Eight months after Suits hit Netflix, the streamer is bringing in another USA Network hit, White Collar, and if it has even a fraction of the success of Suits, it’ll soon be the show everyone is watching.
White Collar — which returned to Netflix on Monday, April 1 — follows Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer), a charming con artist who escapes prison to reunite with his girlfriend. After the love-lorn criminal is apprehended again, he joins a work-release program, becoming a consultant for FBI Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) as he takes down white collar criminals.
The show ran for six seasons from 2009 to 2014, overlapping for a few years with Suits‘ nine-season run. Both shows were part of USA Network’s “Blue Sky” era, where shows were largely procedurals anchored by well-developed main characters. Suits has Harvey (Gabriel Macht) as the distinguished leader and Mike (Patrick J. Adams) as the sharp newcomer who isn’t totally qualified for the job. White Collar, meanwhile, has Neal as the by-the-book veteran and Peter as the charming protege whose credentials are questioned more often than not.
Of course, Suits also had the Meghan Markle factor. While the Duchess of Sussex is not part of the White Collar cast, the show does have several familiar supporting stars from nostalgic, fan-favorite series, including the late Willie Garson (Sex and the City), Hilarie Burton Morgan (One Tree Hill) and Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell).
Matt Bomer and Hilarie Burton on the set of ‘White Collar’ in 2011. Bobby Bank/WireImage
Like Suits, White Collar has a crime of the week format with some overarching stories throughout the season focused on the main characters. While Peter is married and devoted to his job, Neal is always toeing the line between being a man of the law and a con on the lamb. The cases are fun, but it’s the characters that kept viewers coming back for six seasons — and might even lead to record-breaking Netflix numbers.
Suits found a dedicated fanbase when it first aired — but its Netflix debut has made the legal drama even more popular. The USA series, which originally ran for nine seasons from 2011 to 2019, stars Patrick J. Adams as Mike Ross, a man who convinced a New York City law firm to give him […]
Suits set several Nielsen viewing records after joining Netflix in July. It was the most streamed show of 2023, logging 57.7 billion minutes of viewing across Netflix and Peacock (53.1 billion of those minutes were from Netflix). It also set a record for the biggest single week for an acquired series with 3.88 billion minutes watched during the week of July 17.
Since the resurgence, Suits stars have reunited for various Super Bowl commercials and a spinoff, Suits: LA, is in the works. The White Collar cast, however, doesn’t just want a spinoff — they want to reunite.
“There has been talk. It’s actually very legitimate talk, it’s in conversation,” Bomer told TVLine in November 2023. “A lot of things need to fall into place, but there is a plan in effect, at least, so we’ll see what happens.”
The actor noted that creator Jeff Eastin has crafted a way to honor Garson, who died in September 2021 after a cancer battle, in the possible reunion project.
The Suits franchise lives on with another spinoff, Suits L.A. Suits L.A. will feature new characters played by Stephen Amell, Bryan Greenberg, Josh McDermitt and Lex Scott Davis. It will be located in a new place, but it’s set in the same universe as the original series. Suits ran for nine seasons from 2011 to […]
“Obviously, that’s the first thing that came to my mind, but I felt that what Jeff Eastin presented to Tim [DeKay] and I honors what he contributed to the show and honors him as a person,” Bomer added. “There’s no way I would ever be involved with it again if it didn’t do so. So I think it’s a way for him to, in some ways, still be a part of the show.”
Bomer still looks back fondly at his time on the show. “I’ll always have a love and loyalty to the show,” he said while announcing the show’s Netflix arrival via Instagram on Sunday, March 31. “It was just a really surreal, magical ending to a really dream come true experience.”
All six seasons of White Collar are now available on Netflix.