One of the stars ofBetter Call Saulauditioned forSuitsyears before theBreaking Badprequel premiered. Although bothSuitsandBetter Call Saulcould be classified as legal dramas, they couldn’t be more different.Suitswas a procedural with serialized elements, having the courtroom at its center. It’s a premise that lends itself to this style, as is the case with theupcomingSuits: L.A.that’s set to premiere on NBC on February 23. A bit darker, with a new cast, the spinoff will nonetheless follow a bit of an established formula.
Better Call Sauldid feature a number of cases and firms, but it was always more of a character study that demonstrated how the law could shift and wobble depending on the creativity and morality of the person practicing it. But it was far less interested in the specifics of the law and the day-to-day than other legal dramas, generally using it as fuel to chronicle the fall of its two lead characters. But both series could have gone down entirely different paths.
Rhea Seehorn Auditioned For Suits
Seehorn Would Go On To Play Kim Wexler
On a recent episode ofSidebar: A Suits Watchpodcast, hosts and former co-stars Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross) and Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen) interviewedSuitscasting director Bonnie Zane about her process for casting the USA Network procedural. Zane, a veteran casting director, mentioned that hundreds of people auditioned for the main roles. That includesRhea Seehorn, who tried out for Donna, years before playingBetter Call Saul’s Kim Wexler. The quote is transcribed below:
Rafferty: How many people auditioned for each role? Roughly, would you say, like, how many people did you see for the pilot?
Zane: Around 300 per role, yeah.
Rafferty: Even for like, Donna? Did you see people in person for Donna?
Zane: I did. Because I remember, like, Rhea Seehorn auditioned. I remember this day. I had, like, one day of Donnas, and then it was, ‘we got to make this out of New York’. It has to be a local hire. So they just kind of shut me down. And then it was, had to be New York. So tapes went there.
Zane does not mention specifics about Seehorn’s audition, though she does note thatthere was a desire to verify that whoever played Donna was a local hire. In any case, Seehorn missing out on the role of Donna might have been the best thing to happen toBetter Call Saul.
Our Take On Seehorn Missing Suits
It Worked Out Perfectly
The co-creators ofBetter Call Saul, Peter Gould, and Vince Gilligan,have been candid about the fact that Kim Wexler was not envisioned as a key character. But, because of what Seehorn brought to the spinoff prequel, that all changed. Seehorn would go on to get two Emmy nominations for her portrayal of Kim, and it is impossible to imagine the show being as compelling for so long without her character and the influence she had onBob Odenkirk’s Jimmy McGill. Missing out onSuitsworked out absolutely for the better.
Suits
Cast
Suits is a legal drama series that premiered in 2011, centering on Mike Ross, a college dropout with a photographic memory who lands a job at a top New York law firm despite lacking a law degree. Partnering with one of the city’s best legal closers, Harvey Specter, they navigate the challenges of high-stakes cases and firm dynamics.
