Jessica Pearson is back...maybe. Gina Torres has signed a deal produce and star in a Suits spinoff. The particulars of the deal are still being worked out but it seems like Jessica and her impeccable suits and coats will be back on our screen.
Torres had essentially left the original series, making an appearance at the beginning of the second half of Season 6 and then again during last night’s finale. Details on the spinoff are thin, but personally I’d love to see what she’s up to in Chicago with her sexy ass boyfriend Jeff, played by D.B. Woodside. Deadline reports:
“Gina had the idea and went to the studio. She pitched an idea of what happens if we follow Jessica into the future a little bit,” Korsh told Deadline. “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.”
The news comes on the heels of the season finale of Suits which, frankly, has been flailing a bit in Jessica’s absence. As the show’s original concept goes off the rails, it makes sense she’d want to start with a fresh-ish slate rather than simply returning.
Though she hasn’t quite gotten the full credit she deserves, Gina Torres as Jessica Pearson has remained one of the best female characters on television over the past few years. She starred as a black woman leading an elite Manhattan law firm, surrounded by cocky white men and proving herself better than all of them. Jessica is career-driven, perhaps to a fault, but never made any apologies for prioritizing her work over a traditional family. Plus, those outfits.
Torres left the series to star in an ABC drama, The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez, which ultimately wasn’t picked up by the network.
Originally, Suits show runner Aaron Korsh wanted to kill off Jessica Pearson and thank god he didn’t make that boneheaded move. Korsh also adds that the door is still open for future Gina Torres appearances in the 7th season of Suits. Either way, the world needs more Jessica Pearson.