It's time to suit up for season seven!
Patrick J. Adams is ready to suit up for season seven!
Suits returns Wednesday night with the premiere of a brand-new season and later this summer, on August 30, the hit USA drama will celebrate its 100th episode, directed by Mike Ross himself.
Adams, who has previously directed four episodes of Suits, admitted that while he was excited to take the helm of such a momentous episode, he didn't originally realize what he was signing up for.
"I fought for it because it was the eighth episode of the season and that happens to be the one that usually works best," Adams explained to ET at the ATX Television Festival last month in Austin, Texas. "I didn’t know that it was the 100th episode. Then [the Suits executive producers] called me and went, 'You know you're asking to direct the 100th episode, right?'"
The 38-year-old actor continued, "And I started to back away from it and think, 'Whoa, whoa -- maybe somebody else should do that [episode]? I shouldn’t do that.' And then I took a second to think about it and I said, 'Actually, no -- I think I'm ready to do that if you guys would let me,' and they let me."
Sarah Rafferty, who plays the always-spunky Donna Paulsen, dished that it's a treat when one of her Suits co-stars steps behind the camera for a change.
"It's great when our cast mates get to direct us because you really feel like we have a shorthand with each other," she explained. "We know each other so well and we trust each other as actors so much, so when they put their director hat on, that kind of trust really goes right into that role too."
Speaking of roles, for the very first time in Suits history, Mike Ross is no longer playing the part of a lawyer -- now he's officially a legitimate attorney at Pearson Specter Litt.
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"I enjoyed for him having to fake it for a long time. It was part of what made the show fun, but it is nice to have the show grow beyond that now and have him be a full-fledged legitimate lawyer," Adams revealed. "Now we get to figure out what new things we get to throw in his path that will sort of trip him up, but for the time being, it's nice to have [the lies] gone."
So what types of challenges will Mike face in season seven? "I think, for Mike, he's struggling to really figure out what he wants to do," Adams answered.
Gabriel Macht, who plays Mike's mentor and best friend, Harvey Specter, explained that season seven is going to be a balancing act for the pair's newfound working relationship.
"[Harvey and Mike] have this deal where it's one for him -- one pro bono case for [Mike] -- and one corporate case for us," Macht said. "We're going to see how he manifests some drama because he's going to sort of make that all explode in our faces."
Adams admitted that this season, Mike is acting "a little foolish" in thinking that he'll be able to "perfectly balance" his one-for-one agreement with Harvey, but it makes for great on-screen drama.
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"There's always tension, but it's those conflicts and that tension that always makes their friendship even deeper, I think," Adams said. "Every season, there's been the bromance, the love between the two because they're like brothers, but that wouldn’t mean anything if you didn’t put that to the test every now and then."
"So yes, [Harvey and Mike's friendship] will get tested this year," Adams concluded. "Yes, it will get tested in some familiar ways and some new ways, but I think the fun of the show is watching how they recover from those tests and come back even stronger."
Suits' seventh season premieres Wednesday, July 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on USA.