'Suits' season 6 news, spoilers: EP talks major character exit, teases possibility of character's return

A major character left "Suits" in Wednesday's midseason finale.

In the final episode of the legal drama's season 6A, Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), one of the original main characters, left Pearson Specter Litt. Although she had helped build the firm, she exited to follow her heart to Chicago.

After saving an innocent death row inmate, Jessica rediscovered what it was that had made her want to become a lawyer in the first place. She decided that she would be better able to help people outside the corporate world and thus joined her ex-boyfriend, Jeff Malone (D.B. Woodside), who was moving to the Windy City.

In a recent interview with TV Line, "Suits" executive producer Aaron Korsh talked about Torres' decision to leave the show, why Jessica had to leave the way she did, and the possibility of seeing the character back in the series.

According to the "Suits" boss, Torres' choice was something they had been discussing for quite a while. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Torres, who had been with the show since the beginning, revealed that balancing her time between her family in Los Angeles and "Suits," which is filmed in Toronto, had been difficult. The actress also said that it was with a heavy heart that she chose one over the other.

As for Jessica's decision to leave the firm and begin a new life, Korsh said: "I wanted [Jessica] to leave on her own terms, and I feel like that's what [she] did. I think that's the only way she would leave."

The "Suits" EP also expressed hope that Torres could return to the series, saying that if it had been up to him, Jessica will remain until the series ends.

Nonetheless, he teased the possibility of the actress returning as a guest star. "I don't think it is the last we'll see of Jessica," he added.

"I think we needed to keep it as open ended as possible because we love Jessica and we can't stand the thought of never seeing her again," Torres told EW. "So, I think when viewers actually see this, they'll feel sad — I hope — and maybe a little bit untethered, as will Harvey [Gabriel Macht], but hopeful," he continued.

As Korsh pointed out to TVLine, while both Harvey and Louis (Rick Hoffman) will be saddened by Jessica's exit, it will be Harvey, who treats Jessica as a mother/mentor figure, who will be more affected.

"Suits" returns for the second half of season 6 in 2017 on USA.