Naman Shrestha
‘Suits,’ which is created by Aaron Korsh, is a legal drama series that follows a successful and competent corporate lawyer named Harvey Specter and a brilliant college dropout named Mike Ross who, with the help of his photogenic memory and without a law degree, manages to land a job as Harvey’s associate. Keeping Mike’s secret in the dark, Harvey and him keep winning lawsuits and closing cases in their favor. At the same time, Harvey’s team also faces betrayal time and again, which means the duo must keep their secret from everyone, including managing partner Jessica as well as Harvey’s arch-rival Louis, whose only objective seems to be making Mike’s life a living hell.
Starring Gabriel Macht, Rick Hoffman, Sarah Rafferty, Meghan Markle, Katherine Heigl, Dulé Hill, and more, the lawyer show unfolds in New York City as the iconic skyscrapers regularly feature through the windows of Pearson Darby Specter office, which is the law firm where Harvey and his team work. Since most of the show includes interior shots, the viewers are bound to wonder if it was shot in NYC or elsewhere. Well, if you are one such curious soul, we have got you covered!
Suits Filming Locations
‘Suits’ is filmed in Ontario and New York, specifically in Toronto and New York City. Principal photography for the inaugural iteration of the legal series reportedly commenced in late April 2011 and wrapped up in August 2011. Meanwhile, shooting for the final season began in April 2019 and concluded in August of the same year. Now, let’s not waste any time and find out all about the specific locations where the scenes based around the Pearson Hardman law offices are shot!
Toronto, Ontario
Although the series is set in New York City, a majority of the shooting takes place in Toronto. The main reason why the production team chose the capital of Ontario as the primary production location is that it offers tax breaks for the shows that are shot there. Bay Adelaide Centre at 333 Bay Street serves as the exterior of the Pearson Darby Specter, which features heavily on a number of establishing shots, exterior shots, and some shots of the lobby.
As for the interior scenes of the New York City-based law offices, they are lensed in an old warehouse at Downsview Park, 40 Carl Hall Road in Toronto. The filming unit constructs sets in order to represent the NYC law offices while decorating the set windows with numerous murals and backdrops of the Big Apple. Moreover, a penthouse at 20 Stewart Street, near King and Bathurst streets, stands in for Harvey’s apartment in ‘Suits.’
The lobby scene involving Harvey and Jones DeBeque meeting with Daniel Vega and Vega’s lawyer Dana Scott in the hotel was actually taped at an actual hotel, that is, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel on 181 Wellington Street West. In another scene, Fairmont Royal York at 100 Front Street West was featured as a hotel’s lobby where one of McKernon Motors’ board meetings was held in the series. Throughout the series, numerous eateries in Toronto serve as prominent production locations, including Cloud Gardens at 14 Temperance Street (temporarily closed), Crepe It Up at 91 Front Street East, Hy’s Steak House & Cocktail Bar at 365 Bay Street, Luma at 350 King Street West 2nd Floor REITMAN SQUARE, and Bymark at 66 Wellington Street West.
Various other establishments also feature in ‘Suits,’ such as Richmond-Adelaide Centre in the Financial District, Roy Thomson Hall at 60 Simcoe Street, Royal Bank Plaza at 200 Bay Street, and Rosewater Supper Club at 19 Toronto Street (permanently closed). Moreover, to recreate the streets of New York City in Toronto for several important exterior scenes, the filming unit also adds typical hot dog stands and yellow taxis associated with the Big Apple.
New York City, New York
To shoot the pilot of ‘Suits,’ the cast and crew members set up camp in several sites in New York City, which is where the story is set. For instance, many of you might be able to spot the Citigroup Center tower at 601 Lexington Avenue as well as Central Park in a few scenes of the first episode of the legal drama series. It is highly likely that several iconic landmarks and attractions also feature in the episode, including the Riverside Church, the Empire State Building, the New York Times Building, 4 Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and the Woolworth Building. Besides ‘Suits,’ the locales of NYC have been featured in many film and TV projects over the years, such as ‘The Son,’ ‘She Said,’ ‘Succession,’ ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,’ ‘House,’ and ‘Mad Men.’
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