15 shows to watch if you love Suits

Suits is one of the best legal shows out there, but there are more to enjoy for fans of the series!

Suits has been one of the bigger TV success stories of the last few years. The original series ran on USA Network from 2011 to 2019, a great run that made it a huge rating smash. In 2023, the series hit Netflix and soon rocketed to the top of the viewing charts. That’s led to plans for a new revival series on NBC.

The show rests on the fun of the legal antics combined with great character work, such as the romances and fun banter of the characters. It joins a long list of legal dramas, many of them classic stuff like Law & Order centering on major cases. Yet others are fun in how they have a mix of great characters, sometimes offbeat cases and even some humor. If you’re a fan of Suits, these 15 legal shows should be next on your binge list!

Pearson

To start with an obvious pick, anyone who liked Gina Torres on Suits will want to check out her spinoff. The series has Jessica Pearson moving back to her home in Chicago, where she becomes a high-priced “fixer” involved with the mayor. Jessica is soon drawn into a crime that could create a scandal that could tear apart the city. 

Some may be annoyed at how the show changes Jessica into an Olivia Pope-like character with a harder edge. Yet Torres remains captivating in the role and fun exploring more of Jessica’s past. It only lasted one season, yet any Suits viewer will want to check out this continuation. 

Pearson available to buy on You Tube.

Matlock

This new CBS hit has a lot of appeal for Suits fans. Oscar-winner Kathy Bates plays Madeline “Matty” Matlock, who notes she has the same name as the character of the 1980s TV show. She joins a law firm where her skills are sharp and aided by how her age makes it easy to overlook her and gain information.

That would be a good enough setup, but the pilot ends with a fantastic twist no one saw coming. Giving it away would be a spoiler, yet it shows a great secret of Matty’s on par with Mike not being a lawyer. The series has already been renewed for Season 2 so it’s a good time to jump on board with Bates having one of her best roles in years as a lawyer who always surprises you.

Matlock airs Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS. 

The Practice

This long-running ABC hit put David E. Kelly on the map as a top TV writer/producer. It focuses on a Boston law firm that handles anything from criminal trials to civil suits and the lawyers willing to skirt a few rules to get a win. It has a great cast of Dylan McDermott, Kelli Williams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Steve Harris and Emmy-winning turns from Camryn Manheim and Michael Badalucco. 

A two-time Best Drama Series Emmy winner, the show could be quite dark and powerful while asking major ethical questions about the law. The cast had turnover yet remained top-notch and the last season introduced James Spader as Alan Shore to close it out on a fine note. Plus, the fantastic guest stars (including Emmy-winning turns from Michael Emerson, Holland Taylor, and Sharon Stone) made this a terrific law show.

The Practice available to buy on Apple TV+

Boston Legal

This spinoff of The Practice has Alan Shore (James Spader) joining a new law firm to handle unique cases. While the original show was a drama, this could be more a comedy with often outlandish cases yet still addressing some notable social issues. It also boasted a fine cast of some now bigger names like Julie Bowen, Lake Bell, Taraji P. Henson and veterans like Candice Bergen, John Larroquette and Betty White.

The big name was William Shatner, who revived his career and won two Emmys as Denny Crane, the wildly eccentric lawyer who always brought laughs with his scenes. The show often broke the rules (and the fourth wall) in its five-season run, with the actors always stellar to make it a delightful show whose spirit can appeal to Suits fans.

Boston Legal streaming on Hulu

Ally McBeal 

Wrapping it up with one more David E. Kelly legal show is this wildly offbeat hit. Calista Flockhart stars in the title role of a lawyer who joins a firm where her ex-love (Gil Bellows) works alongside his wife (Courtney Thorne Smith). The show is notable for the strange cases Ally handles as well as her hallucinations, like the infamous “dancing baby.” 

The show does get better as it goes with a great supporting cast of Jane Karkowski, Lucy Liu, Portia DeRossi, Peter MacNicol and even Robert Downey Jr. The legal stuff can often be second to the soap opera stuff, yet Flockhart remains a compelling lead for one of the more unusual legal shows to enjoy.

Ally McBeal streaming on Hulu

The Good Wife

This CBS hit remains a great watch. It opens with Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) rocked when her politician husband (Chris Noth) resigns after an affair scandal. Alicia goes to work for a law firm while also dealing with the difficult Chicago politics. The supporting cast is highlighted by Archie Panjabi as investigator Kalinda, who, along with Marguiles, won an Emmy for her turn.

The show has some big shifts for Alicia that often have her at war with her own colleagues with Marguiles turning in probably her best TV performance. The legal cases are good, but it’s more fun seeing the inner politics of the firm at work, and the often very steamy romances can make it easy fodder for Suits fans. 

The Good Wife streaming on Paramount+.

The Good Fight

This spinoff of The Good Wife has much of the same cast with an even wilder direction. After losing all her money in a Ponzi scheme, Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) has to join an all-black law firm in Chicago. This show is more culturally relevant, often touching on the major events of 2017-2021 from politics to the pandemic and never backing away from slamming some famous folks. 

The fine cast, from Delroy Lindo to Cash Jumbo, provides a real spark, yet it’s still amazing to see how relevant the show remains. The cases ranged from dead-serious to wildly comedic, but given how crazy the world can be, it’s not as outlandish as it once seemed. It’s more interesting to watch now for a legal show unlike others of its time.

The Good Fight streaming on Paramount+.

The Lincoln Lawyer

This Netflix hit adapts and expands on the John Grisham novels. Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is a lawyer who earned his nickname for driving around in a Lincoln Navigator. Each season has MIckey handling one large case, often involving a client on trial for murder. He mixes it with smaller pro bono cases aided by his assistant (Becki Newton), who’s one of his ex-wives, while the other (Neve Campbell) is a prosecutor.

The show can shift directions from a light-hearted case to Mickey in serious danger as he has a habit of rubbing people the wrong way. Each season is better than the previous one, so whether it’s the main mystery or the side cases, Suits fans will enjoy this a lot.

The Lincoln Lawyer streaming on Netflix

Damages

Already established as a legendary movie actress, Glen Close proved she could dominate TV in this FX series. Close won two Emmys for her turn as Patty Hewes, a powerful and ruthless lawyer. Rose Byrne had her breakout role as Ellen Parsons, Patty’s protegee, with each season exploring the odd relationship between the duo as they handled cases. They included anything from going after a powerful corporation to a Bernie Madoff-style crook to military contractors.

The guest stars for each season are fantastic, with Ted Danson and Martin Short turning in shockingly great dramatic turns and more from Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Timothy Olyphant, John Goodman, and more. It’s always Close and Byrne who make it watchable all the way to the unique finale and every season among the best legal dramas around.

Damages streaming on Hulu

Fairly Legal

This short-lived but fun USA Network show is a spin on the legal drama. Kate Reed (Sarah Shahi) is a former lawyer turned mediator who works at the law firm founded by her late father. Kate has to report to the new boss, her stepmother, who happens to be her age. Kate also has occasional hookups with her estranged D.A. husband (Michael Turrco), which can get pretty steamy. 

The show has a nice humor, and Shahi is delightful as Kate, who learns her dad wasn’t so perfect. The cases can be offbeat and interesting how Kate rarely goes into court herself while handling things in fairness to everyone. While lasting just two seasons, it was a good companion to Suits on the USA Network to make it a good watch as well. 

Fairly Legal streaming on Fandango

Goliath

This Prime Video series is a bit darker than other shows on this list but a great watch, thanks to star Billy Bob Thornton. He plays Billy McBride, once a highly successful lawyer. But when a man he got acquitted of murder killed an entire family, the guilt-ridden Billy quit. Now a broken alcoholic, Billy is drawn into defending a poor client, which has him going up against his former firm. 

The show can be dark at times but Thornton is wonderful in the lead role of this flawed man trying to redeem himself. The later seasons have Billy tangling with the LAPD, a military contractor, and others with great guest stars like J.K. Simmons, Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, and more. Whatever the case, Thornton’s performance makes it all come together for a compelling series.

Goliath streaming on Prime Video

Reasonable Doubt

This underrated Hulu series has a lot to appeal to Suits fans. Emayatzy Corinealdi plays Jacqueline “Jax” Stewart, a high-priced defense attorney who balances her job with being a mother and estranged from her husband. She’s a morally ambiguous figure, as proven by how she spends the first season defending a millionaire accused of a brutal crime just for publicity. 

The show has a lot of very steamy material with Jax and others and the main murder case is a wild one. Season 2 has a new case that digs deeper into Jax and addresses issues from race to social media to the struggles a working mom faces. It’s slipped under the radar for many viewers yet deserves a watch as a great legal soap drama. 

Reasonable Doubt streaming on Hulu

Family Law

This Canadian series, which airs on the CW, rests on a lead character that’s hard to root for but fun to watch. Jewel Staite plays Abigail (Abby) Bianchi, a lawyer who gets into a drunken action in court after learning her husband was cheating on her. To earn her way back, she has to work at a firm run by her estranged father (Victor Garber) which includes working with the half-siblings she’s never known. 

The legal cases are good, involving families often in moral dilemmas. Abby herself is a fascinating character, often selfish and refusing to see her flaws, skirting the rules yet you feel for her trying to rebuild her life and family. The family dynamics are also fascinating to watch as all the relatives get into some unique drama. It’s not a cookie-cutter legal show, which makes it more entertaining. 

Family Law streaming on CWTV

Burden of Truth

Another Canadian drama that aired on the CW, this show begins with Joanna Change (Kristen Kreuk) heading to her hometown to represent a corporation sued over the poisoning of town residents. But as Joanna investigates, she realizes she’s on the wrong side, so she switches to file a class action suit, meaning she has to go up against the firm’s founder…her own father.

Kreuk is a fine lead, and Joanna slowly rises up as a lawyer fighting for the underdogs. Each season has her in a new storyline with a fun bond with a local attorney (Peter Mooney) that becomes romantic as it goes on. It’s also compelling to watch Joanna handle the town residents, and there is a surprise connection there, so its four-season run is a good personal legal show to binge on.

Burden of Truth streaming on Hulu

L.A. Law

To wrap it up is the show that paved the way for all the other series on this list. This 1986-94 NBC smash was a legal show like no other, pushing network boundaries in adult content while offering a mix of fun cases. Hot-button issues abound, several of which still work today with episodes ranging from deep drama to flat-out comedy. 

The cast is one of the best any network show of the time could ask for with Susan Dey, Blair Underwood, Jimmy Smits, Alan Rachins, Harry Hamlin, Larry Drake and many more. That’s without the score of future famous faces as guest stars from Kathy Bates to Lucy Liu. It was water-cooler TV of the time and still ranks as one of the best legal shows ever. 

L.A. Law streaming on Prime Video