‎Suits‬ S3 shooting, Toronto, 8/1/2013



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Any Harvey / Donna shippers out there? If the answer to this question is “yes,” then we imagine that the video below from Tuesday night’s much-anticipated “Suits” flashback episode is going to be right up your alley. It brings us back to a time ten years ago when Harvey was still trying to make a name for himself, and he was also trying to stamp his name all over a certain co-worker’s heart without much in the way of actual results to back it up.

In the video below, you can see Gabriel Macht’s character trying to persuade Donna to take part in some sort of “celebration ritual” … which is something that is apparently too risque to even say out loud. He therefore writes it down, and even in doing this, Donna still looks at him like a crazy person and has no interest in what he’s bringing to the table.

To Donna’s credit, she does a good job at deflecting courtesy of that “I don’t get involved with men I work with” excuse in this scene, but we also know that Harvey is just about as persistent as they come. Even more so than with some of this soapy relationship stuff, what we are most intrigued about is just the prospect of seeing what these characters were like back before they were so jaded in so many ways, and some of the events that led to them becoming the hard-nosed people that they are today in Manhattan, battling through the likes of a merger and difficult clients.
‘Suits’ season 3, episode 6 preview: Watch Harvey hit on Donna

“Suits” Season 3 premieres in a little over a week and in the coming episodes a big revelation is finally on the way – the origins of the can opener that is so special to Harvey Specter and Donna Paulsen.

“You are gonna learn about the origin of the kitchen utensil — you’re gonna learn a lot more about that,” Gabriel Macht, who plays Harvey on the show, told reporters when USA flew several outlets, including AccessHollywood.com, up to the Toronto set, and made us their guests.

The cheap can opener has long been bantered about by Harvey and his secretary, Donna (Sarah Rafferty), in relation to a pre-trial ritual they have, and it is well known in the office that no one is supposed to touch it.

Gabriel said when he found out the origin of the device as it was originally written in a Season 3 script, he was shocked.

“I’ll tell you this, when we did the first read through, all of us, like, our eyes popped out and we were like, ‘Whoa! What is… What did we do in that?’” he laughed. “And then they had to really like, clean it up.”

The can opener revelation is expected to occur in an upcoming episode (airing August 20 on USA), which features flashbacks.

In addition to the origins of the kitchen device, fans will also learn why Harvey doesn’t fraternize with his co-workers.

“Harvey doesn’t sleep with anybody he works with and we’re gonna learn why,” Gabriel said.

Sarah, who plays his redheaded, super smart secretary, said the episode will provide more details on the beloved characters.

“What I loved about it is that we get to understand why Harvey’s the moral guy that he is,” she said on the Toronto set, during the same set visit late last month. “It just digs into his past and that’s what I think’s so interesting about having flashbacks in the seasons is understanding what makes these people tick and why they’re the way that they are.”
Suits Star Gabriel Macht On The First Draft Of Season 3’s Can Opener Revelation: ‘Our Eyes Popped Out!’

Since Harvey will have a British counterpart on Suits, will we see anyone else's? — DeAnna
ADAM: At the moment, no. "As far as I know, there's no British Donna... yet," Sarah Rafferty tells us. "But I kind of hope they add one because that'd be fun to see their interaction and her relationship with [British Harvey]." As for our Donna and Harvey's relationship, we'll get a deeper look at that when the show flashes-back 10 years. "We did a five-year flashback last season and now we go back even further and you'll see the origins of their relationship, and how Harvey became who he is," Rafferty says.
Mega Buzz: Castle's Proposal, Arrow's New Mission and Burn Notice - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com

Sarah Rafferty Teases Suits Flashback Episode, College Hair and That Can Opener
August 19th, 2013 2:23 PM by Jim Halterman


Suits will take viewers back a decade on “The Other Time," revealing new details and tidbits related to various characters - and we're not just talking about Donna’s different hair style!
The flashbacks not only fill in some gaps in the backgrounds of Harvey, Mike, Donna and Jessica... they also feed into ongoing storylines that have been brewing throughout Suits Season 3.
With that in mind, I jumped on the phone with Sarah Rafferty to talk about the unique episode; the current relationship between Donna and Stephen; and, of course, what we might find out about that infamous can opener...


TV Fanatic: Let’s talk Donna’s hair circa 2003 and how much went into what your look would be in the flashbacks.
Sarah Rafferty: I think a lot of talk went into it that I’m not aware of, that I’m not privy to. I just sit down and they try things on me, take pictures, and they get sent around and opinions happen, but it was funny because sort of at the last minute I was like, I don’t know about the bangs. We did bangs for the flashback five years ago, maybe 10 years ago she didn’t have bangs, but way before we shot we put them back on because we thought that it was maybe more of a change and that she sort of is coming out of high school hair, I think. So 10 years ago, she hasn’t necessarily fully lost the college hair.

I think it’s harder for the male characters to make a huge change. It’s easier for the female characters so if anybody was going to make a bit of a change that would show us that we were going back in time it would be me. Although Gabriel would probably rock a long wig, he wasn’t going to. I think he could wear any hair and pull it off. I just don’t know if it would really be Suits anymore.

TVF: Did you already know a lot of their past or was what happens in the episode a surprise to you, too?
SR: Just initially when we were in season one and season two I was creating a lot of the back story for Donna and for Donna and Harvey. It was funny to me to see a lot of it being sort of written in, in a way and I had some conversations with our creator [Aaron Korsh]. I especially had conversations after the episode in last season when Donna agrees to come back to work at Pearson Hardman. She makes reference to the other times. I had had some conversations about that with Aaron.

TVF: How much of Harvey’s success as a lawyer is due to Donna?
SR: I think what’s interesting about the flashback episode is that his character is really put to the test primarily professionally but also personally and he gets to really establish his moral compass and their original dynamic is established [which] I definitely appreciated when I read the episode.

I was thrilled by her strength and that 10 years ago she was still the person who she is and she doesn’t apologize for who she is. She is a straight shooter and she has never wavered from being that. She says it like it is and I really admire that in her and I’m really grateful to the writer for that quality in her.

TVF: I love it! Let’s talk about present day and the Donna/Stephen thing. How do you sum up that relationship?
SR: I think it started physical, which was pretty fun and funny. It was very funny for me to see that side of Donna. She’s always been very confident about all her gifts. So when she says to Rachel, ‘I was awesome’ I do think that’s so funny; she’s that girl.

I think that we learned in last week’s episode that when Stephen says, ‘I’m feeling more for you than I originally anticipated and I want to extend the terms of our agreement,’…I think that maybe they both thought that it was turning out as fun and physical. They established that they would not be expecting too much from each other, but I think that they’re a little bit surprised by how they’re feeling and that it’s becoming more significant.

TVF: Do you think that we, and/or Donna, should trust him at this point?
SR: I can say that Donna believes she always has her eyes wide open. So for the most part she hasn’t gone totally easy on Stephen. She’s a straight shooter, she told him, ‘When you brought up my name to Harvey, you crossed the line,’ and that was practically a deal breaker for her. I think that she’s cautious but at the same time she would never be with him at all if she believed that he posed any threat to Harvey.

TVF: How are things moving forward with Donna and Rachel? I love the scenes with you and Meghan. Do we get more of those scenes?
SR: Yes, there is more. I think it’s great that in the third season so much came up in the personal lives of Rachel and Donna so they need each other, they need a BFF, and that’s really satisfying for Meghan and I to play, I’ve got to say.

TVF: Do we get any kind of answer about the can opener in the episode? We still don’t quite know its origins…
SR: The can opener makes an appearance. I can’t guarantee that everybody’s questions will fully be answered but we take a step into every character’s back-story. So we’re taking a step into the can opener’s back-story too. He deserves just as much attention as all the characters of the series.

TVF: Maybe there’s a can opener spinoff in the works…
SR: An animated series!
Sarah Rafferty Teases Suits Flashback Episode, College Hair and That Can Opener - TV Fanatic

'Suits' Interview: Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty on 'Rewind' and the Infamous Can Opener
Monday, August 19, 2013



Ever since the can opener was first mentioned on Suits, its use has been a mystery. The intrigue heightened when Harvey added the clue that it involves thumb tacks. On this week's "Rewind," the origin story of the can opener will be told. Oh ... and we'll get to see why Harvey left the District Attorney's Office to join Pearson Hardman.

This spring, BuddyTV visited the Suits set in Toronto courtesy of the USA Network. Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty spoke with reporters about the flashback episode and teased what we'll learn about their characters.

"We'll get to understand why Harvey's the moral guy that he is," said Rafferty

That's not all we'll learn about him though, Macht teased, "... Harvey doesn't sleep with anybody he works with, and we're gonna learn why." Could that have anything to do with Donna?

Neither of them said, but we do find out why they get along so well, Rafferty said, "[The flashbacks] are really great at illuminating why he becomes the guy he is and why they become the team that they are. And that's what I love about it. love their teamness."

Their relationship was different ten years ago, Rafferty explained, "Their given circumstances are not at all like their given circumstances are in the present, so they have a looser kind of banter and they're having more fun, and they're really comfortable with each other."

It was easier back then because they didn't have the troubles that they have in the present day. Rafferty continued, "They don't have the weight of like, the merger and what's going on with Jessica, and Mike is... doesn't exist, you know. Like the weight of that just isn't on their life, and ... they're sort of just starting out."

During the flashback, Harvey made the transition from the DAs office to work for Jessica and it ties back to his relationship with Cameron Dennis and misconduct. Macht explained, "... we see Harvey in his office 10 years ago, and you see what he hid that connects back to season 2 and Donna's whole thing. And, so there's-- and that repeats itself a few times where we see why they're so at odds with each other. And, they're try -- they're playin' their moves, each of their moves."

While all of that is interesting, the big question to be answered is about the can opener, right? Macht assured, "Uh, you are gonna learn about the origin of the kitchen utensil, you're gonna learn, a lot more about that."

It gets even more interesting. Macht continued, "And I'll tell you this, when we did the first read through, all of us, like, our eyes popped out and we were like, 'Whoa, what is... what did we do in that?' Um, and then they had to like, really like, clean it up."

Intrigued? It doesn't sound like the entire secret of the can opener will be revealed, though perhaps it's better that a bit of mystery remains.
'Suits' Interview: Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty on 'Rewind' and the Infamous Can Opener

'Suits' Boss Reveals 6 Teases for Flashback Episode
7:00 AM PDT 8/20/2013 by Philiana Ng

Creator/showrunner Aaron Korsh previews Tuesday's anticipated hour, "The Other Time," with THR.



Suits' flashback episode is finally here.

Flashing back 10 years earlier to a much simpler time, when Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) worked in District Attorney Cameron Dennis' (Gary Cole) office alongside secretary Donna (Sarah Rafferty), the anticipated hour comes at a crucial time for the law firm soon to be known as Pearson Darby Specter.

For creator/showrunner Aaron Korsh, placing the episode at the midpoint of the first half of season three was a calculated choice, in that it filled in the blanks for events that were alluded to in seasons past — ultimately laying groundwork for what's to come. "It was an opportunity to address how [Harvey] left Cameron to go to Jessica and the story between Harvey and Donna," Korsh tells The Hollywood Reporter. "It was an opportunity to answer everything in one fell swoop."

THR offers six things to expect in the flashback episode:

1. Harvey's jealousy starts to surface

Is Harvey jealous of Donna and Stephen's blossoming romance? That question is addressed in Tuesday's flashback episode, appropriately titled "The Other Time" — complicating matters even more between Harvey, Donna and Stephen. "Harvey is in a situation right now [where] Donna's in a relationship with someone [Stephen Huntley] and it is bothering him — which he hasn't admitted to yet," Korsh tells THR.

2. Harvey and Donna's "other time"

"With the Donna thing, we definitely wanted to answer [that mystery]," Korsh says. "What came out of it was us answering what happened that 'other time.' That was more of a revelation, not the end goal."

3. The parallels of Mike and Rachel's law school dreams

"We wanted to shed light on Mike's past. We looked back and said, 'What story do we want to tell?' " Korsh says. "In the pilot, we allude to the story of him in college, getting kicked out and we thought that would be a great story to tell. We wanted it to have relevance in the current day and it just happened to come just at the time when Rachel is deciding where she wants to go to law school. He's remembering back on his college dreams being taken away from him. Does he want to take away her law school dream in the same way that his was taken away from him?"

4. Hello, Bertha

The character was introduced last year, but Big Bertha finally makes a cameo in the flashback set a decade ago. "We referred to her. She existed. Let's just meet her!" Korsh says of the decision behind incorporating Harvey and Donna's former D.A.'s office colleague for some added levity. "We tried to look for as many moments of fun stuff in the flashback episodes as we can."

5. Spot the showrunner!

After making a cameo in a season two episode, Korsh makes an appearance in the flashback episode — but there's a twist: You won't actually see him. "When Louis gets in the elevator in the end [of the episode] and somebody says, 'All the way to the top, *******,' " Korsh says, "that's me." Korsh's voice was a late addition to the mix. After discovering that Rick Hoffman ad-libbed his line, Korsh decided it was only appropriate to have someone respond.

6. Subtler hair changes

Don't expect drastic differences in hairstyle for the characters, which Korsh admits was a "conscious" decision. "I felt like last year's flashback episode, we went too far," he concedes. "It was difficult because last year's was a five-year flashback and I felt like we changed things too much — not just hair, but everything in general. I don't think people change that much in five years especially when they're around the ages that our people were. I was concerned that if they went that far five years ago what were they going to do 10 years ago. I didn't want shaved heads, so I might've given a [mandate] to minimize that stuff and maybe we overcorrected."

Suits airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on USA Network. Check back on The Live Feed following the East Coast airing for a postmortem with Korsh.
'Suits' Boss on Flashback Episode