The Case is Dismissed: Why NBC Canceled the Suits: LA Spinoff
The massive, unexpected resurgence of the original Suits on Netflix in 2023—where it broke all-time streaming records—led to a rush to capitalize on the franchise’s new-found popularity. This urgency resulted in the quick development of a new spin-off, Suits: LA, but its run was abruptly cut short.
NBC officially canceled Suits: LA after just one season, deciding against ordering a second outing for the Los Angeles-based legal drama. The primary reason for the cancellation was simple: low ratings and the failure to capture the momentum of the original series.
The Verdict: Low Viewership and Lack of Growth
Despite the show’s pedigree—created by Suits’ Aaron Korsh and featuring a high-profile cast led by Arrow alum Stephen Amell—the numbers simply didn’t add up.
– Dismal Viewership: Suits: LA struggled to maintain a steady audience. Ratings often hovered barely above one million viewers per episode, a performance that is considered unsustainable for a major network drama, especially one with such high expectations.
– No Growth Potential: NBCUniversal Entertainment President of Program Planning Strategy, Jeff Bader, stated that the show “has not resonated [with audiences in] the way we thought it would,” and, critically, “it’s just not showing the potential to grow for us in the future.” For a network to invest in a second season, it must see a trajectory toward wider success, which Suits: LA failed to demonstrate.
– Streaming Failure: While the original Suits was a streaming phenomenon, the new spin-off failed to become a major draw on NBC’s own streaming platform, Peacock, further diminishing its value to the network.
What Went Wrong: High Expectations and Tonal Issues
The fundamental issue for Suits: LA was that it could not successfully translate the magic of the original series, leading to middling-to-negative reviews and a collective shrug from the massive audience that had just binged Suits.
1. The Loss of Core Chemistry
The original Suits was never just a legal drama; it was a character-driven show about the unbreakable, witty, and chaotic relationships between Mike, Harvey, Donna, and Louis. The “secret” of Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) provided the central tension. Suits: LA, which centered on Stephen Amell’s character, Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor-turned-entertainment lawyer, lacked that unique, compelling, and immediate character dynamic to hook the audience.
2. Trying Too Hard to Recapture the Past
To inject excitement, Suits: LA featured guest appearances from original cast members, including a three-episode arc for Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) and a visit from Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). However, instead of boosting the spin-off, these cameos often served to highlight the new series’ deficiencies by comparison, making the show feel like a shadow of its predecessor.
3. A Failed Repetition
This is not the first time a Suits spin-off has been swiftly canceled. The first attempt, Pearson, which followed Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) into Chicago politics, was also canceled after just one season.
Ultimately, the quick cancellation of Suits: LA demonstrates that riding the coattails of a streaming hit is not a guarantee of new success. The audience proved they loved the old characters, but the new, quickly developed drama failed to create its own compelling case for renewal.
