Mike and Harvey in Suits standing up in court and looking surprisedCredit: MovieStillsDB
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Liz Declan
Published 48 minutes ago
Liz Declan is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant, primarily covering Star Wars. She is a massive fan of Star Wars, the MCU, and Supernatural. In addition to writing, Liz loves attending and covering conventions. Find her on TikTok and Instagram @va.va.vera
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Suits' spinoff show, Suits LA, was canceled after just one season, and the reason it failed has everything to do with Mike and Harvey (and really shouldn't have surprised anyone). Suits LA's cancelation was explained by NBC as being all about the numbers, which was placed in direct comparison to the original show.
It makes sense that this side-by-side look at the numbers was enough to make NBC pull the plug, given that Suits had viewership in the millions, whereas Suits LA had a strong start—2.61 million—with its debut episode, but ratings dropped from there.
Its 36% critic score and 54% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes couldn't have helped. But while the numbers prove that it failed, they don't reveal why. And, the reason Suits LA really failed actually has so much more to do with the original show, especially its two beloved leads.
Suits LA Was Another Reminder That Suits Needs Harvey And Mike Together
Maggie Grace as Amanda Stevens and Lex Scott Davis as Erica Rollins in Suits LA
Viewers and critics alike have voiced myriad reasons for why/how Suits LA failed to live up to its predecessor. Among those reasons were the sense that Suits LA failed to capture the same spirit and charm of Suits, as well as issues with the plot feeling scattered throughout the season.
It seems Suits LA tried to grab Suits fans' attention with the cameos of Gabriel Macht's Harvey Specter and Rick Hoffman's Louis Litt, but it didn't work. If anything, Harvey's appearance in particular made matters worse by highlighting exactly what went wrong with this spinoff concept: Suits worked because of Harvey Specter and Mike Ross's friendship.
It's their on-screen chemistry and banter (as well as the strengths of the rest of the Suits cast) that really made the show stand out and shine, and sadly, the Suits LA cast just didn't have that same impact. This show was yet another reminder that in order to succeed, Suits and its spinoff always needed this duo back together.
Suits Season 8 Should Have Made It Clear That A Spinoff Wouldn't Work
The cast of Suits in Season 8
The creators of Suits LA perhaps thought the show was going to be different and engaging enough that it wouldn't run into the same roadblocks that Suits itself did when Mike and Rachel departed the show at the end of season 7, but the writing was on the wall ever since Suits season 8—largely considered one of Suits' worst seasons.
Suits LA (or, rather, NBC) should have taken note and realized a spinoff was doomed to fail, as Suits season 8 had already done the legwork of proving. While season 8 arguably wasn't a total failure, from the minute Mike wasn't around (along with both Rachel and Jessica), the show felt entirely different, and not in a good way.
Gone was, of course, the dynamism of Mike and Harvey's friendship, but on the whole, Suits felt like a new show from that point forward, and it just didn't capture the original story's magic. After all, this show began with Mike and Harvey concocting a plan to deceive everyone into believing Mike was a Harvard graduate and legitimate lawyer.
Sure, that lie was exposed before Mike left the show, but even the continuation of that story, beyond Mike being found out and going to jail, was captivating and in keeping with the tone of what the show had always been. Without Mike, the show really became just another legal show and, like Suits LA, never worked as well.
Suits Is Not A Franchise — It's A Show About Two Best Friends
Mike Ross And Harvey Specter standing together in Suits
What both difficult truths really boil down to is that Suits is not and cannot be a franchise. It was always a story about Mike and Ross, and from the second that focus was disrupted, be it from Mike's departure in Suits or the introduction of Suits LA, it no longer worked.
This really is a shame, because it makes sense to want to bring back the spark of that show. However, the only way a continuation of Suits could work is if the show had a true revival and brought back as many original cast members as possible.
For obvious reasons, that would prove challenging with Rachel actress Meghan Markle, which perhaps means a reboot of that kind is out of the question. Mike's post-season 7 returns in Suits worked well enough with some narrative tricks explaining away Rachel's absence, but that wouldn't really work for a whole new show.
While they could kill the character off, that would be a very dark turn for the show, and it would change Mike's character so drastically that it might end up doing more harm than good anyway. However, the Suits finale did leave the door open for such a return eventually, with Harvey and Donna moving near Mike and Rachel.
Whether or not that is something that could be navigated remains to be seen, but the hard truth is: Suits and Suits LA struggled without the iconic Mike and Harvey friendship, and it spells trouble for any other similar attempts in the future.
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Like Follow Followed Suits TV-14 Drama
7/10
156
8.8/10
Release Date
2011 - 2019
Network
USA Network
Cast
See All-
Gabriel Macht
Harvey Specter
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Rick Hoffman
Louis Litt
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Like Follow Followed Suits LA TV-14 Drama
4/10
129
7.3/10
Release Date
February 23, 2025
Network
NBC
Cast
See All-
Stephen Amell
Ted Black
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Lex Scott Davis
Erica Rollins
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Suits
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Suits L.A.
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