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Suits' Patrick J. Adams Reveals the One Word that Guided Mike & Harvey's Friendship
Patrick J. Adams is opening up about the best bromance in TV history, Mike Ross and Harvey Specter on Suits.
Where would the genius rogue Mike Ross be without the powerful attorney Harvey Specter to keep his secrets? The friendship between the two characters on the hit series Suits is charming — and complicated. It’s rare to see two arrogant, super-ambitious male characters have an endearing appreciation for each other.
Turns out, for Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht, the connection was far from an act. The two stayed close when the cameras stopped rolling, which is probably why they were such a compelling duo on screen. Adams recently opened up about the dynamic that guided their characters and why Mike Ross was actually good for Harvey.
Why Suits was one of the best buddy dramas on TV
Suits has seen nearly every type of relationship, some toxic, some touching, and some ride or die, like the one between Mike and Harvey. According to Adams, reason why their friendship on Suits worked all boils down to one word: Mentorship.
“It is a relationship that is the truest version of mentorship, which is not a dynamic that I think I can really remember seeing a lot, or being so foundational to a show on television,” Adams recently revealed during an interview with the “The Hollywood Reporter.”
The series wisely set up a power imbalance between Ross and Harvey, allowing the audience to enjoy the beginnings of the unlikely friendship between a law school dropout with a photographic memory and a hard-charging partner at the firm.
“Mentorship is complicated,” reflected Adams. “Obviously, there’s a power dynamic. ‘You’re in charge, and I want to learn everything you have to teach me, but I’m also my own person and I’m going to do it my own way, and you have to respect that. But we also have to learn where I’ve stepped outside the boundaries and I’m making mistakes that you’re trying to keep me from making.”
Mike Ross offered more than just headaches for Harvey Specter
As a veteran attorney, Harvey did everything in his power to keep his clever protégé out of trouble and his fraudulent credentials under wraps until Mike was arrested and escorted straight to prison. But Adams insisted in the interview that his character helped soften up Harvey in return.
“It’s more than just friendship. We’re not just getting beers together. We have a common purpose: 'You’re trying to help me to be better at what I want to do, and in the process I probably have something to teach you and soften your heart a little bit,' which is part of [what Mike did for] Harvey,” he explained.
As with all mentor-protégé relationships, there’s some amount of tension and conflict, but things never got ugly between the two. It just got better and better as the series progressed, and Mike’s character distinguished himself from “that guy,” as Adams put it, “the suave, debonair closer, kicking ass and taking names.”
“As we’ve seen, he’s like an icon now,” said Adams. “I think some young men would want to be Harvey Specter… I don’t think Mike wants to be that. I want to be cool, to have nice suits, and to be able to do my job well, but I’m actually not interested in being the greatest closer in New York. I can embrace not needing to be the coolest guy in the room,” he said, adding, “It’s not my North Star. It’s your North Star. I’m not just trying to be you; I’m trying to be the best version of me that you can help me be.”
In an age of cutthroat competition and “toxic masculinity”— when that term seems to be everywhere — Suits offered a refreshing portrayal of male friendship. Sure, Mike and Harvey demolished opponents in court, but they became thick as thieves along the way.
Fans are eager to see what new friendships (and bromances) develop on Suits: L.A., the upcoming spinoff series. Suits: L.A. does not have a premiere date yet, but you can put yourself in a legal mood by watching all nine seasons of the original Suits on Peacock.
Watch all episodes of Suits exclusively on Peacock.
