWire that a spinoff for the series is “highly unlikely.”
“I would say, ‘Never say never,’ but it’s highly unlikely,” Macfadyen said of a possible follow-up show. “But it will depend on what [creator] Jesse Armstrong wants to do, but I think Jesse’s instinct, and all our instincts, is that it ended in just the right place.”
Macfadyen continued of the final season, “And we sort of didn’t tie it up, we just left [them]… to carry on in their strange and crappy world. So as nice as it would be to work with everybody again, I do think it would be strange to do a spinoff.”
