Suits has established itself as one of the most popular legal dramas over its past five seasons.
Heading into its sixth season next month, fans will have the opportunity to brush up on the latest season with the Blu-ray and DVD release of season 5 on Monday 6th June 2016.
The fifth season of the show is a bit of a game changer with the very real threat of Mike’s (Patrick J. Adams) secret coming out and ruining the entire firm. Is time finally running out for the plucky pretend lawyer?
To celebrate the release I caught up with Rick Hoffman who plays fan favourite Louis Litt on the show.
If you havenāt seen the fifth season yet and want to avoid spoilers, we suggest you proceed with caution as key plot details from the season are discussed.
During our chat we talked about the complex nature of Louisā character, Rickās love of working with his co-star Sarah Rafferty who plays Donna, and I tried to get some information out of him about season 6.
Season 5 has been pretty complex in terms of your character Louis. Whatās it like to play such a complicated character?
(laughs) First of all Iāll start off by telling you if any actor complains about this type of experience, find a new job! I donāt necessarily think this (season) is (his) most complex. I would say when he found out about Mikeās lie that was (his most complex) for him personally. For the firmā¦absolutely this season. Louis was sort of a utility guy to put out fires until it turns out it was his ex-girlfriend that tipped off Gibbs. Now heās been pushed back into it but I think every season there is some unbelievable conflict that he has to overcome. Every year itās like āhow the hell am I going to do this as an actor? How the hell am I going to accomplish what they want me to accomplish?ā Itās scary as hell, challenging as hell and then more times as not rewarding as hell when I feel like Iām proud of whatās been done.
You do a really fantastic job of making Louis likeable even though heās done plenty of unlikeable things over the years. How do you bring that humanity to the character?
I think itās Aaron Korsh and the writers that have really built the dimensions of this guy starting off as this one level douche bag and transitioning him very slowly in to someone who is insightful to some degree and reflective. Heās evolved the most out of the six characters over the five seasons and yet heās still broken. Itās an interesting type to watch. Itās hard at times to watch and at other times itās insanely engaging. The mudding is ridiculous. Who the hell does that?
Where did the idea that Louis enjoys mudding come from?
I forget which writer it was but somebody came up with this whole hilarious hobby.
Itās a total Louis thing to do though isnāt it? You can believe thatās what he enjoys doing.
It is Louis! That, cats and the balletā¦ballet isnāt too far out there but the whole cat obsession combined with mudding, thatās just like a 1-2 punch that makes you go āwow this is whack-a-doodleā.
In season 5 we get to see a lot more of the relationship between Louis and Donna. Whatās it like for you to get to work with Sarah Rafferty a lot more this season?
When we found out we were going to be working together more, Sarah and I were both like āthis is greatā because weāre used to doing a lot of those comedic scenes. It was a very different dynamic this season because it was all serious. We were off in our expectations of the type of fun (weād have). Itās a little bit of a different process when weāre doing dramatic scenes. We were just used to laughing a lot together. Itās always my most favourite moments of these past few years working with Sarah but the process this past seasonā¦I think we just wanted to just have a party together but we actually had to use different parts of our brain (laughs) so itās a different type of feeling. In terms of comfort, we talk in short hand together. I canāt tell you how great it is for actors who enjoy what they do to work together for a long period of time. Itās this experience of peak happiness that I just canāt describe.
Weāve got to learn more about Louisās family this season with the introduction of his sister. Can we expect further exploration of his family in season 6?
Well we loved Amy Acker who played his sister. Knowing Aaron he loves to use the actors from the past so thatās not out of the question. The two actors that played my parents are actually my real parents and theyāve been used twice (laughs). Iām not sure if heāll be Skyping them this year. He has two parents and a sister so weāll see. I donāt know what elseā¦maybe something like an illegitimate child (laughs), I donāt know whatās going on with him and his family. Thereāll be a lot more fun coming up in the next season for Louis, a lot more comedic scenes ā that Iāve been told.
Should fans hold out any hope for Louis and Sheila?
If I tell you anything right now depending on where people are in the seasonā¦.let me just say itās dim. Where theyāre going right now ā he wants children, she doesnāt ā thereās the trial thatās caused a tremendous wedge and I donāt know if they can put the pieces back. Iām not sure if they will.
This season has really changed the show in terms of Mikeās secret finally coming out. Should we expect a pretty big change going into season 6?
Hereās what I can tell you. I will say if youāre a fan of this show, the ones who have watched from the beginning, you will not be let down with this season (season 5) and now I know something about the next you definitely wonāt be left down.
Is there a storyline youād like to see happen for Louis that hasnāt been explored on the show yet?
Me personally, Iād like to see Louis do some business in the Caribbean. Preferably Anguilla for about 10 days, maybe hooked on frozen drinks and getting a nice tan while doing business.
Youāve thought about that havenāt you?
Iāve thought about that for a very long time!
You mentioned before that you and Sarah always have a great time working together. It feels like itās a tight knit cast and crew on the show. Is that true and do you still have fun 6 years in?
Yeah, Iāve heard it recently on Twitter with people saying āyou guys make it funā like they want to be there. When I was younger I used to see certain movies and it just looked like everybody was having so much fun. Weāve been together now 5 years, and obviously everyone has their stuff, but weāre like a family. We have a legitimate amount of fun doing it. Weāre all committed. I donāt knowā¦that whole clichĆ© about āeverybody loves each otherā but look there are moments where Meghan (Markle) wants to rip my face off (laughs). Sheās like my little sister! Thereās a genuine respect for each other and we all like each other. Thereās none of that weird bullshit you hear about in other casts.
Suits Season 5 is available on Blu-ray and DVD from 6th June 2016, courtesy of Universal Pictures (UK)