‘Suits’ Star Claims Show Is ‘Arguably Responsible’ for ‘Succession'

Suits star Patrick J. Adams believes that USA’s hit procedural is “arguably responsible” for HBO’s critical darling Succession.

“Suits walked so that Succession could run,” Adams said on the latest episode of Sidebar: A Suits Rewatch Podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter), hosted by his co-star Sarah Rafferty. Adams proceeded to run through “the things that [the shows] have in common,” beginning with the presence of two key supporting actors in Suits’ pilot: Rob Yang and Dagmara Domińczyk.

“Do you know who Rob Yang was in our show?” Adams asked Rafferty. “He was the doctor in [the pilot] where he’s giving Mike the drug test. You know where else you’ve seen Rob Yang? The pilot of Succession.”

Yang appeared as Vaulter founder and CEO Lawrence Yee on six episodes of Succession. Domińczyk memorably played Karolina Novotney, Roystar’s fearsome head of PR, on the show. She also appeared in the first episode of Suits as a character named Nancy.

But Adams argues the relationship between the two shows is even further enmeshed. Kevin Bray, the Suits director and producer who is “arguably responsible for the look and vibe of” the popular show, also directed two episodes of Succession.

In addition to the shared crew behind and in front of the camera, Adams said that much like Succession, Suits is “in New York, we’re dealing with New York. Power brokers, people moving and shaking at the highest levels of New York society.”

Rafferty largely agreed with Adams’ opinion but pointed out one crucial difference. “They were sitting in a radically different place than we were at the Golden Globes,” she said. Succession won nine Golden Globes and 19 Emmys throughout its four-season run. Suits, unfortunately, was never nominated for a single Golden Globe or Emmy.

Adams conceded that this was true, if only because Succession “got to be the grown-up” to Suits’ “PG version.”

Suits ran for eight seasons between 2011 and 2019, but surged in popularity after it began streaming on Netflix in 2023, becoming the most-streamed show over one year. A reimagining of the series, Suits: L.A., is currently in production.