Suits LA Reviews Are In - Is It As Good As The Original Streaming Sensation?
Reviews for Suits LA are in. The show is a spinoff from the USA Network legal drama Suits, which ran for nine seasons between 2011 and 2019 and broke streaming records when it debuted on Netflix in 2023 in addition to its ongoing Peacock availability. This led to the development of the NBC spinoff, which follows former federal prosecutor Ted Black (Arrow's Stephen Amell), who is now a partner at Black Lane, an entertainment law firm in Los Angeles. The upcoming Suits LA also stars Josh McDermitt, Lex Scott Davis, and Bryan Greenberg.
Now, mere days before the show's premiere, the embargo has lifted on the first reviews of Suits LA. Critics have now been able to share their thoughts on the first three episodes of the anticipated spinoff. So far, their reactions seem to be firmly mixed and trending negative, including the 4 out of 10 review from ScreenRant's own Ana Dumaraog. Dumaraog says that the series is "devoid of the best things that made Suits a fan favorite," and that Ted Black is "nothing remotely like Gabriel Macht's character" from the original show. Read a longer excerpt from her review below:
The rest of the ensemble also have their own subplots that require more context to be compelling. It doesn't help that Suits LA elects to incorporate confusing flashbacks that distract from an already complicated present timeline. Luckily, Suits LA is a network series, which means that it has more than enough time in its freshman year to unpack and dissect everything that unraveled in its first three episodes.
What Critics Are Saying About Suits LA
It Can't Quite Recapture The Suits Magic
For the most part, the Suits LA cast is being praised by critics, particularly Amell himself, for whom this is his first lead role since the cancellation of his Starz drama Heels in 2023. In fact, Collider's Isabella Soares says that "Amell's performance... keeps the viewer grounded and engaged." The Illuminerdi's Kevin Fenix agrees, saying that Black's "gruff gravitas" is "expertly delivered." Fenix also highlights the performances by Davis and Greenberg, who "infuse their characters with hunger and competitiveness." Soares also says that the bond between Amell and McDermitt's characters "proves to be one of the show's greatest assets."
The Suits LA cast also includes Victoria Justice, Troy Winbush, Alice Lee, Rachelle Goulding, Azita Ghanizada, and Gabriel Macht reprising his original role as Harvey Specter, alongside a guest cast that includes Brian Baumgartner, Patton Oswalt, Enrico Colantoni, and the late John Amos playing fictionalized versions of themselves.
Unavoidably, many reviews have addressed how Suits LA compares to the original series, which has an average rating of 91% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Generally, they agree that the mixed bag of a show is a something of a step down, with TVPulse's Jennifer Griffin saying its attempts to establish its own identity results in a "mish-mash of genres," and that it is "part cop-procedural, part family drama, part legal drama, part comedy." Meanwhile, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence of Sound warns that "fans hoping for a West Coast-flavored edition may struggle to find here what they enjoyed before."
Our Take On The Suits LA Reviews
The Show Could Have A Future
Ultimately, many of the reviews end with a degree of hope, largely agreeing that the pilot is the weakest of the first three episodes and saying the show might find its footing down the road if it continues to improve. Should that indeed be the case, the Suits LA spinoff could last longer than the flagship series' previous spinoff, Pearson, which only ran for one season in 2019 despite earning a reasonably Fresh 72% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Suits LA premieres on NBC on February 23 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, followed by weekly episodes on Sundays.
Source: Various (see above)
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