When the world's a mess in almost every conceivable way, entertainment tends to hand us a comfort blanket. Post-WWII audiences turned to the silvery glow of the big screen. Now, we're warmed by a different glow - the one you get when you discover a new Netflix boxset. In a time of uncertainty, you can at least be sure about what you're going to watch for the next couple of weeks.
Enter Suits, the swaggering, walk-and-talk drama set in a New York law firm. With a backlog of 5 series and 70 episodes, it gives damn good minuteage. Here are seven more reasons why it's an ideal show for moments when the news is just too depressing.
Reality and Suits have never met
If you're trying to escape reality, you're in the right place. The people of Suits are more beautiful and much wittier than anyone you know. The chat's from the school of Aaron Sorkin (which isn't surprising - the show's creator Aaron Korsh is a huge fan). 90 per cent of scenes (give or take) end in either an ultimatum - cue swell of dramatic music. Suitsdoesn't ask you to engage with subtext; in arguments, characters say exactly what they mean, and for the avoidance of doubt, they'll say it while in a boxing ring, beating the crap out of each other. Yes, Suits is a soap opera with hot actors and a decent locations budget. That's why it works.
Trade the nipples for tailoring and there's not much to separate the two worlds. There's enough plotting and back-stabbing to make George R.R. Martin weep, and Harvey Spector Litt has seen more hostile takeovers than the Iron Throne. Plus, Varys (Conleth Hill) and Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) actually make an appearance in Seasons 2 and 3 - though admittedly in incarnations more suitable to modern-day Manhattan.
Harvey Specter is a new age philosopher
The quotable heart of it all is Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), with his spectacular expanse of forehead. His Specterisms are a handbook of platitudes for life in a dog-eat-dog world. "Sometimes the good guy's got to do bad things to make the bad guys pay", he explains. "Just like me!" you can tell yourself, as you do your own bad things, like finishing off all the office biscuits.
Suits props up the fantasy that if you "get your shit together", "have goals instead of dreams" and "break the god damn wall down" when your back's up against it, you can be Harvey Specter too. Though your forehead will never be as impressive.
The smartest guy in the room is the one who made the worst life choices
The other half of Suits' much-loved bromance, Mike Ross, gives hope to university drop-outs everywhere. He manages to make it to partner status in a top law firm (and through 4.5 seasons) without being properly called to task on the major fraud he's pedalling - he never passed the bar, nor did he go to Harvard.
Mike's the underdog; just a normal guy trying to get by. "Just like me!" you can tell yourself, as you ignore the fact that Mike has an eidetic memory, and is therefore basically superman.
When it's all going tits up, family steps up
While ostensibly Suits is about the law, the first half of Season 5 told us that in the end, all that really matters is family, not business. Which is somehow reassuring. We rummage around Harvey and Mike's backstories and discover that the firm is a lot more to them than just a place of work. As it turns out, the making of it was a family reunion too. Both Macht's father and wife cameoed in the show, and Sarah Rafferty (who plays Donna, Harvey's will-they-won't-they counterpart) was a close friend of his for 20 years before they worked together.
It's dripping in pop-culture nostalgia
Just like you, these characters communicate in endless references to their favourite TV shows. Use them to compile a must-rewatch list and block out your evenings for the next few months. Season 5 sees Mike act out a whole segment of Silence of the Lambs in some weird pre-deal foreplay with an adversary. Harvey justifies his daytime drinking with a shout-out to Mad Men and Louis (office villain-cum-fool), who "always pays his debts", calls himself a Lannister. Which only begs two questions: when do these people watch TV, and why doesn't Mike recognise Catlyn Stark when she turns up in court?
This show was made for drinking
Is Suits formulaic? Well, sure. But if you're worrying about that, then you're missing the point. And the point is, drinking games. Have a Google and take your pick, but the simplest and the best is the one we've just christened "Shot per Shit".
Much was made in beep-happy USA about the excessive use of the "s" word in Suits, but it sure does make for a merry evening. Watch this fan-made supercut for a preview.
