With New Law Drama, USA Network 'Suits' Up Exclusive Interview

"Powerhouse" Suits Character (myarticlezone.blogspot.com) - USA Network has been somewhat clear about its mission. It's positioned itself as the network where you can enjoy yourself without having to learn too much backstory about the show you're watching -- and yet you don't unavoidably have to check your brain at the entrance when you're watching USA's better offerings.

So, given how clear USA is in its brand, why does its new show, 'Suits' (10PM ET Thursday) feel muddled, despite some strong performances? I don't think there's anything wrong with the show's premise, which concerns two somewhat incompatible legal eagles. But the central rapport isn't as interesting -- or as central -- as it should be, nor am I definite the show's writers have a clear grasp of the kind of jeopardy that's fun to witness vicariously.

Here's the kind of jeopardy that isn't fun to spectator vicariously: Finding out whether patent paperwork was filed correctly. Variations on this situation transpire in the show's second episode, and these paper-shuffling scenes just didn't feel like they fit on the network of Hamptons docs and enterprising spy.

The hottest unique series from USA Network, kicks off tonight. The legal drama centers on one of Manhattan’s top corporate lawyers (Gabriel Macht). He hires a unbrilliant bar motivated college dropout (Patrick J. Adams) and passes him off as a lawyer to other members of the firm. Though they become a winning team, they must keep their secret from their associates to keep their jobs.

Jessica is Harvey Specter's boss at Pearson Harden and, as the weeks carry on, we'll learn supplementary and more about her background and her intentions ("the onion will be peeled," Torres teases).

We may also hear Jessica utter a naughty word or two, as Suits is edgier than most other shows on USA. That's deliberate, the actress says.

"Why piss away a 10 p.m. timeslot? We're on Thursday nights, en route for the end of the week. Everyone has build up tension from four days of work and we want them to vicariously through this heightened sense of reality."

Suits is a legal series, of route, which makes its most basic premise (court cases of the week) akin to every third show on TV. But Torres point to a "level of excellence" that separates this cast, crew and script.

"We have a fantastic cast," she says. "We have a chemistry. There's a level of excellence in how we play with each other, with the material; there's a level of merit to the material itself... you will be able to laugh, genuinely laugh. You won't be manipulated to feel anything, from sadness to humor."