Spinoffs are complicated. If you have a specific character that you’re taking from a preexisting show, you still have to deal with all their baggage. Unless you’re going to duplicate the same exact show, how do you take the premise and structure and make something different, while also appealing to the innate familiarity which people want to see? People don’t really want to see a new thing with spinoffs; they want to see the rebirth of an old thing. It’s all very tedious, but if the initial foundation is strong enough, you could spin anything out of it. Considering the massive success thatSuitsexperienced (in various formats), it seems like people are willing to lap up a spinoff, but what exactly do they want?Suits LAmanages to give us practically the same show on a structural and tonal level, but with completely different characters, narratives, and settings.
Hot lawyers, charming one-liners, secretly sad souls, and interminable conflict and drama, both personal and professional, all spun rapidly with a seemingly constant soundtrack of pop-rock. That’sSuits, and that’sSuits LA. It doesn’t take long before big fans of the original show may begin to tap their veins and ready the nostalgia needle; barely 10 minutes into the first episode ofSuits LA, you feel like you’ve already lived in this world for years, for better or worse.
In fact, the first episode throws so many characters and subplots at the wall that you may feel as if you accidentally missed the pilot episode. And no, you didn’t miss anything fromSuits;Suits LAis just dropping you into its world with zero preparation, expecting you to keep up. Big plot points, heavy exposition, and supposedly emotional moments come at you fast, but with all these characters and stories being so new, it comes across as flat, confusing, and just a bit too much.
Ted Black Leads the Characters of ‘Suits LA’
Suits LA follows Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor who now represents influential clients in Los Angeles. As his law firm faces a critical juncture, Ted must navigate the challenges of a role he once disdained, balancing moral dilemmas with the demands of high-stakes legal battles.
Suits LAfollows Ted Black, one of those TV attorneys whose skill actually matches his arrogance, but who nonetheless harbors and aching sadness inside. The show begins 15 years to the day that Black moved from New York to Los Angeles following a disastrous case that ended his career as a federal prosecutor and his relationship with Samantha (Rachelle Goulding). He’s built himself up and now resides in a massive downtown office, readying himself for the next major step in his life — a huge business merger with his best friend Stuart Lane (Josh McDermitt), the closest thing he has to family.
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Among Ted’s staff is Rick Dodsen, soulfullyplayed by Bryan Greenbergin perhaps the show’s best and most subtle performance. Rick has looked up to Ted for most of his career, and takes a more personal, emotionally intuitive approach to his work, which is far from Erica Rollins' style. Played by Lex Scott Davis, Erica Rollins is more of a relentless but nonetheless poised fighter.
The two of them are competing for a promotion to become head of the entertainment division, taking on cases for actors, directors, etc. This leads to some fun cameos from Hollywood people, such as John Amos, Patton Oswalt, and Brian Baumgartner. Part of Erica’s team is the young and ‘wacky’ lawyer, Leah (Alice Lee), one of those TV characters who simply don’t exist in real life. She’s a bit like a manic pixie dream girl by way ofAlly McBeal.
Same Structure, Worse Subplots
Suits LAhas an episodic “case of the week” structure intertwined with season-long arcs. There are betrayals, secrets, revelations from the past, and one big case that Ted mostly works on with his old, loyal friend Kevin (Troy Winbush), a former FBI agent who Ted knew in New York, who is now a private detective of sorts and helps Ted. The two of them are taking on the case of a snobbish, bitter little Hollywood filmmaker named Lester Thompson (Kevin Weisman), who is accused of murdering his business partner.
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Lester’s case is much more interesting than the episodic cases, at least in the first three episodes screened for review. While it’s fun to see some Hollywood faces playing themselves, the cases are incredibly dull and feel like distractions, though each is, of course, used for character development (often in hokey ways). They’re mostly supposed to inject some levity into the series, but it’s hard to care at all about some random actress' contract, or John Amos wanting to get more acting work.
That structural foundation is similar toSuits, as is the show’s aesthetic. There’s an embarrassing reliance on pop music to tell audiences what to feel, and a kind of Diet Aaron Sorkin style of walk-and-talk dialogue with unnaturally quick repartee. That’s not to say the writing is good. There are cringe lines like, “It’s the fourth quarter and you need a touchdown,” “I’m gonna come after you with everything I’ve got,” and, “My days of doing favors for you are over.” Several attempts at generating warmth and emotion with dialogue just fall flat. Erica begins a sentence by saying, “Someone once said,” and proceeds to quote another character from barely 20 minutes earlier in the episode. It’s totally tacky when it’s supposed to hit you in the feels.
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The most explicit connection betweenSuits LAand the original show isthe inclusion of Harvey Specter, whose connection with Ted Black has been teased in a trailer for the show. The entirety of that moment in the trailer (in which Ted points to a picture of him and Harvey) takes place in the first three episodes, and that’s the only mention of Harvey so far. So don’t expect a revival of sorts, even if Gabriel Macht is set to appear in some capacity.
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Ted Black is poised to become fascinating and likable, though. Flashes of his past are interesting (albeit melodramatic) and work to build a good character. Stephen Amell is confident and fresh, and his scenes are usually the best. Like his character,Suits LAhas potential to become more interesting and watchable, but in its first three episodes, it’s mostly a weak attempt to wear the fine suit of the original.Suits LApremieres at 9p.m. ET/PT on July 13, 2025, with new episodes airing on Sundays. you may catch a repeat of the first episode at 8p.m. ET/PT on Jul 06, 2025. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock through the link below:
