‘Suits’ and ‘White Collar’ were two of the most successful shows ever produced by USA Network, so much that it never really recovered in the rating game after their end. Is it time for the network to bring back the two popular shows to compete with hit shows on other networks?
Launched in 1977, USA Network is an American basic cable channel and is one of the four subscription-television networks there. Over the years, it has increasingly gained popularity for its original programmes and, as of 2018, is available to around 90.4 million households in the US. Some of its most popular shows include ‘Monk’, ‘White Collar’, ‘Psych’, ‘Suits’, ‘Covert Affairs’, ‘Shooter’, ‘Burn Notice’, ‘Royal Pains‘, and ‘Mr. Robot’.
USA Network must revive its two best shows – ‘Suits’ and ‘White Collar’
However, if we talk about these shows in terms of overall success, ‘Suits’ (2011-19) and ‘White Collar’ (2009-14) are way above the rest considering their domestic ratings and international popularity. The current line-up of shows on the channel is doing decently but has not had the same impact as former shows. So, is it time for USA Network to revive ‘Suits’ and ‘White Collar’ to get back in the rating game?
Highlights —
- ‘Suits’: The iconic legal drama with pizazz
- ‘White Collar’: The action-packed story of a con-man
- Is reviving the two shows the only way of resuscitating USA Network?
‘Suits’: The iconic legal drama with pizazz
Created and written by Aaron Korsh, ‘Suits’ was a legal drama that went on for 9 successful seasons. The series was one of the most-watched American shows internationally and was even remade in Japan and Korea. ‘Suits‘ revolved around Harvey Spector (Gabriel Macht), a hot-shot lawyer in the fictional New York City law firm, who hires Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a college dropout with a photographic memory, as an associate in his firm, despite him not having a law degree. The series also starred Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty, and Gina Torres in pivotal roles.
The series received positive reviews throughout its run from both critics and viewers. It made superstars out of its cast members and gave USA Network solid ratings and loyal viewership. It finally came to an end last year much to the disappointment of its fans.
‘White Collar’: The action-packed story of a con-man
Matt Bomer starred as the brilliant con artist Neal Caffrey in Jeff Eastin’s police procedural drama ‘White Collar’. The show told the story of how FBI Special Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) recruited Caffrey, who he had previously thrown in jail, as a consultant to catch wrongdoers involved in white-collar crimes as part of a work-release program. The multi-camera series co-starred Willie Garson, Marsha Thomason, Tiffani Thiessen, Natalie Morales, Hilarie Burton, and Sharif Atkins in important roles.
‘White Collar’ opened to rave reviews from the critics and a striking viewership of 5.40 million people. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 100% with the consensus reading, “Featuring clever plotting and outstanding chemistry between its leads, ‘White Collar’ is a witty, briskly-paced, caper series.” The series also found success internationally and has been broadcasted in around 40 countries worldwide. The series was cancelled after 6 seasons in 2014.
Is reviving the two shows the only way of resuscitating USA Network?
The current dramas on USA Network are ‘Queen of the South‘ (2016), ‘The Sinner‘ (2017), and ‘Dirty John‘ (2020), but none of their ratings is even remotely close to the explosive ratings seen by its former shows. So, is the only solution bringing back ‘Suits’ and ‘White Collar’?
Well, bringing both the series back would definitely boost the viewership of the channel since fans really want to see their favourite stars back together on the small screens. But is a revival in the plans right now? The cast of ‘White Collar’ recently had a mini-reunion for a charity event in March 2020 and teased that the series is in very early stages of conceptualization. Bomer said, “There is nothing I would want than to be on a set with this group of people again. There are real conversations happening. There seems to be a lot of excitement about it”.
Even though there is no news of renewing ‘Suits’ for another season, Patrick J. Adams in an interview with “Collider” on October 13th, 2020 revealed that he was open to doing a movie reboot of the hit show with co-star Meghan Markle.
He said,
“I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to the idea. I love each and every one of those people dearly and we had a lot of fun together. It would be interesting, for sure, to see what it would be like now that we’ve all had a big, long break, to see what new energies come into it and new ideas”
Do you think USA Network should revive the two shows? What do you think the revivals will look like? Write to us in the comments section below.
