Months before To take was crowned the most-streamed show of 2023, original cast members Patrick J. Adams and Sarah Rafferty had been toying with the idea of revisiting the legal drama, which ran for nine seasons from 2011 to 2019 on the USA Network. Neither had watched the show when they joined, but the idea of rewatching their To take memories seemed more appealing as time went by. It was a conversation Adams had with a good friend of his, Scandal former student Katie Lowes — who co-hosts Unpacking the toolbox Rewatching the podcast with co-star Guillermo Diaz — who planted the seed to create one for To take.
“It never occurred to me,” Adams told Yahoo Entertainment. “It was around that time that I called Sarah and said, ‘Do you think this would be fun?’ And thankfully [she] I didn’t dismiss the idea as nonsense, but it took a long time to turn that idea into reality.”
Not long after, the popularity of To take and its remarkable second life — thanks in large part to a series debuting on Netflix in June 2023 and curiosity about former co-star Meghan Markle — helped accelerate their plans, demonstrating that there was demand and value for nostalgic content tied to the legal drama. (NBC greenlit Suits: LAa new spinoff starring Stephen Amell, in July.) Now, more than a year after the initial seed was planted, Adams and Rafferty are diving into the world of To take in their new SiriusXM podcast, Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcastpremiering on September 24.
In each part, Adams and Rafferty analyze an episode from To takeincluding the pilot, and share behind-the-scenes insights into the creative process, their unfiltered reactions to storylines, and the impact the show has had on their careers and personal lives. And of course, they answer those looming questions from fans. Series creator Aaron Korsh and co-star Gina Torres, who played law firm partner Jessica Pearson, are among the special guests joining the conversation.
“It was really the inspiration for me to want to do this podcast,” Adams said of the show that became a surprise phenomenon. “It was a big cosmic reminder [to] stop and really look at it. A great reminder of, ‘Hey, this thing changed your whole life,’ and maybe it’s worth a second look, or actually a first look, since Sarah and I haven’t seen the show.”
What was missing was a “campfire” where like-minded fans could engage with the show, Adams said.
“We realized that when it started to become popular again, there was no place for people to come together and have a conversation. There are places on Reddit or wherever these online groups exist, and they form contingents and they watch together. What an opportunity for us to try to create a place for the fans and for us to go through this together and watch as a community.”
Rafferty expressed his gratitude for the fact that he To take chapter via podcast: “It’s great to have this second chance to take it all in, and to communicate with the viewers in this new way — because we’re viewers now and we’re fans.”
The market for podcasts that you can repeat on television has become saturated in recent years, with dozens in circulation. Sixteen have launched this year alone, including podcasts dedicated to notable franchises like NCIS, Buffy the Vampire Slayer And BonesTo stand out from the crowd, it was important that Adams and Rafferty offered something different with SidebarThat meant I got personal.
“It was as much about identifying our personal, lived experience of shooting a television show and what happened for us, the challenges and what came up. It’s not therapy, but it’s not not “therapy,” said Adams, who recalled being in a long-distance relationship with his current wife Troian Bellisario while he To take in Toronto. “It’s an opportunity for us to really go through, explain and have a conversation with each other about, ‘This is what was happening to me at that moment.’”
Adams added that it wasn’t just the audience’s reaction to the show that was their driving force. The podcast also explores how the actors themselves responded to their newfound fame.
“It’s almost this anthropological [case study] of, ‘What was our lives the week and a half that we recorded this episode?” he said. ‘Then did we learn that To take was a hit?’ ‘What was the moment we realized we were being recognized in public, when before we were struggling to get auditions?’”
When the couple spoke to Yahoo Entertainment in late August, they had just started recording the podcast and were working on Season 1 of To takeWhile they still have a long way to go (eight more seasons to analyze), there are already clues to what made the show so successful.
“You can see that they get along so easily, that they’re committed to the best, funniest version of every scene,” Adams recalls.
For two people who are self-critical about their work, the To take fellow players have learned to appreciate what they have achieved.
“I’m happy to report that I can be kinder to myself,” Adams admitted, “because the whole reason I haven’t watched it is because I can be very unkind to myself when I watch [something] once I shot it. Now with all these years in between and enough time in between, I love it. I am filled with gratitude, not uncertainty, as I watch it.
“I’m very proud of all my friends. I’m excited to see all the things that I missed because I wasn’t there for that scene that Rick [Hoffman] and Sarah shot; I get to have that experience and think, ‘These are the funniest people I’ve ever met,'” he added. “And then [watch] scenes with myself and think, ‘Patrick, that little thing you did, I’m proud of you. That’s cool that you thought of that,’ which is healing.”
It also forced Rafferty to reevaluate. “I don’t want to miss anything. It’s a fun party at the end of the day. That’s a party I want to go to.”
Sidebar: One To take Watch podcast premieres September 24, with new episodes airing Tuesdays.
