Episode 5, Season 5 - Toe To Toe

  Actors Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty have known each other for more than 20 years, which is a big part of the reason their characters have such amazing chemistry. But because of their “brother/sister” relationship, romantic moments between Donna and Harvey can be a little awkward. When shooting the episode’s opening dream sequence, Macht insisted on keeping Rafferty – who was lying naked in his bed – out of his line of sight until the last possible moment. Guest star Eric Close, on the other hand, made no such request.

  Director Kevin Bray has been shooting episodes of Suits from the very beginning (quite literally, as he directed the pilot) and always brings a special visual flair to the production. For Harvey’s second scene with Dr. Agard, Bray brought out a technique usually reserved for scene with actual pyrotechnics, rather than verbal ones – the jib crane. Gently swooping the camera down into the scene and around the actors, Bray creates a sense of unease as Harvey tries to regain his emotional equilibrium.

  It’s not uncommon for the writers and production design team to slip references to their own names or those of friends and family into the show; in this instance, Rachel finds a merger involving “Arkin Financial,” so named for Executive Producer Dan Arkin. Not to mention that nearly every office nameplate at PSL is named for a member of the crew. And Paula Agard, Harvey’s therapist, is also the maiden name of Showrunner Aaron Korsh’s friend – real-life clinical psychologist Paula Durlofsky, PhD. 

  Sometimes opportunities fall into the producer’s laps, like when the production office was gifted with several new photocopiers. Rather than simply use them to print scripts more quickly, the writers saw an opportunity to introduce audiences to a never-before-seen part of Pearson Specter Litt, where Donna finds Louis hiding from his troubles. In the script, the new set is referred to as the “Anton Cropper Memorial Copy Room” – in reference to our beloved Producing Director.

Louis loves his mudding. A lot. Perhaps the only thing he loves more is the thought of bringing his favorite people mudding with him, so when he learned that Donna and Rachel would be joining him for a celebratory mud, his reaction needed to be huge. In order to convey the magnitude of the moment, the stage direction in the script actually reads, “He has a heart attack and dies.”    Of course, he doesn’t actually. But wouldn’t that be a twist?