If you’re a Suits fan, you know that the summer finale of Season 6 was the last time Gina Torres’s character of Jessica Pearson appeared on the show as a regular. She left the firm to settle down with her romantic interest Jeff (played by D.B. Woodside) in Chicago. While she did make a surprise appearance in last night’s season finale, aside from those occasional cameos, Torres is pretty much done with Suits.
However, that doesn’t mean that she’s not open to the opportunity of continuing on with the Jessica Pearson character. According to Deadline, Torres has landed a deal with Universal Cable Productions, which is behind Suits, to star in and produce a spin-off series focused on Pearson. The idea was pitched by Torres, and Suits creator and showrunner Aaron Korsh will also take on executive production and showrunner duties for the spinoff.
Torres, who is married to Laurence Fishburne, actually decided to depart from the USA series, which tapes in Toronto, because she reportedly wasn’t comfortable with being away from her family in Los Angeles for long shooting periods. She has since been receiving pilot opportunities and shooting Shonda Rhimes’ The Catch from LA. However, she said she would be open to traveling again to film a project she was really passionate about. To say she’s interested in this spinoff, which, again, she pitched, would be an understatement.
“I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity and the level of confidence Bonnie Hammer, Jeff Wachtel and everyone at UCP have in me and the potential of this project,” the actress said in a statement to Deadline. “Can’t wait to get started.”
Everything is still in the beginning stages so there isn’t much more information about what to expect from this new series. But what was shared was that there is a possibility that the show will be set in Chicago, where Pearson’s character moved from New York to with Jeff. Also, the show will reportedly follow Pearson into the near future, which Korsh said was Torres’s idea.
“Gina had the idea and went to the studio,” he said. “She pitched an idea of what happens if we follow Jessica into the future a little bit. She has a specific take on it that we’re still mulling over right now. They were excited about it, I was excited about it, and we decided to move forward with thinking about what it is.”
Of course, we’re excited about this news, as Jessica Pearson has always been a pretty inspiring Black female character to watch as the co-founding and former managing partner of Pearson Specter Litt. And boy could that woman dress! It will be great to see her character front and center on her own if the show is picked up by USA — and to see what she will be wearing.
Images via USA and WENN
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