Suits LA is not at all convincing in the first episode. Six years after the end of Suits, there is another spin-off of the series. After the short-lived Pearson (starring Gina Torres), which was canceled after ten episodes in 2019, there is now Suits LA, which premiered on February 23, 2025. The order to create this series was given because of the great success when Netflix started broadcasting the original series Suits. While the original series was a hit on USA Network, this time it is the traditional television channel NBC that broadcasts the series in the United States. Shortly after the premiere, the series can be streamed there on Peacock.
Suits LA is set at the same time as the parent series Suits, which opens the way for various guest roles.
Suits LA is set in the same time as the parent series Suits, leaving the way open for various guest roles. However, there are no appearances from the actors from the original series in these first forty minutes. It is certain that Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) will make an appearance in Suits LA. There are rumors that more characters from the original series will appear, but there is no confirmation yet. Of course, it is already clear that the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, will not play a guest role.
In any case, the opening tune is still based on the song Greenback Boogie by Ima Robot, which feels familiar. The location is now sunny Los Angeles instead of New York. In addition, corporate law, takeovers, patents and fraud cases fade into the background, while the focus shifts to the world of media, film contracts and trademark rights.
The story of the first episode revolves around Ted Black (Stephen Amell, Arrow), a former prosecutor from New York. He and his good friend Stuart Lane (Josh McDermitt, The Walking Dead) now jointly run the law firm Black Lane on the west coast of the United States. The fact that he does not actually know his friend Stuart very well becomes apparent when Stuart merges the office behind his back with the company of Samantha, Ted's ex.
Ted tries hard to save his half of the office while retaining staff and customers. Meanwhile, his most important customer is arrested on suspicion of murder. Because the characters pass by at a rapid pace, no character really sticks around. The pilot episode of Suits lasted about an hour and a half, which left more room for humor and the development of the most important characters.
Ted's team consists of his assistant Roslyn (Azita Ghanizada), Leah (Alice Lee) and the two rivals Rick Dodsen (Bryan Greenberg) and Erica Rollins (Lex Scott Davis), both vying for Ted Black's attention. We don't get to know much else about this foursome yet; it is mainly Ted Black who takes center stage, with flashbacks and conversations with old acquaintances.
The first episode may have women and men in nice suits and fast dialogues, but the humor and pleasant tension of the original are missing. The characters remain flat, and I found Stephen Amell in Arrow difficult to accept as the main character, but in this pilot he is completely out of place. Perhaps the series will continue to grow in the following episodes, or that the original series is still too fresh in my memory, but unfortunately I cannot give Suits LA a passing grade.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
