Stephen Amell to Lead the Cast of ‘Suits L.A.’

The new show will be a fresh series set in the ‘Suits’ universe, not a sequel to the original series, which has become a huge hit thanks to streaming.

Stephen Amell in 'Arrow.' Photo: The CW.

Preview:

Stephen Amell will play a lawyer in ‘Suits L.A.’
It’s the new show from the creator of the USA series.
The pilot will shoot in Vancouver from next month.

Stephen Amell might still be best known for wearing a superhero suit in ‘Arrow’, but he’s since also starred in the short-lived wrestling series ‘Heels’. He’s going to need both suit style and grappling skills (metaphorically, at least) for a new job, as Amell has landed the lead in the pilot for new ‘Suits’ spin-off ‘Suits L.A.’.

The new show comes from Aaron Korsh, who created and ran the original ‘Suits’ series, which ran from 2011 until 2019 on the USA network.

Now, thanks to an explosion of interest in the series thanks to it streaming on Netflix, the new show has been ordered to pilot at NBC.

What’s the story of ‘Suits L.A.’?

Suits Cast Patrick J. Adams, Sarah Rafferty, Gina Torres and Gabriel Macht at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

(L to R) Suits Cast Patrick J. Adams, Sarah Rafferty, Gina Torres and Gabriel Macht at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Photo: Todd Williamson/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Assuming it gets picked up, ‘Suits L.A.’ will focus on Ted Black (Amell), a former federal prosecutor from New York, who 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 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.

This new show is not intended to reboot ‘Suits’; instead, much as with CBS’ ‘NCIS’ franchise, it’ll be set in the same world –– which means that the likes of Patrick J. Adams' Mike Ross and Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter could show up (though we wouldn’t expect Meghan Markle, who also starred on the original series to make an appearance, she’s a little bit busy doing other things).

What happened with ‘Suits’?

Patrick Adams and Gabriel Macht at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

(L to R) Patrick Adams and Gabriel Macht at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

While ‘Suits’ was certainly popular on USA during its run, the show was discovered by viewers when it began showing on Peacock and Netflix last year and ended up breaking streaming records, including spending weeks atop the latter service’s Top 10 chart.

When will ‘Suits L.A.’ be on TV?

That’s more of a question –– it’ll depend on whether the pilot passes muster. Shooting is scheduled to start next month in Vancouver (which will be standing in for Los Angeles as Toronto was used for New York in the original).

Korsch has had mixed success continuing the world of ‘Suits’ before –– direct spin-off ‘Pearson’, starring Gina Torres, only lasted a year in 2019.