What is Suits LA all about? Everything you need to know before you watch the series
Suits LA is the newest legal drama in NBC's roster, created by Aaron Korsh, the mind behind the original Suits series and the 2019 spinoff Pearson. The show follows Ted Black, portrayed by Stephen Amell, a suave entertainment lawyer navigating the glitz and chaos of the West Coast as he represents some of Hollywood's most powerful figures.
However, Los Angeles is not all it's cracked up to be. As Ted finds himself at the top of the food chain, his law firm crumbles as the loyalties of the people he trusts the most are tested. The show premiered on NBC on February 23, 2025, with the 13-episode first season airing weekly on Sunday evenings.
The show's official synopsis, from NBC, further teases the drama and rivalry that will surround Ted's personal and professional life, which reads:
"Ted is surrounded by a stellar group of characters who test their loyalties to both Ted and each other while they can't help but mix their personal and professional lives. All of this is going on while we slowly unravel the events that years ago led Ted to leave behind everything and everyone he loved.
Suits LA brings high-stakes legal drama inside and outside the courtroom
The premise is that Ted Black left New York over a decade ago, where he worked as a prosecutor. He chose Los Angeles as his new home and is now an entertainment lawyer. There's a significant reason for his change in practice and why he left one city for the other, which plays out as the series unfolds.
Each of the 13 episodes of the spinoff tells his life in two different timelines: the present day in LA and New York in 2010, shortly before his move. As the show unfolds, audiences are given a glimpse of the natural progression of Ted's life and challenges in LA and the past circumstances that shaped the man and the lawyer that he is today.
As the story unfolds, flashbacks slowly reveal the reason why Ted left New York and why he detests criminal defense, the very thing he has to do to save his failing firm. Furthermore, the series will explore how going back to criminal defense will change Ted's outlook and bring back old wounds.
While Ted Black is the lead in the show, there's an ensemble cast, a mix of friends and foes, that will either bring drama or fun banter. The Suits LA cast includes Lex Scott Davis, Maggie Grace, and Azita Ghanizada, who works in Ted's firm, as well as Josh McDermitt, Rachelle Goulding, and Bryan Greenberg in the rival law firm.
Is NBC's Suits LA connected to Netflix's Suits, starring Gabriel Macht?
Suits LA on NBC exists within the same universe as the original Suits series, which premiered on the USA Network in 2011 and later found a second life on streaming on Netflix. While it wasn't obvious in the first couple of episodes, the connection between the two shows became clearer in Suits LA episode 4.
In the March 16 episode, a flashback revealed that the spinoff's Ted Black was once friends and an amateur baseball teammate with the OG series' Harvey Specter, played by Gabriel Macht. However, months before that, Macht already teased the connection when he posted a video on Instagram on November 20, teasing himself being back in his suit as "HS" for "Harvey Specter."
In the caption, he was referring to an "old friend," which turned out to be Ted Black. Later episodes of the spinoff also revealed a deeper connection between Ted and Harvey, including the fact that Harvey botched Ted's key case in New York in 2010, which brought them back together in the present day to make things right, which Macht also alluded to in the caption of his November 20 Instagram post.
While there is a connection between the two shows, the Los Angeles spinoff is not a copy of the old one. Per the two shows' creator, Aaron Korsh, in a January 27, 2025, tweet:
"[Suits LA is] not trying to replace our beloved originals. Just a new crew working in a different city handling different kinds of cases."
5 shows to watch if you like Suits LA
These shows offer a similar viewing experience to the NBC spinoff because of their similar themes, plots, and settings.
1) The Lincoln Lawyer - Fans of the NBC spinoff will appreciate the fast-paced legal drama and entertaining case going on in this series, which is an adaptation of Michael Connelly's novels. It's also set in LA, but instead of a traditional law firm, the show's lead, Mickey Haller, played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, runs his practice out of his Lincoln.
2) Pearson - Starring Suits' star Gina Torres, Pearson is the first spinoff set in the Suits universe. It mirrors the drama and challenging dynamics familiar in Aaron Korsh's creations, topped with political intrigue and a fresh perspective on Torres' Suits character, Jessica Pearson.
3) Better Call Saul - It's a Breaking Bad spinoff that delivers legal drama and also mirrors Ted Black's career transformation. However, instead of a federal prosecutor or an entertainment lawyer, Better Call Saul follows a con artist who left behind a life of crime to become a reputable attorney.
4) Silk - The only main difference it has from Suits LA is that Silk centers on the British court system. However, it offers the same blend of investigative work and legal proceedings, featuring a slew of competitive defense attorneys trying to make it in the cutthroat world of becoming a silk.
5) Mad Men - It's an epic period drama starring Jon Hamm as a top advertisement executive whose story hooks audiences with the high-stakes and intense world of advertising. It presents the same cutthroat rivalry and office politics one can find watching Suits LA.
Suits LA is now streaming on Peacock, with new episodes airing on NBC every week on Sunday nights and on streaming the very next day.
