Netflix has rescued numerous series, including You, Lucifer and Manifest, giving them life when other networks couldn’t sustain liftoff. Those pleasantly zombified series couldn’t hold a candle, however, to the mania surrounding Netflix’s Summer Of Suits, which motivated NBCUniversal to invest in a spin off, Suits: LA, that will soon arrive on NBC.
Only a few years ago, this was a development that nobody expected and has potentially opened the door to reviving more so-called “Blue Sky” series like White Collar. A formal green light hasn’t arrived for a Matt Bomer revisiting yet, and NBCUniversal is likely waiting to see how Suits: LA fares before opening the floodgates, so let’s get down to business on what is brewing for the West Coast version of an enduringly popular legal dramedy.
Cast
The spin off’s firm, Black Lane Law, specializes in entertainment and criminal cases and is led by ex-New Yorker Ted Black, portrayed by Stephen Amell (Heels). According to showrunner Aaron Korsch (speaking to Entertainment Weekly), this series will depart from Suits in favoring one leading man: “The original Suits was a dual lead show with Harvey and Mike, and this is a single lead with an ensemble.” Ted will, however, receive strong support from Stuart Lane (Josh McDermitt, The Walking Dead), a criminal law whiz with whom he founded Black Lane Law 15 years ago.
Other prominent characters include rival protégés Erica Rollins (Lex Scott Davis) and Rick Dodson (Bryan Greenberg), and you can see a photo of the core quartet together at Entertainment Weekly. Further members of the cast include Kevin Weistman, Rachelle Goulding, Alice Lee, and Victoria Justice.
Since this is a Los Angeles-based series, plenty of opportunity exists for celebrity clientele. Or does it? The original series did showcase Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) waving around Michael Jordan as a client, although His Airness never made an appearance on the show, which did manage to snag Charles Barkley and Michael Phelps in the flesh.
Similarly, we can expect famous names to be dropped by Ted Black. Those include Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Tom Hanks. Notably, Denzel Washington (according to Collider) has granted permission for his photo to be used on the series, and Amell hopes that turns into a real appearance: “Denzel, open invitation [to cameo], you heard it here first… [Washington giving permission to use his likeness] is a good sign, but I think [the jump from] photo to cameo is a stretch.”
A (sad) certainty of a celebrity cameo: late veteran actor John Amos’s final onscreen role will air in the first season.
Additionally, a special three-episode appearance will arrive from Gabriel Macht, who will reprise his Harvey Specter role. Fellow Suits veteran Wendell Pierce is also gunning hard to cameo as Robert Zane, although no confirmation there has surfaced yet. And why will Harvey be visiting? That’s part of the plot.
Plot
When Suits: LA begins, Black Lane Law will be at a “breaking point.” As Aaron Korsch revealed to EW, Black is “struggling as a leader,” and “he can get so driven and so focused on what’s in front of him or the next battle to win that he loses sight of his relationships with the people closest to him, and that’s what really manifests in the pilot.” Disagreements over the firm’s legacy will yield intense conflict between Ted Stuart, and it appears that Ted is the problem, states Korsch: “Ted doesn’t think that there’s anything wrong with their relationship at all – I think Stuart might disagree.”
That remark resembles a troubled marriage, and to work with that analogy, some counseling might be needed. Who best to perform that magic? As Deadline first reported, Macht was more than willing to slip into Harvey’s shoes, and as Macht wrote on Instagram: “When an old friend is in need… it’s time to take care of things and make those very ‘things’ right.”
Stephen Amell surfaced in Macht’s Instagram comments to complete the picture: “The Bat Signal does work!!” And NBC’s synopsis agrees:
Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor from New York, has reinvented himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles. His firm is at a crisis point, and in order to survive he must embrace a role he held in contempt his entire career. 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 events from years ago slowly unravel that led Ted to leave behind everything and everyone he loved.
Release Date
Suits: LA will debut on Feb. 23 on NBC. The series will also stream on Peacock. Future seasons are virtually guaranteed after production moved to LA after receiving substantial tax incentives. (Production did recently pause due to the Los Angeles fires, but the release date remains intact.)
Trailer
A full trailer should arrive soon, but this teaser trailer coasts on LA vibes.
