Episode 9, Season 5 - Uninvited Guests

  Suits rarely utilizes “inserts” – close-up shots that emphasize props. However, in the event that they do appear clearly enough to be legible, every scrap of paper must be filled out with relevant names and information (anyone keeping track of all the file folders being thrown around knows that means a lot of paper.) Although barely glimpsed on-screen, Rachel and Mike’s wedding announcement is anything but gibberish. Modeled after the New York Times “Vows” section, it includes the couple’s work history, Rachel’s dream of having her wedding on her birthday, and a mention of Mike’s parents – Nina and James Ross – “deceased and fondly remembered.”

  Harvey’s relationship with Dominic Barone goes way back – all the way back to the third episode of Suits season one, in which Harvey helped Barone take the reins of McKernon Motors (and actor Titus Welliver became one of Suits’ very first guest stars.) In the years since, Welliver has kept very busy: he has had major recurring roles on series such as CSI, White Collar and The Last Ship, and most recently landed the title role on Bosch.

  “Intercutting” is the editorial practice of jumping between simultaneous scenes, such as the dual negotiations between Harvey and Jonathan Sidwell, and Mike and Tony Gianopolous. Rather than only shooting the parts of the scenes that would wind up in the final cut, the actors were given identical scripts (with the names flipped) and filmed the entire scene. That way, the editor had the freedom find the best spots to jump seamlessly between them.

  Mike and Harvey are known for their non-stop pop culture references, always on the same page when it comes to movies, music and sports; Louis, on the other hand, has virtually no cultural overlap with his colleagues. Louis comparing Benjamin in the I.T. department to C. Everett Koop – the U.S. Surgeon General under Ronald Reagan – is the kind of remark that may go over some viewers’ heads… and it’s supposed to. It certainly goes over Benjamin’s.

  Sometimes when a specific type of location isn’t available, the production team has to get a little creative. Toronto’s Fire and Emergency Services Training Institute served as a stand-in for the minimum security holding Charles Forstman – although the producers weren’t able to think of a realistic use for the “confined space maze” or the rescue tower. By comparison, a car factory is tougher to fake, and Harvey’s scene at McKernon Motors utilized the real workshop space at the University of Ontario’s Automotive Center of Excellence.