Beloved legal drama “Suits” is making a comeback. However, not everyone is excited about its return as some claim that the show has been “ruined,” after casting choices were revealed. The new show has some pretty big shoes to fill in terms of all the major accomplishments its predecessor managed to achieve.
Hit TV series “Suits” is set to return to viewers’ screens as the show’s network, NBC, has officially given the spinoff the green light. An article published by The Hollywood Reporter on July 19 has divulged all the known details, including the cast, which many people have reservations about.
User comment about the “Suits” spinoff, posted on July 20, 2024 | Source: Instagram/nbc and suitspeacock
Expanding the original show, NBC has requested a series order for “Suits: LA,” the title of the spinoff that is a jump-off from the series-turned-streaming show “Suits.” Although there is currently no schedule for when its release will take place, the media outlet reports that “Suits: LA” could be ready by the second half of the 2024 or 2025 season.
“Suits: LA” hails from the same creator of “Suits,” Aaron Korsh. Together with Universal Studio Group’s Universal Content Productions (UCP), Korsh and the studio started developing the spinoff.
Aaron Korsh at the Variety Showrunners dinner in West Hollywood, California on January 11, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
According to reports, NBC had ordered the show’s pilot in February of this year (2024), which then got filmed in the spring. While “Suits: LA” is set in the same legal world as its predecessor, there will be no characters featured from the original New York team, at least not at the outset.
Famous actor Stephen Amell, best known as Oliver Queen from “Arrow,” will star as a former federal prosecutor named Ted Black. His character is from New York and is the head of a law firm in Los Angeles.
A snippet from “Suits: LA’s” logline explains, “His firm is at a crisis point, and to survive he must embrace a role he held in contempt his entire career. Ted is surrounded by a stellar group of characters who test their loyalties to both Ted and each other while they can’t help but mix their personal and professional lives.”
Stephen Amell at the world premiere of “Code 8: Part II” in Toronto, Ontario on February 26, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
Joining Ted Black, aka Amell, are fellow Hollywood actors Josh McDermitt, Bryan Greenberg, and Lex Scott Davis. In addition to Korsh, Doug Liman, Gene Klein, and David Bartis will serve as executive producers on the show. Additionally, Victoria Mahoney directed and serves as an executive producer on the pilot.
Doug Liman, David Bartis and Gene Klein at a YouTube event in 2018. | Source: Getty Images
Upon hearing the news that “Suits” is making a comeback with a new spinoff, many focused their attention on the fact that Amell will play the main character.
Most struggled to make sense of the fact that Amell, known for playing the changed-for-the-better billionaire playboy in “Arrow,” will now be taking on the role of a former federal prosecutor.
“Oliver👀 what you doing here[?] 😂😂👀,” wondered an Instagram user. Another commented on the show as a whole and the fact that Amell will be starring in it.
They remarked, “‘Suits’ as a script was a ‘meh’ show […] ‘Suits’ was BRILLIANT because of the chemistry between the actors. The Darvey and the Mike/Rachel plays cannot [be] replaced by some guy from an abandoned island 😂.”
“Why [have] they always ruined classic shows,” asserted a social media user. Echoing the disdain, someone else exclaimed, “No thank you !! Need Harvey… Louis Mike and Donna and we need Rachel !!” while another observer noted, “[Different] cast? [Big] NoNO.”
Jumping on the critique bandwagon, another person penned, “Oh No! I wish this cast the best of luck, but I’m a purist- there can be no ‘[Suits]’ except for the first ‘[Suits]’.” On the other hand, there are a few who hope to see a certain British royal return to the show.
“Meghan Markle better come back,” stated another commenter. Referencing the Duchess of Sussex while taking a jab at her, someone else added, “Perfect. I hear Meghan [Markle] is looking for a job.”
Despite the criticism and reluctance the announcement of “Suits: LA” has faced so far, if it turns out to be anything like its predecessor, the spin-off is set to garner unparalleled success. Statistics from last year (2023) reveal the incredible milestones the original series managed to score.
A popular media outlet reported that “Suits” has been viewed for a total of 26.5 billion minutes across both Peacock and Netflix. This number was calculated in September 2023 using stats from the previous eight weeks at that time. The viewing window from August 7-13 (the show’s seventh week) crossed the 3 billion minute mark.
The record for the highest viewing total in eight weeks is held by “Stranger Things,” which scored a whopping 35.5 billion minutes with the two-part launch of its fourth season in 2022. However, “Suits” still took the title for being the first ever to stay above 3 billion minutes.
Concerning the show’s weekly viewing minutes, “Suits’” numbers never went below 2,000 from June to August in 2023. The highest number was seen during the week of July 17: 3,879 million minutes.
From the impressive numbers and statistics presented above, it is clear that “Suits: LA” has a lot to live up to. While the original cast may, sadly, not be returning, they certainly know about it.
At the beginning of this year (January 2024), Variety took some time to catch up with “Suits” stars Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams, who play Harvey Specter and Michael Ross, at the Golden Globe Pre-Show. The interviewer, Rachel Smith, asked the two actors about the new show and its cast.
Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California on January 7, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
With a chuckle, Adams disclosed, “We found out about the—well it’s not a revival […] the ‘Suits’ spinoff […] I think it’s all in early stages, but it’s like a—what did they say? It’s a show in the ‘Suits’ universe […] Our fearless showrunner, Aaron’s working on that, and if we got the phone call; if I got the phone call, I’m ready to suit up again, I love the show, I love the character.”
Adams also made it a point to highlight that he also adored working with his fellow cast mates. Attempting to get more juicy details Rachel asked the two about “Suits: LA’s” storyline, to which they both responded by saying they didn’t know.
The rest of the exchange involved a light-hearted back and forth with Rachel noting all the original characters that need to make a comeback, including Meghan.
