Suits LA Season 1 Review – Stephen Amell’s Spin-Off Might Be the Superior Series

Did anyone think Suits LA would be good? It’s like CSI: NY or CSI: Miami – deliberate cash grabs using the goodwill of a franchise to lure viewers back for more. It was to be expected, though, after Suits turned into a mega hit on streaming platforms in 2023. Then, the capper: The announcement that Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter would make a guest appearance in the new series, seemingly indicating that the show was trying every trick in the book to get people to tune in.

So, imagine me – an old-school Suits fan who even stuck through that dreadful ninth season where everyone hoped Donna Paulsen would get eaten by a dragon – writing the following: Suits LA Season 1 is very good. In fact, its first three episodes are better than what Suits debuted with.

How Suits LA pulls a bait-and-switch on the audience

The world is Ted Black’s (Stephen Amell) oyster in Suits LA. He’s a former federal prosecutor who left New York to head to Los Angeles, where he represents the highest rollers in the city. Ted’s mysterious past weighs on him, but he has other matters on his mind – namely the merger with his pal and crime defense lawyer, Stuart Lane (Josh McDermitt). Much like in the original Suits, the young guns like Rick Dodsen (Bryan Greenberg) and Erica Rollins (Lex Scott Davis) compete for coveted top positions, such as the head of entertainment, at the firm.

Again, all this appears to be nothing more than the initial premise of Suits lifted and shifted to Los Angeles and centered around entertainment lawyers this time around. But showrunner Aaron Korsh got us good with this smokescreen. In one foul swoop, the status quo changes in the pilot episode, turning everything upside down, inside out, and causing the audience to question who really is how they initially presented themselves.

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The new characters don’t need to be subpoenaed for plagiarism

That’s where Suits LA Season 1 stands out from its predecessor: It works hard to flesh out the characters as real imperfect people. Sure, Suits tried to do the same by showcasing how the insecurities of someone like Louis Litt created his combustible and reactive personality, but it never committed to the approach from the start – it was a slow burn that sometimes burned out before it had time to develop. 

In direct contrast, Ted Black plays the “Harvey Specter” role in Suits LA, but in the first three episodes, he shows both good and bad sides to his character that feel far more genuine and earnest than Harvey’s I-walk-on-water demeanor during the earlier seasons of the show. Ted connects with an audience beyond being easy on the eye and the cool guy in a suit.

Suits LA‘s supporting characters don’t feel like wallflowers either. While each episode includes well-known celebrities such as Victoria Justice, John Amos, and Brian Baumgartner, the auxiliary characters like Alice Lee’s Leah and Troy Winbush’s Kevin receive important arcs that enhance the main story rather than supplement it. As Ted’s right-hand man, Kevin forces Ted to look beyond his tunnel vision at times, while Leah serves a quirky role in not only helping Erica but also adding light comedy to the show. 

Is Suits LA Season 1 worth watching?

Like the original show, there are many Suit-isms in Suits LA Season 1. It still follows a similar template: Each episode moves at a rapid pace and the drama crescendos into something bigger than how it began, but there’s always enough time for humor or playful flirting in the network TV kind of way. It’s this familiarity that should appease longtime Suits viewers. That said, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s just another copy-and-paste version of the show. If the first three episodes are anything to go by, Suits LA might surpass its originator as the superior series before too long.

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Watch Suits LA Season 1 on Showmax from Monday, February 24.