Critic Reviews

Pearson lacks the life of Political Animals (which itself was also an atypical USA series at the time); but at the same time, it is going for that grittier approach and one on a much smaller scale. The best true comparison to be made for Pearson is that it’s kind of like a basic cable version of Damages (only focused on politics instead of law) in terms of approach and scope. It’s not as tense nor as thrilling, at least not yet.

Overall, the stakes are higher on Pearson than they ever were on Suits, but, ironically, the series is still much more of a slow burn than the flagship show.

With the Chicago setting and local politics at play, “Pearson” sometimes resembles a watered-down version of “The Good Wife”/”The Good Fight.” Fans of “Suits” and Ms. Torres may still want to give “Pearson” a try but no one can blame them if they choose not to stick with this series.

“Pearson” lacks the humor, quirkiness and cast chemistry of “Suits” embodied by mudding, cat-loving attorney Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). It’s a solid, by-the-numbers drama that checks off all the usual boxes but doesn’t offer much that’s new, other than some nice location photography.

An endless parade of political soap opera.

As Torres flips from supporting to lead in this new story, think The Good Fight, but dryer and less clever.

Not so much [great, glamorous fun] on the dreary spinoff that bears the name of Jessica Pearson, whose wardrobe is still a stunner but whose new gig as fixer for a brash and ethically compromised Chicago mayor is about as enjoyable as a root canal. [22 Jul - 4 Aug 2019, p.7]