Why NBC Wanted Changes Made to the Suits L.A. Pilot

The Suits magic number is 57.7 billion. As in, the former USA legal drama was so popular when it hit Netflix in 2023 that it amassed 57.7 billion Nielsen-tracked viewership minutes on the platform, making it the most-streamed show of that year.

But all those episodes are reruns. Now that the spinoff, Suits L.A., is up and running on NBC — it premiered February 23, with new installments airing Sunday nights at 9 PM ET— it's time to embrace the present.

"I'm excited for people to give it a chance," Aaron Korsh, who created both series, tells The Television Academy. "I know the fans are thinking, 'It just isn't the original,' but that's a mistake. We’re not trying to replace the old characters. These are new characters, and they're unique individuals. They will definitely wrap themselves around your heart."

The Suits L.A. premiere certainly gave fans a lot to take in. Following a traumatic incident in New York City, former federal prosecutor Ted Black (Stephen Amell) has reinvented himself as an entertainment lawyer representing A-list clients. Ted works side-by-side with his best friend, criminal lawyer Stuart Lane (Josh McDermitt). However, Stuart splinters from the pair’s firm midway through the episode and takes half the staff with him. Mix in a Hollywood murder case, a celebrity client (the late John Amos), some flirtations between two proteges (Bryan Greenberg and Lex Scott Davis) vying to be head of entertainment — along with a callback to a familiar face — and the table is set for drama galore.

"If you were a fan of the original," Korsh says, "it would be hard for me to imagine that, as you watch this show, these characters will not become your family over the course of the year. There are too many places to connect with."

Korsh, who also executive produces the show, unpacks the pilot and teases what’s to come for The Television Academy. 

Television Academy: The premiere packed in a lot of dramatic elements. In terms of the tone, is it going to get any lighter?

Aaron Korsh: First of all, let me say the original pilot was a little bit more comedy-leaning, but the network did not fully respond to the type of comedy. They really wanted us to cut a lot of that out, which I had mixed feelings about. But you will see the full flavor of the drama and the comedy over the course of the season. I think that’s what Suits the original and the new show have in common.

Talk about the relationship between Tim and Stuart. What is the fallout of the split?

Ted and Stuart's schism is certainly one of the driving forces in the present day of the season, though it’s not the sole focus of the show as we move forward. You'll see the consequences, obviously, because the firm is split in half. But it's not just pure anger between the two of them. They have a very long history — Ted thinks of Stuart like a brother, and Stuart wouldn't be so angry if Ted weren’t really important to him. So there’s going to be a push-pull in their relationship throughout the course of the season.

We see a photo on Ted’s desk of him and Harvey Specter in their younger days. Can you tee-up Gabriel Macht's upcoming appearances?

When I originally wrote this pilot, it was not meant to be in the Suits universe. When things changed, the network wanted to explore the idea of integrating some original Suits characters. So I was like, "Well, I created this character as a prosecutor in New York around the time that Harvey was one . . .  maybe they played in a prosecutors' league baseball team together." We actually put that photo in the pilot episode not knowing that Gabriel was going to agree to be in it. Then, in episode two, there's explicit mention of it.

So Harvey and Ted did have interactions in the past, and we explore that a little bit more in another series of flashback scenes. And then finally, what happened between them comes back into the present day. Tim and Harvey reunite to take care of some unfinished business.

John Amos appears as himself in the first episode. Which other celeb clients are coming up?

This idea of having celebrities play themselves sometimes was really appealing to me. So, having an iconic figure like John Amos was really awesome for me. When he passed away [last August], it was very sad. I thought, "Well, how about if it impacts Tim and Rick [Greenberg] emotionally and they make a big deal about that?" So we dedicate an upcoming episode to John.

But we also have Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin on The Office, playing himself. Patton Oswalt plays himself. Enrico Colantoni plays himself. We really were able to find some actors that are not only incredible dramatic and comedic actors, they're willing to play versions of themselves that are not real. The appearances are done in a fun, comedic way. But some of them are dramatic, too.

What about the murder case that involves the big Hollywood producer who may have shot his partner? Is it going to play out throughout the season?

For the first season of the original [Suits], the network really liked a "case of the week." But that doesn't speak to me, and it's not my favorite form of things I want to write. But, by the time that first season was done, I was told I didn't have to do that anymore.

So what we tended to do was have cases that lasted anywhere from two to maybe seven episodes. That's the model we're using here.  

What else is coming up? Any other nods to the original?

Well, Harvey is coming back — and he's going to show up unexpectedly. I don't want to promote it. Then you'll see another character from the original come back in the season, also unexpectedly. I'm not going to say who it is, but we're excited about it.

Can you at least reveal their gender?

I can't! But I will say that maybe it's in a flashback.

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

 Suits L.A. airs Sundays on NBC.