Episode 8, Season 5 - Mea Culpa

  When it comes to depicting injuries to characters, there is a fine line between realistic and over-the-top. Although it was important for the audience to see how painful Louis’s battered face was, the makeup department used a light touch so the bruising wouldn’t distract from Rick Hoffman’s performance. It was also crucial for the bruise to linger throughout the episode as a reminder of Louis’s fight with Harvey – which required patiently photographing and replicating an already lengthy makeup process.

  Guest star Troian Bellisario reprises her role as Claire, after her introduction in the Season Four episode “Fork in the Road.” Bellisario comes from television royalty – her father Donald P. Bellisario has created such successful series as Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap and NCIS. Troian has appeared in a number of those series (including a role opposite her real-life stepbrother Sean Murray in NCIS) but her current role as a star of Pretty Little Liars has truly catapulted her to fame and acclaim.

  Troian Bellisario and Suits start Patrick J. Adams are engaged in real life, which helped bring an extra spark to their first on-screen meeting in Season Four. In this episode, the writers saw an exciting opportunity to pit Mike’s fictional fiancée against Patrick’s real one. But rather than play those scenes for jealousy, the writers thought a curveball was in order: why not surprise audience with an entirely different kind of tension – one that endangers Mike and his secret?

  Claire’s office is situated in Toronto’s Bay Adelaide Centre, home of real-world law firm Fasken Martineau. Suits has long used Downtown Toronto to stand in for Midtown Manhattan, because of their similar architecture and urban streetscape. The production uses a combination of aerial footage, stages with backdrops, and extreme attention to detail – from NYC-correct street signs and yellow cabs, all the way down to the metal strips on the curbs – to complete the illusion.

  Suits employs a rotating roster of rock-star episodic directors, some of whom have been behind the lens since season one. This week marks the first Suits episode by Australian director Kate Dennis. Kate has a long list of series credits in Australia and the UK (including Rake and Secrets & Lies, both of which have been adapted into series in the US), and she is now making a big splash stateside.