'Suits' Patrick J. Adams and Sarah Rafferty Say New Rewatch Podcast Will Help Them 'Get Present' on Their Experience
Suits was one of the biggest shows on USA, running for nine seasons after premiering in the summer of 2011. However, it became a global phenomenon during the summer of 2023 when the first eight seasons of the show hit Netflix and introduced the show to the entire world.
When the "Suits renaissance" started, the series stars and creators weren't really able to enjoy it because they were taking part in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Hollywood strikes. Little did everyone know, prior to Suits taking over the world, series stars Patrick J. Adams and Sarah Rafferty were in talks to launch a "watch" podcast for the series–so dubbed because Adams had never watched the show prior to signing on to the podcast.
"I had never watched the show. So it just seemed crazy to me that I would ever do [a podcast] because watching myself was really, really hard," Adams told Parade in a recent interview. "The more I thought about it, the more I questioned that instinct of myself that didn't want to do it. And I thought usually that's a good sign that there's something that needs to be done if you have that much resistance to it. The more I realized that I was fighting it, the more I thought this might actually be really good for me."
The duo announced that the podcast would be called Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast during the show's celebratory panel at ATX earlier this summer, and now SiriusXM has announced that the podcast will officially debut on September 24.
According to Adams, the podcast isn't just an opportunity to see the show for the first time but also to process the experience and be able to open up about filming it in a way that he never has before.
"It seems over time as the more we started to do it, the more I realize it's an opportunity to get into some of the stuff that was hard about the show, the challenges of making the show that we're still discovering," he explained. "It is the beginning of a conversation. What is 130 hours of a podcast if you get so lucky to do that? It's a very long conversation with somebody you have a lot to talk about."
His co-host Rafferty agrees, adding that the conversation will evolve as new people come on. She's most excited about how making the podcast will give her a new perspective on making the show.
"The conversation is going to keep changing depending on who joins us and where we are in the world or how we respond to what comes up and how we're processing what we're watching," she said. "I wasn't really able to be present with Suits while we were filming Suits...I had really little kids. We were living in two places. It was very hectic. I wasn't somebody who yet understood that I needed to work on becoming more present in something. The process of doing this with Patrick is an attempt to get present and actually feel and embody how grateful we are for the opportunity and how amazing this is. Hopefully, it's a way to give back to our fans who have made the whole thing possible."
The pair are ready to dig into things they haven't thought about since making the show and share behind-the-scenes secrets with listeners. While they say they aren't going to say anything controversial, the podcast is a space for them to be more honest about what it was like making the show than they ever were when they were being interviewed about it.
Related: A Suits Movie Could Happen and 5 Other Revelations From the Show's Reunion Panel at ATX TV Festival
"When you're doing a show and it's on, you're really handcuffed a bit. You're given a parameter about how you talk about it because you're still selling a product. Anytime you go out, we have to be very careful. Not that you would say anything crazy anyway, but you can't just totally be off the cuff. You are there to sell the show to the world and continue to sell it," Adams elaborated. "This is an opportunity to talk about it. Again, there's no controversy. We're not looking to be controversial, but we can just be free to talk about whatever, and it is long-format. It's not a 10-minute or 20-minute interview with people. It's just us getting to sit and process what has been the most enormous thing that's ever happened to our professional lives, and, in a lot of ways, our personal lives."
Gina Torres, who played firm boss Jessica Pearson, and series creator Aaron Korsh are among the first season confirmed guests. But Rafferty and Adams say the door is open to every Suits contributor, whether they were part of the show in front of the camera or behind the scenes. That includes Meghan Markle, who played Rachel Zane, Adams' love interest on the show for seven seasons.
"We've invited every single person involved [in the show] and told them however they want to show up and be part of the podcast, we will honor it and welcome it," Adams stated. "Obviously, [Meghan] is a trickier thing, and we really hope she wants to. It would be amazing to chat, but it's everyone's call how comfortable they are."
"If they want to come, we want them to come," Rafferty added. "We will bend over backward for every single person on that."
Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast premieres September 24 on SiriusXM. All nine seasons of the series are available to stream on Netflix and Peacock.
Next, Suits Cast: Where Are They Now? Find Out What the Actors Have Been Up to Since the Show Ended.
